Get a Gemini API key

To use the Gemini API, you need an API key. You can create a key with a few clicks in Google AI Studio.

Get a Gemini API key in Google AI Studio

Set up your API key

For initial testing, you can hard code an API key, but this should only be temporary since it is not secure. The rest of this section goes through how to set up your API key locally as an environment variable with different operating systems.

Linux/macOS - Bash

Bash is a common Linux and macOS terminal configuration. You can check if you have a configuration file for it by running the following command:

~/.bashrc

If the response is "No such file or directory", you will need to create this file and open it by running the following commands, or use zsh:

touch ~/.bashrc
open ~/.bashrc

Next, you need to set you API key by adding the following export command:

export GEMINI_API_KEY=<YOUR_API_KEY_HERE>

After saving the file, apply the changes by running:

source ~/.bashrc

macOS - Zsh

Zsh is a common Linux and macOS terminal configuration. You can check if you have a configuration file for it by running the following command:

~/.zshrc

If the response is "No such file or directory", you will need to create this file and open it by running the following commands, or use bash:

touch ~/.zshrc
open ~/.zshrc

Next, you need to set you API key by adding the following export command:

export GEMINI_API_KEY=<YOUR_API_KEY_HERE>

After saving the file, apply the changes by running:

source ~/.zshrc

Windows

  1. Search for "Environment Variables" in the system settings
  2. Edit either "User variables" (for current user) or "System variables" (for all users - use with caution).
  3. Create the variable and add export GEMINI_API_KEY=your_key_here
  4. Apply the changes

Send your first Gemini API request

You can use a curl command to verify your setup:

  curl "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models/gemini-1.5-flash:generateContent?key=${GEMINI_API_KEY}" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -X POST \
    -d '{
      "contents": [{
        "parts":[{"text": "Write a story about a magic backpack."}]
        }]
       }'

Keep your API key secure

It's important to keep your Gemini API key secure. Here are a few things to keep in mind when using your Gemini API key:

  • The Google AI Gemini API uses API keys for authorization. If others get access to your Gemini API key, they can make calls using your project's quota, which could result in lost quota or additional charges for billed projects, in addition to accessing tuned models and files.

  • Adding API key restrictions can help limit the surface area usable through each API key.

  • You're responsible for keeping your Gemini API key secure.

    • Do NOT check Gemini API keys into source control.
    • Client-side applications (Android, Swift, web, and Dart/Flutter) risk exposing API keys. We don't recommend using the Google AI client SDKs in production apps to call the Google AI Gemini API directly from your mobile and web apps.

For some general best practices, you can also review this support article.