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This guide walks you through creating an API key and making your first Chat Completions request.

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Prerequisites

  • A Cline account at app.cline.bot
  • curl or any HTTP client (Python, Node.js, etc.)

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Create an API Key

1

Sign in to app.cline.bot

Go to app.cline.bot and sign in with your account.
2

Navigate to API Keys

Open Settings and select API Keys.
3

Create a new key

Click Create API Key. Copy the key immediately. You will not be able to see it again after leaving this page.
Treat your API key like a password. Do not commit it to version control or share it publicly.

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Make Your First Request

Replace YOUR_API_KEY with the key you just created: 
curl -X POST https://api.cline.bot/api/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "messages": [
      {"role": "user", "content": "What is the capital of France?"}
    ],
    "stream": false
  }'

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Verify the Response

You should get a JSON response like this: 
{
  "id": "gen-abc123",
  "model": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
  "choices": [
    {
      "message": {
        "role": "assistant",
        "content": "The capital of France is Paris."
      },
      "finish_reason": "stop",
      "index": 0
    }
  ],
  "usage": {
    "prompt_tokens": 14,
    "completion_tokens": 8
  }
}
The choices[0].message.content field contains the model’s reply. The usage field shows how many tokens were consumed.

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Try Streaming

For real-time output, set stream: true. The response arrives as Server-Sent Events: 
curl -X POST https://api.cline.bot/api/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "messages": [
      {"role": "user", "content": "Write a haiku about programming."}
    ],
    "stream": true
  }'
Each chunk arrives as a data: line. The stream ends with data: [DONE].

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Try a Free Model

To test without spending credits, use one of the free models: 
curl -X POST https://api.cline.bot/api/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "minimax/minimax-m2.5",
    "messages": [
      {"role": "user", "content": "Hello! What can you help me with?"}
    ],
    "stream": false
  }'

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Troubleshooting

ProblemSolution
401 UnauthorizedCheck that your API key is correct and included in the Authorization header
402 Payment RequiredYour account has insufficient credits. Add credits at app.cline.bot
Empty responseMake sure messages is a non-empty array with at least one user message
Connection timeoutVerify your network can reach api.cline.bot. Check proxy settings if on a corporate network

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Next Steps

Authentication

Learn about API keys, token scoping, and security practices.

Chat Completions

Full endpoint reference with all parameters and options.

Models

Browse available models and find the right one for your use case.

SDK Examples

Use the API from Python, Node.js, or the Cline CLI.