Authentication

Authenticate Prism inference requests and protect API keys.

Every inference request requires a Prism API key. Use the PRISM_API_KEY environment variable in local examples and a secret manager in deployed applications.

export PRISM_API_KEY="YOUR_PRISM_API_KEY"

Bearer authentication

Bearer authentication works with every endpoint:

Authorization: Bearer YOUR_PRISM_API_KEY

curl "https://api.prisminference.com/v1/chat/completions" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PRISM_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "prism-glm53",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Return pong."}]
  }'

Anthropic authentication

Anthropic clients send the key in x-api-key. The Messages endpoints accept this header:

x-api-key: YOUR_PRISM_API_KEY
anthropic-version: 2023-06-01

Bearer authentication is also accepted on the Messages endpoints.

Base URLs

Client	Base URL
OpenAI SDK and compatible clients	https://api.prisminference.com/v1
Anthropic SDK and Claude Code	https://api.prisminference.com
Direct HTTP	https://api.prisminference.com plus the full endpoint path

The Anthropic SDK appends /v1/messages, so its base URL must not end in /v1.

Protect keys

• Keep keys in server-side environment variables or a managed secret store.
• Do not put keys in browser code, mobile binaries, logs, or prompts.
• Use a separate key for each environment or service.
• Replace a key immediately if it is exposed.
• Return your own short-lived session credential to untrusted clients instead of proxying a Prism key to them.

Requests with a missing, invalid, or revoked key return 401.