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🔑 How to Get OpenAI API Key
Set up your OpenAI API key for Velox in about 5-10 minutes.
⚠️ Note: Credit Card Required
- OpenAI requires a credit card to use their API
- Pay-as-you-go – You're charged based on usage
- Typical cost: $0.006 per minute of audio (Whisper)
- Example: 100 minutes of transcription = ~$0.60
Looking for a free option?
Try Groq instead (14,400 free requests/day, no credit card).
Open your browser and go to:
platform.openai.com/api-keys
You'll need to sign in or create an OpenAI account.
📸 Screenshot: OpenAI Platform API Keys page
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Before you can create an API key, you need to add a payment method:
- Go to Settings → Billing
- Click "Add payment method"
- Enter your credit card information
- (Optional) Set a usage limit to control costs
Recommended: Set a monthly usage limit (e.g., $10) to avoid unexpected charges.
📸 Screenshot: OpenAI Billing page
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Go back to the API Keys page and click "Create new secret key".
Give your key a name (e.g., "Velox") to help you remember what it's for.
📸 Screenshot: Create new secret key button
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Once created, your API key will be displayed. It starts with sk-...
Click the Copy button to copy it to your clipboard.
⚠️ Important: Save this key somewhere safe! OpenAI will only show it once. If you lose it, you'll need to create a new one.
📸 Screenshot: API Key displayed with copy button
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Now let's add this API key to Velox:
- Open Velox on your Mac
- Click the Velox icon in the menu bar
- Select "Settings"
- Go to the "Speech to Text" tab
- Select Provider: OpenAI
- Paste your API Key in the API Key field
- Base URL: https://api.openai.com/v1 (default)
- Model: whisper-1 (default)
- Click "Test Connection" to verify
📸 Screenshot: Velox Settings - STT configuration
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✅ You're All Set!
Now you can use Velox with OpenAI's industry-leading Whisper transcription!
Typical cost: 50-100 minutes/month = $0.30-0.60
Monitor usage: Check your OpenAI dashboard regularly
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💰 Understanding Costs
OpenAI Whisper API pricing (as of 2025):
- $0.006 per minute of audio transcribed
- Example: 1 hour of audio = $0.36
- Typical Velox usage: 50-100 minutes/month = $0.30-0.60
Tips to control costs:
- Set a monthly usage limit in OpenAI billing settings
- Monitor your usage in the OpenAI dashboard
- Consider using Groq's free tier if cost is a concern
Need Help?
If you run into any issues:
- Check that you copied the full API key (starts with sk-)
- Make sure billing is set up in your OpenAI account
- Verify you haven't exceeded your usage limit
- Try clicking "Test Connection" in Velox Settings
- Contact us: [email protected]