OpenAI API key and spend limits for a hosted bot

From OpenAI's developer documentation, checked October 18, 2026. OpenAI's help-center billing articles blocked our checks, so prepaid-credit details are not covered.

Create a key

OpenAI's quickstart says to click "Create an API Key" in the dashboard and store it somewhere safe. SDKs can read it from the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable, so it never has to appear in code. Detailed dashboard screens were not described in the pages we could read.

Set a spend limit (OpenAI's steps)

1. Open Project settings.
2. Select Limits.
3. Under Spend, click Edit spend limit.
4. Enter a Monthly spend limit.
5. Optionally turn on "Enforce a hard limit".
6. Save.

• Alerts only notify you; they do not stop traffic.
• A hard limit makes requests fail with a 429 error (code project_spend_limit_exceeded), and recorded spend can slightly exceed the limit.

Good habits

OpenAI recommends separate projects for staging and production, each with its own limits, and an expiry date on project keys. See the key safety checklist and key errors.

Using it with GPT Migrator: paste the key in your bot's settings: how hosting works.