> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.openlayer.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Set up the gateway

> Sign in to the admin portal, connect a provider, and issue your first API key

This guide is for the **operator** running the gateway. By the end you'll have a provider connected
and an API key you can hand to an app or a teammate.

> [!NOTE]
>
> You'll need the **admin portal URL** and an **admin key**. You get both when
> we set up your gateway. Don't have one yet? [Reach out to
> us](mailto:support@openlayer.com) and we'll get one running for your team.

**1. Sign in to the admin portal**

Open `https://your-gateway.example.com/admin` and enter your admin key.

**2. Connect a provider**

Go to **Providers** under Settings and add one:

* **Name**: a label you choose, such as `openai`.
* **Base URL**: the provider's API root, such as `https://api.openai.com`.
* **Format**: one of `openai`, `anthropic`, or `azure_openai`.
* **API key**: the provider's secret. It's encrypted before it's stored, and the page shows only
  a hint of it afterwards.

For every option, including Azure and its API version, see
[Connect providers](https://docs.openlayer.com/gateway/connect-providers.md).

Save your changes. The new provider takes effect within a few seconds, with no restart.

![Connecting a provider on the Providers page](https://mintcdn.com/openlayer-44/c_6-GM8DMEh-Ygkc/images/gateway/provider_config.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=c_6-GM8DMEh-Ygkc\&q=85\&s=8f5551a85897728c400a8c48017e5f5a)

**3. Create an API key**

Go to **API keys** and create a key. You can give it a name, and attach a user or a group so you
can track and govern it later.

Copy the key when it appears. It's shown **only once** and starts with `sk-olga-`. Store it
somewhere safe.

![Creating an API key](https://mintcdn.com/openlayer-44/c_6-GM8DMEh-Ygkc/images/gateway/api_key_create.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=c_6-GM8DMEh-Ygkc\&q=85\&s=93c93a2e8383ac3605bee3ba9a421f8c)

## Hand it off

Give the developer two things:

* The **gateway base URL**, such as `https://your-gateway.example.com/v1`.
* The **API key** you just created.

That's everything they need to send traffic. Point them at
[Make your first request](https://docs.openlayer.com/gateway/make-your-first-request.md).

## Where configuration lives

Almost everything you administer lives in the portal and takes effect at runtime, with no redeploy:

| Portal page | What it holds |
| - | - |
| **Providers** | Upstreams and their API keys |
| **Observability** | Connected Openlayer workspaces and destinations |
| **API keys** | The keys your apps send |
| **Usage limits**, **Content guardrails**, **Routing rules**, **Model access** | The policies enforced on each request |

Only deployment-level settings are environment variables on the gateway host: the admin key, the
encryption key that protects stored secrets, and feature toggles. Those are set at deploy time, so
coordinate with us to change one.

> [!NOTE]
>
> Older deployments seeded providers, routing, and observability from a
> `config.yaml` file. That file is now a one-time import, read on first boot and
> ignored afterwards, and it will be removed. Edit these resources in the portal
> instead.

## Next steps

Now that traffic can flow, decide what the gateway should enforce on it.

> [card] [Set usage limits](https://docs.openlayer.com/gateway/budgets-and-limits.md)
>
> Cap spend, requests, or tokens per key, user, or group.

> [card] [Add guardrails](https://docs.openlayer.com/gateway/guardrails.md)
>
> Block or redact PII, stop prompt injection, and screen for unsafe content.


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