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LLM101 Course -

Step 1: OpenAI API Key Setup Guide

Overview

An API Key is a unique token that allows you to authenticate and access OpenAI's services programmatically. This key is essential for using OpenAI's models (like GPT-4, GPT-3.5) in your applications.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

  • A working internet connection
  • A valid email address
  • A credit card (for existing accounts) or access to free credits (for new accounts)
  • Approximately 5-10 minutes to complete the setup

What is an API Key?

An API Key is:

  • A secure authentication token
  • Required to make API calls to OpenAI services
  • Unique to your account
  • Should be kept confidential (never share publicly)
  • Can be regenerated at any time if compromised

Why Do You Need It?

The API key allows you to:

  • Access OpenAI models from your code
  • Build applications using ChatGPT, GPT-4, etc.
  • Make API requests directly without using the web interface
  • Integrate AI capabilities into your projects

Screenshots Reference

Screenshot File
Screenshots/Platform_Openai_Webpage.png
Screenshots/OPENAI_API_KEY.png
Screenshots/Open_notebook.png
Screenshots/Create_New_Secret_Key_Prompt.png
Screenshots/Create_API_Key.png
Screenshots/Authorize_Colaboratory.png
Screenshots/AfterAuthentication_webpage.png
Screenshots/After_Authroization_ColabwithGithub.png

Step 1.1: Visit OpenAI Platform

  1. Open your web browser
  2. Navigate to: https://platform.openai.com/docs/overview
  3. You should see the OpenAI platform homepage

View: platformopenai_webpage.png

Step 1.2: Create or Access Your Account

Option A: Create a New Account (Recommended)

Why create a new account?

  • Receive free trial credits (~$5-18)
  • Test features without payment concerns
  • Separate billing for the workshop

Steps to Create Account:

  1. Click the "Sign up" button
  2. Enter your email address
  3. Create a strong password
  4. Verify your email by clicking the link sent to your inbox
  5. Complete your profile information:
    • Full Name
    • Organization (optional)
    • Phone Number
    • Use Case
  6. Accept the terms and conditions
  7. You're all set! Your account is created with free credits

Option B: Use Existing Account

  1. Click the "Log in" button
  2. Enter your email address
  3. Enter your password
  4. Complete any two-factor authentication if enabled
  5. You'll be logged into your account

View: AfterAuthentication_webpage.png

Step 1.3: Verify Your Account Credits

For New Accounts

New OpenAI accounts receive:

  • Free trial credits: Usually $5-$18 USD
  • Valid for: 3 months from account creation
  • Automatic expiration: After 3 months, credits expire

Check your credits:

  1. Click the profile icon (top-right corner)
  2. Select "Billing" from the dropdown
  3. View your "Credit balance"

For Existing Accounts

Check available funds:

  1. Click the profile icon (top-right corner)
  2. Select "Billing" from the dropdown
  3. Check your "Credit balance" or "Payment method"

Note: If you're using a paid account, ensure you have:

  • Valid payment method on file
  • Sufficient credits/funds
  • Billing alerts configured (optional but recommended)

Step 1.4: Access Your Profile Settings

  1. In the top-right corner, locate the profile icon (usually your initials or avatar)
  2. Click it to open the dropdown menu
  3. You should see several options:
    • Your Profile
    • Settings
    • Billing
    • API keys
  4. Select "Settings" to access more options

Step 1.5: Navigate to API Keys Section

  1. From the profile dropdown, select "Settings"
  2. In the left sidebar, click "API keys"
  3. Or directly go to: https://platform.openai.com/account/api-keys

You should see:

  • A list of existing API keys (if any)
  • A "Create new secret key" button

Step 1.6: Generate Your API Key

Create a New Secret Key

  1. Click the "Create new secret key" button
  2. A dialog box will appear with options to configure your key

View: create_new_secret_key_prompt.png

Configure Your API Key

Name Field:

OPENAI_API_KEY

Project Field:

  • Leave as default (Personal) for now
  • Or select your project if you have multiple

Other Settings:

  • Keep all other options at their default values

Click "Create secret key" button

View: Create_API_Key.png

Step 1.7: Copy and Save Your API Key

⚠️ CRITICAL: This is a one-time display! You will NOT be able to view this key again.

Immediately Copy Your Key

  1. After creating the key, you'll see a dialog with:
    • Your secret key (long string of characters)
    • A "Copy" button

View: OPENAI_API_KEY.png

  1. Click the "Copy" button to copy to clipboard

  2. Immediately paste and save it to:

    • A secure password manager (recommended)
    • A .env file in your project (for local development)
    • A secure text file (temporary, not recommended for production)

Example of an API Key:

sk-proj-abc123xyz789... (typically 48+ characters)

If You Didn't Copy It

If you forgot to copy the key, don't worry:

  1. Go to: https://platform.openai.com/account/api-keys
  2. Find your API key in the list
  3. Click the "Edit" button (pencil icon)
  4. Click "Show" to reveal the key value
  5. Copy it now

⚠️ Note: You can only see the full key once. After closing, it will show as masked (sk-****).

Step 1.8: Secure Your API Key

Best Practices

DO:

  • ✅ Store in a .env file (use .gitignore to prevent uploading to GitHub)
  • ✅ Use environment variables in your application
  • ✅ Rotate keys periodically
  • ✅ Use a password manager to store securely
  • ✅ Create separate keys for different projects

DON'T:

  • ❌ Share your key publicly
  • ❌ Commit your key to version control (Git)
  • ❌ Hardcode the key in your source code

Store in .env File [If testing locally otherwise ignore this step]

For Local Development:

  1. In your project root folder, create a file named: .env

  2. Add your key:

OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-proj-your-actual-key-here
  1. Create a .gitignore file (if not already exists) and add:
.env
.env.local
*.key

This prevents accidentally uploading your key to GitHub!

