Meliai API Authentication — Keys and Header Formats

Every request to the Meliai API must include your API key. Meliai accepts two header formats — the standard Authorization: Bearer token used by OpenAI-compatible clients, and the x-api-key header used by Anthropic-compatible clients. Both headers are accepted on every endpoint, so you can use whichever format your existing SDK or HTTP client already sends.

Supported Header Formats

Both of the following headers are equivalent and accepted on all Meliai endpoints:

Authorization: Bearer sk-mel-<YOUR_API_KEY>

x-api-key: sk-mel-<YOUR_API_KEY>

Store your key in the MELIAI_API_KEY environment variable and reference it from your code — never hard-code it in source files.

Never commit API keys to source control or include them in client-side code. Store keys in environment variables or a dedicated secrets manager such as AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault, or your CI/CD platform’s secret store.

SDK and curl Examples

The examples below show how to configure each client to point at the Meliai base URL and pass your key. Because Meliai is OpenAI-compatible, the standard openai SDK requires only a base_url swap.

from openai import OpenAI
import os

client = OpenAI(
    api_key=os.environ["MELIAI_API_KEY"],
    base_url="https://api.meliai.ai/v1",
)

import OpenAI from "openai";

const client = new OpenAI({
  apiKey: process.env.MELIAI_API_KEY,
  baseURL: "https://api.meliai.ai/v1",
});

curl https://api.meliai.ai/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MELIAI_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "<MODEL_ID>", "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]}'

Creating API Keys

Generate and manage your API keys in the Meliai dashboard. When you create a key, the full secret value is shown only once — copy it immediately and store it securely. If you lose a key, revoke it and generate a new one.

Open the API Keys page

Navigate to meliai.ai/account/api/keys and sign in.

Create a new key

Click New API Key, give it a descriptive name (for example, prod-backend or dev-local), and confirm.

Copy and store the key

Copy the key immediately — it will not be shown again. Add it to your environment as MELIAI_API_KEY.

Revoke keys you no longer need

Delete unused keys from the dashboard to reduce your attack surface. Revoking a key takes effect immediately.

Error Responses

Authentication failures return a structured JSON error with one of the following HTTP status codes:

Status	Code	Meaning
401	`AUTH_1001`	The API key is missing, malformed, or invalid. Check that your key starts with `sk-mel-` and that the `Authorization` header is present.
403	`AUTH_1003`	The key is valid but lacks the scope required for this endpoint. Check the key’s permissions in the dashboard.

See the Errors page for the full error response shape and a complete list of error codes.

Overview

Inference

Batch & Files

Models

Meliai API Authentication — Keys and Header Formats

Supported Header Formats

SDK and curl Examples

Creating API Keys

Error Responses

​Supported Header Formats

​SDK and curl Examples

​Creating API Keys

​Error Responses

Supported Header Formats

SDK and curl Examples

Creating API Keys

Error Responses