Add Your API Key
Chief uses your Anthropic API key for every AI call. Adding the key is a one-time step.
Get an Anthropic API Key
- Go to console.anthropic.com.
- Sign in or create an account.
- Click Settings → API Keys.
- Click Create Key, name it something like
chief-prod, and copy the value (it starts withsk-ant-).
The full key is shown only once. Copy it before closing the dialog. If you lose it, you’ll need to create a new one.
Add the Key in Chief
- In your Chief dashboard, go to API Keys (or follow the onboarding wizard prompt).
- Click Add Key.
- Pick Anthropic as the provider.
- Paste the key.
- Click Validate & Save.
Chief sends a test request to Anthropic to confirm the key is valid before storing it. If validation fails, the key is rejected and nothing is saved. If it passes, the key is encrypted with AES-256-GCM and stored.
What Chief Stores
Chief stores the encrypted ciphertext only. The plaintext key never lives on disk and is never logged. The encryption key is held server-side, separate from the database. See Encryption for details.
Recommended Anthropic Settings
For most teams, the default Anthropic account works fine. If you want to set spending limits:
- Set a monthly budget in your Anthropic console under Billing → Limits.
- Enable email alerts at 80% of budget so you never get surprised.
- Typical Pro-plan teams spend $30–$120/mo in Anthropic tokens. Heavy users with cron-driven workflows can spend more.
Adding Other Providers (Enterprise)
On the Enterprise plan you can also add:
- OpenAI — for GPT-4/Codex routing
- Google Gemini — for Gemini Pro / Flash
- Local (GPU) — for self-hosted inference
Each provider is added the same way: paste the key, Chief validates, encrypts, stores. You can then configure routing rules in Settings → Model Routing.