WritingmateWritingmate Documentation

Set Up Your API Keys

Writingmate has two kinds of API key. They are not interchangeable:

  • An OpenRouter API Key lets Writingmate send supported model requests through an OpenRouter account that you manage and pay for.
  • A Writingmate Developer Key lets an external app authenticate to Writingmate's OpenAI-compatible API or MCP endpoint.

The current API Keys page supports three ways to use your own provider account:

  • Sign in with Codex — device login for Codex models.
  • Sign in with Claude Code — device login for Claude models.
  • Connect with OpenRouter — one-click sign-in that creates an OpenRouter API Key for you, for other supported OpenRouter models. Pasting a key yourself remains available as an advanced option.

Codex and Claude Code connections override OpenRouter for those models and do not use Writingmate plan credits or message limits. A connected account is tried first, including Claude Sonnet and Opus on a Claude Code sign-in. If the provider refuses the request (rate limit, quota used up, billing hold, or a rejected sign-in), the same request continues on your OpenRouter API Key if you have one, otherwise on Writingmate plan credits. Only replies that used plan credits are charged.

Open the API Keys page

  1. Open your profile menu from the bottom-left corner of Writingmate.
  2. Select Profile Settings.
  3. Select API Keys.

You can also open API Keys directly while signed in.

Connect with OpenRouter

Use this option when you want supported requests inside Writingmate to use your own OpenRouter account. Connecting is the fastest way: you sign in to OpenRouter once, and OpenRouter creates an API key for Writingmate. You never copy or paste the key.

  1. Under OpenRouter, select Connect with OpenRouter.
  2. Sign in to OpenRouter if asked, then approve the Writingmate connection.
  3. OpenRouter sends you back to the API Keys page. A green OpenRouter is connected notice confirms the key was saved.
  4. Send a non-sensitive test request with a supported OpenRouter model.

The connection uses OpenRouter's OAuth PKCE flow. PKCE (Proof Key for Code Exchange) is a sign-in standard where Writingmate proves it started the sign-in before OpenRouter hands over a key, so a code intercepted on the way back cannot be used by anyone else. The exchange happens on Writingmate's servers, and the resulting key is stored in your profile exactly like a pasted key. Writingmate does not receive your OpenRouter password.

If you cancel on OpenRouter, or the sign-in code expires (codes last 10 minutes), nothing is saved and the API Keys page shows a short message explaining what happened. Select Connect with OpenRouter again to retry.

Paste an OpenRouter API Key instead (advanced)

If you prefer to manage the key yourself — for example to reuse a key with a spending limit you already configured — open Paste an API key instead under the OpenRouter card.

  1. Create or copy a key from your OpenRouter account.
  2. Paste it into OpenRouter API Key.
  3. Select Save API Keys.

Either way, the key is saved as a profile-level setting and is available to your Writingmate workspaces for supported requests. OpenRouter charges your provider account for those requests. BYOK can bypass Writingmate message limits for supported models, but it does not unlock models that need a higher plan tier, and it does not replace separate requirements for direct image, video, or other integrations.

AppSumo licenses: unlock models released after the catalog cutoff

AppSumo lifetime licenses include the model catalog as of the catalog cutoff date (August 2, 2026). Newer chat models still appear in the model picker, locked, with an Upgrade or add API key label. Connecting with OpenRouter (or saving a pasted OpenRouter API key) on this page unlocks those chat models right away: requests to them are billed to your OpenRouter account, not to your AppSumo credit pools. Without a key, selecting one of these models shows the two unlock options — upgrade to a recurring subscription, or Connect with OpenRouter. This applies to chat (text) models; image and video generation do not use your OpenRouter key. See AppSumo Plan Tiers.

Lower-cost chat models are the exception: new chat (text) models priced in the Basic or Pro tier — up to $3 per million input tokens — stay in the AppSumo catalog even after the cutoff, whichever provider makes them. You do not need an OpenRouter key to use them; they run on your AppSumo allowances. Only Ultimate-tier chat models released after the cutoff need Connect with OpenRouter or a recurring subscription. Image and video models are not part of this exception.

Disconnect OpenRouter

Select Disconnect OpenRouter to remove the stored key from Writingmate. Supported requests go back to your Writingmate plan, and for AppSumo licenses the post-cutoff chat models lock again. Disconnecting does not delete the key on OpenRouter's side; use Manage key on OpenRouter (shown while connected) to revoke it there as well. If you pasted a key manually, you can also clear the OpenRouter API Key field and select Save API Keys. The field uses masked input, but the saved value is loaded back into your settings when you reopen the page. Treat the account and browser session as sensitive.

Create a Writingmate Developer Key

Use a Developer Key when an external SDK, command-line tool, coding assistant, automation, or MCP host needs to call Writingmate.

  1. Under Writingmate Developer Keys, enter a descriptive key name, such as Local CLI or Laptop MCP.
  2. Select Create Developer Key.
  3. When Copy this key now appears, select Copy Key and save the key in a password manager or secret store.
  4. Configure the external tool with the Developer Key and the required Writingmate endpoint. See OpenAI-Compatible API or MCP Integration for client-specific steps.

The full Developer Key is shown only once. Writingmate stores a one-way hash for later authentication, so the full value cannot be displayed again. If you lose it, create a replacement and revoke the old key.

The key list shows each key's name, Active or Revoked status, creation time, and last-used time. Developer Keys use your Writingmate account and current workspace allowances; they do not charge an OpenRouter account unless you have also saved an OpenRouter BYOK key and the request supports that route.

Developer Key access is currently an alpha, fair-use feature. The page may temporarily disable API requests and new key creation. When that happens, existing keys remain listed and can still be revoked.

Revoke a Developer Key

  1. Find the key under Writingmate Developer Keys.
  2. Select Revoke.

Revocation makes the key inactive immediately. The revoked key remains in the list with its metadata; the current page does not provide a permanent-delete or rotate action. To rotate a key, create a new one, update your external tools, verify the new key, and then revoke the old one.

Protect your credentials

  • Never put either key in public code, screenshots, chat messages, shared documents, or support requests.
  • Store Developer Keys in environment variables, a password manager, or a dedicated secret manager.
  • Do not paste an OpenRouter key into an external client's Writingmate Developer Key field, or a Developer Key into the OpenRouter field.
  • Use a separate Developer Key for each device or integration so you can revoke one without interrupting the others.
  • Revoke a Developer Key immediately if it may have been exposed. Remove and replace an exposed OpenRouter key in both OpenRouter and Writingmate: select Disconnect OpenRouter, revoke the key on OpenRouter, then connect again.
  • Do not commit .env files or other files containing keys to source control.

For usage counting and limits, see Message Limits.