To access models through the AI Gateway, you authenticate with a TrueFoundry API key — not the original provider keys (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.). The AI Gateway manages provider credentials centrally, so developers only need a single TrueFoundry token.
Pass your API key as a Bearer token in the Authorization header:
Or set it as an environment variable for the OpenAI SDK:
Which token type to use
A TrueFoundry API key is either a Personal Access Token (PAT) — tied to your user, best for local development — or a Virtual Account token (VAT) — tied to a non-user identity, recommended for production applications, CI/CD, and shared services.
For the comparison, creation steps, security guidance, and rotation, see API Keys.
Avoid using PATs in production applications. If the user who created the PAT leaves the organization, the token becomes invalid and your application will lose access.
Example: Use the AI Gateway with the OpenAI SDK
For SDK-specific examples (Anthropic, LangChain, and others), see Native SDK Support.
Model access control
Access to models is managed at the model account level. Users and virtual accounts must be granted access to a model account before they can call its models. For details on managing permissions, see Access Control. 
