Get your AI keys

About 15 minutes, once. You need a card, and your phone for sign-in codes.

Create Studio makes your images and videos with two AI companies, KIE and OpenAI, using your own accounts with them. That means you pay them directly for what you make, at their prices, and nothing is marked up. Each company gives you a "key", a long password that lets Create Studio use your account. You'll make one key at each company and paste both into Create Studio.

Keep your keys private. Anyone with a key can spend your credits. Paste them only into Create Studio's Settings. Create Studio stores them encrypted and never shows them again in full. You can delete a key at any time on the company's own site.

1. Your KIE key

KIE makes all the videos, and the Nano Banana and Seedream images.

  1. Go to kie.ai and sign up.
  2. Go to kie.ai/billing and buy credits. $5 is enough to try everything; videos use the most.
  3. Go to kie.ai/api-key and click to make a new key. Leave its IP allow list off, or Create Studio can't use it.
  4. Copy the key. If the copy button doesn't work, select the key and press Command+C on a Mac or Ctrl+C on Windows.

2. Your OpenAI key

OpenAI makes the GPT images (GPT Image 2, 2.5 Sunburst and 2.5 Flare).

  1. Go to platform.openai.com and sign up. This is OpenAI's developer site; a ChatGPT subscription is separate and doesn't count here.
  2. Go to Billing and add at least $5 of credit.
  3. Verify your organization. Go to Settings → Organization → General and click Verify. OpenAI may ask for a photo ID and a selfie. GPT images don't work until this is done, and it can take up to 30 minutes to start working afterwards.
  4. Go to API keys, click Create new secret key, give it any name, and click Create.
  5. Copy the key right away. OpenAI shows it only once. If you close it before copying, just make another one and delete the first.

3. Paste them into Create Studio

  1. In Create Studio, click your initial in the top right corner and choose Settings.
  2. Paste the KIE key into the KIE box and the OpenAI key into the OpenAI box.
  3. Click Save keys. Create Studio checks each key with its company before saving it. When it says "Saved", the box shows the last four characters of each key.

Your KIE balance now shows in the top bar. You can save one key now and the other later; you only need the key for the models you use.

What things cost

These are the companies' own prices, charged to your accounts. KIE sells credits at about half a cent each.

What you makeAbout
Nano Banana 2.1 image, 1K4 KIE credits (2 cents)
Nano Banana Pro image18 KIE credits (9 cents)
8 second video, 1080p105 KIE credits (53 cents)
GPT Image 2, Medium4 cents of OpenAI credit
GPT Image 2, High17 cents of OpenAI credit

Create Studio shows the estimated cost before you click Generate.

If something doesn't work

What you seeWhat to do
"KIE did not accept that key"Make a new key at kie.ai/api-key with the IP allow list off, and paste it again.
"OpenAI did not accept that key"Make a new key at platform.openai.com/api-keys and paste it again.
"Your KIE balance is empty"Buy credits at kie.ai/billing.
"Your OpenAI balance is empty"Add credit at platform.openai.com/account/billing.
GPT images fail with a message about verification or the organizationVerify your organization (step 2.3) and wait up to 30 minutes.
GPT images fail with a message about the modelYour OpenAI account has no credit yet. Add at least $5, then make a new key and save it again.

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