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API Keys

wtf needs an AI provider to work. You pick: Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (GPT), or Google (Gemini).

Supported Providers

Provider Models Best For
Anthropic Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Opus, Haiku Best overall, great at following instructions
OpenAI GPT-4o, GPT-4, GPT-3.5 Fast, widely available
Google Gemini Pro, Gemini Flash Good balance of speed and quality

Getting an API Key

  1. Sign up at https://console.anthropic.com
  2. Go to Settings → API Keys
  3. Create a new key
  4. Free tier: $5 credit, then pay-as-you-go
$ wtf here is my anthropic api key sk-ant-...
✓ API key saved
✓ Using claude-3.5-sonnet as default model

OpenAI

  1. Sign up at https://platform.openai.com
  2. Go to API Keys
  3. Create a new secret key
  4. Pricing: Pay-as-you-go
$ wtf here is my openai api key sk-...
✓ API key saved
✓ Using gpt-4o as default model

Google

  1. Go to https://makersuite.google.com/app/apikey
  2. Create an API key
  3. Free tier: 60 requests/minute
$ wtf here is my google api key AIza...
✓ API key saved
✓ Using gemini-pro as default model

Setup During First Run

The first time you run wtf, it asks you to pick a provider:

$ wtf what's my git status?

No API key configured. Let's set one up.

Which AI provider do you want to use?
  1. Anthropic (Claude) - Recommended
  2. OpenAI (GPT-4)
  3. Google (Gemini)

Choose [1-3]: 1

Great! Get your API key from:
https://console.anthropic.com/settings/keys

Paste your API key: sk-ant-...
✓ API key saved

Switching Providers

Change providers anytime:

$ wtf switch to OpenAI
What's your OpenAI API key?
Paste it here: sk-...
✓ Switched to OpenAI (gpt-4o)

Or re-run setup:

$ wtf --setup

Changing Models

Use a different model from the same provider:

$ wtf use claude-opus as my model
✓ Switched to claude-opus

$ wtf use gpt-3.5-turbo
✓ Switched to gpt-3.5-turbo (faster, cheaper)

Where Keys Are Stored

By default, wtf uses Simon Willison's llm library for key management:

# Keys stored in llm's keyring
~/.config/io.datasette.llm/keys.json

This is secure and shared with other llm-based tools.

Via Environment Variables

You can also use environment variables:

# Add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."
export GOOGLE_API_KEY="AIza..."

Then:

$ source ~/.zshrc
$ wtf --setup

wtf will detect the environment variable automatically.

Keys can be stored in ~/.config/wtf/config.json, but this is less secure:

{
  "api": {
    "model": "claude-3.5-sonnet",
    "key_source": "config",
    "key": "sk-ant-..."
  }
}

We don't recommend this. Use llm's keyring or environment variables instead.

Checking Your Setup

$ wtf what API key am I using?
You're using Anthropic (claude-3.5-sonnet)
API key: sk-ant-...xyz (last 3 chars)

Or check the config:

$ wtf --config
Config directory: ~/.config/wtf/
Config file: ~/.config/wtf/config.json

Current settings:
  Model: claude-3.5-sonnet
  Key source: llm

Model Costs

Approximate costs per 1M tokens (as of 2024):

Model Input Output Speed
GPT-4o $5 $15 Fast
Claude Sonnet 3.5 $3 $15 Medium
Claude Haiku $0.25 $1.25 Very fast
Gemini Pro $0.50 $1.50 Fast

For typical wtf usage: ~$0.01-0.05 per query

Troubleshooting

"Invalid API key" error

$ wtf test my setup
✗ Error: Invalid API key

Fix:
1. Double-check you copied the full key
2. Make sure the key is active (check provider dashboard)
3. Re-run setup: wtf --setup

"Rate limit exceeded"

✗ Error: Rate limit exceeded

Fix:
1. Wait a few minutes
2. Check your provider's rate limits
3. Upgrade your API plan if needed

Key not being detected

$ echo $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
# (should show your key)

# If empty:
$ export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."
$ source ~/.zshrc

Security Best Practices

✓ Do: - Use environment variables or llm's keyring - Keep keys in .env files (add to .gitignore) - Rotate keys periodically - Use separate keys for different projects

✗ Don't: - Commit keys to git - Share keys in Slack/email - Store keys in plain text files - Use the same key everywhere

Next Steps