Guide
How to get an AI key
Steps checked: 18 October 2026
Baseline's AI reads your projects, flags risks and drafts charters and reports. It runs on an AI provider you choose, using your own key. Think of the key as a prepaid card for that provider: you add credit with them, and each question you ask uses a little of it.
You pay the provider directly
Baseline charges nothing for AI and adds nothing on top.
Any provider works
Chat, charters and reports work the same with each of them.
Your key stays private
It is encrypted when saved and only ever sent to its own provider.
Each question sends the parts of your project the AI needs, so it usually costs between a fraction of a cent and a few cents, depending on the model. Smaller, faster models cost the least. With prepaid credit you can never spend more than you put in.
Ollama
- Sign in at ollama.com, or create a free account.
- Open Settings, then Keys.
- Create a new key, give it a name you will recognise (for example "Baseline"), and copy it.
Cost · The free plan includes some starter usage on a smaller set of cloud models, one request at a time. Buying usage credits unlocks every model, and paid plans start at $20 a month.
Running Ollama on your own server instead? Leave the key blank in Baseline and enter your server’s public https:// address as the Base URL.
Anthropic
Key starts with sk-ant-…
- Sign in to the Claude Console at platform.claude.com, or create an account. A Claude.ai chat subscription is separate and does not cover API use.
- Open Billing and add credit.
- Open API keys and click Create key. Name it, choose when it expires, and create it.
- Copy the key straight away. The Console shows it only once.
Cost · You buy credit in the Console and pay for what you use. Each model has its own price per use.
OpenAI
Key starts with sk-…
- Sign in at platform.openai.com, or create an account. A ChatGPT subscription is separate and does not pay for API use.
- Open Billing, add a payment method and buy credit.
- Open API keys and click Create new secret key. Name it and create it.
- Copy the key straight away. OpenAI shows it only once.
Cost · Prepaid credit, used as you go. Each model has its own price per use.
OpenRouter
Key starts with sk-or-…
- Sign in at openrouter.ai, or create an account.
- Open Credits and buy credit.
- Open Keys and create a key. Name it, and set a credit limit if you want a cap on what it can spend. Use a regular API key, not a management key: management keys can’t run AI models.
- Copy the key straight away.
Cost · One balance works with models from many companies. Card top-ups carry a 5.5% fee (at least $0.80). Free models allow 50 requests a day, or 1,000 a day once you have bought $10 of credit.
Google AI
- Sign in to Google AI Studio with your Google account.
- Open API keys and click Create API key.
- Turn on billing: on the API keys or Projects page, click Set up billing next to your project, add a payment method and prepay (at least $5).
- Copy the key.
Cost · Prepaid credit (at least $5), used as you go. Prepaid credit expires 12 months after you buy it.
Use a key with billing turned on. Google’s free tier has low limits, and only the paid tier keeps your prompts out of Google’s product improvement.
Add it to Baseline
- In Baseline, open Settings.
- Under AI provider, choose the provider your key is from.
- Paste the key, pick a model, and click Save settings.
- Baseline checks the key with the provider before saving it, so you know straight away that it works. Then open Chat and ask your first question.
Stuck? Email support@aboveone.net and we'll help you set it up.