Store in Environment Variables

Option 1: Command Line (macOS/Linux)

export OPENAI_API_KEY='sk-proj-your-key-here'

Option 2: Windows PowerShell

$env:OPENAI_API_KEY='sk-proj-your-key-here'

Option 3: In Python Code

import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv

# Load from .env file
load_dotenv()

api_key = os.getenv('OPENAI_API_KEY')

What You Have Now

After completing Step 1, you have:

  • ✅ OpenAI account created or accessed
  • ✅ Free credits verified (or payment method added)
  • ✅ API key generated
  • ✅ API key securely stored
  • ✅ Ready to use OpenAI's models in code

Step 2: Google Colab Setup

Overview

Google Colab is a cloud-based Jupyter notebook environment that allows you to run Python code without local setup. It provides free access to GPUs and is ideal for machine learning and AI development.

Prerequisites

  • Completed Step 1 (OpenAI API Key setup)
  • Google account
  • Internet connection

Step 2.1: Access Google Colab

  1. Navigate to: https://colab.research.google.com/
  2. Click "Open notebook" button

View: Open_notebook.png

Step 2.2: Connect GitHub Repository

  1. In the dialog, select "GitHub" tab
  2. Provide the GitHub URL: https://github.com/AnSwati/LLM101
  3. Grant necessary authorization for Google Colab to access your GitHub

View: Authorize_Colaboratory.png

Step 2.3: Open Notebook in Colab

  1. Once authorization is complete, locate the Basic_LLM_tutorial_prompt_engineering.ipynb file
  2. Click on it to open directly in Google Colab

What You Have Now

  • ✅ Google Colab environment set up
  • ✅ GitHub repository linked to Colab
  • ✅ Notebook ready for development

Next Steps

You're now ready to start working with LLMs in the Colab notebook environment.

Step 3: Visual Studio Code Setup

Overview

Run the LLM101 code locally on your machine using Visual Studio Code (VSCode). This option gives you more control and doesn't require Google Colab.

Prerequisites

  • Completed Step 1 (OpenAI API Key setup)
  • Python installed
  • pip (Python package manager) installed
  • Visual Studio Code installed

Step 3.1: Clone or Download Repository

Option A: Clone Repository

  1. Open VSCode terminal
  2. Run the following command:
git clone https://github.com/AnSwati/LLM101.git
cd LLM101

Option B: Download as ZIP

  1. Visit: https://github.com/AnSwati/LLM101
  2. Click "Code" → "Download ZIP"
  3. Extract the ZIP file
  4. Open the folder in VSCode: File → Open Folder

Step 3.2: Verify Prerequisites

Ensure Python and pip are installed:

python --version
pip --version

Both should show version numbers. If not, install Python from: https://www.python.org/

Step 3.3: Install Dependencies

Navigate to the project directory and install required packages:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Or manually install the required packages:

pip install openai python-dotenv

Step 3.4: Set Up Environment Variables

  1. Create a .env file in the project root folder
  2. Add your OpenAI API key from Step 1:
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-proj-your-actual-key-here
  1. Create a .gitignore file and add:
.env
.env.local

This prevents accidentally uploading your API key to GitHub.

Step 3.5: Run the Code

  1. Open the Python script or notebook in VSCode
  2. Run the code:
python script_name.py

Or use VSCode's Run button (▶️)

What You Have Now

  • ✅ LLM101 repository cloned/downloaded
  • ✅ Dependencies installed
  • ✅ Environment configured
  • ✅ Ready to run LLMs locally

FAQ

Q: I get a RateLimit error when running the code A: This means you've exceeded your OpenAI API quota or run out of credits. Solutions:

Q: Can I use Google Colab instead of VSCode? A: Yes! Google Colab works well for this course. You can:

  • Provide the GitHub URL (as shown in Step 2)
  • Upload the full ZIP file
  • Upload to Google Drive and connect Colab

Q: What if I don't have Python installed? A: Install Python from https://www.python.org/ ensuring you check "Add Python to PATH" during installation.

Q: How do I know if my environment is set up correctly? A: Run the following commands in terminal:

python --version
pip --version
python -c "import openai; print(openai.__version__)"

Q: How much do API calls cost? A: Pricing varies by model. Check https://openai.com/pricing for current rates. New accounts get free trial credits.

Q: Can I use one API key for multiple projects? A: Yes, but it's recommended to create separate keys for different projects for better tracking and security.

Q: What if I lose my API key? A: Create a new one! Old keys can be revoked from the API keys dashboard.

Q: Is my API key tied to my account? A: Yes, the key authenticates requests as your account. Charges will be billed to your account.

Q: Can I have multiple API keys? A: Yes! You can create as many as needed and manage them from the API keys page.

Troubleshooting

Issue: "Free trial credits expired"

Solution:

Issue: "API key not working / Authentication failed"

Solution:

  • Verify the key is copied completely (check for missing characters)
  • Ensure there are no extra spaces before/after the key
  • Check if the key has been revoked (view in API keys page)
  • Try creating a new key

Issue: "Can't find API keys in settings"

Solution:

Issue: "No free credits available"

Solution:

  • Check if you're using a new or existing account
  • View billing details to see payment methods
  • Contact OpenAI support if unsure

Issue: "Rate limit exceeded"

Solution:

  • You've made too many API calls too quickly
  • Wait a few moments before making new requests
  • Consider upgrading to a paid plan for higher limits

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