OpenAI
Connect OpenAI to use its models for text, images and audio, and manage your files, vector stores, batches, agents and spending.
You paste one value into PopMCP: an OpenAI API key, which starts with sk-. An Admin key, for usage, costs and organization work, is optional.
- Setup time
- 1 min
- Auth
- API credentials
- API base URL
- https://api.openai.com/v1
- Rate limits
- OpenAI limits requests and tokens per minute and per day, and images per minute, by model and by your organization's usage tier. Over a limit it answers 429, and the answer says whether waiting will help. Your limits are on the Limits page of the API dashboard.
Before you begin
- An account on the OpenAI API platform at platform.openai.com. It is separate from a ChatGPT plan, and a ChatGPT plan does not pay for API use
- API credit, if your AI will generate anything. You add it in the billing settings of the API dashboard. Connecting and listing models cost nothing
- For the optional Admin key: the Owner role in your OpenAI organization
Get your credentials
Open API keys in OpenAI
Sign in at platform.openai.com/api-keys, with the same login you use for ChatGPT if you have one. Check that the project shown at the top of the page is the one your AI should work in, because a key reaches one project's files, batches and vector stores.
Create a secret key and copy it
Choose Create new secret key. Name it PopMCP, pick the project, and leave Permissions on All so that read and write tools both work. Choose Read only instead if your AI should never change anything. Copy the key straight away: OpenAI shows it only once.
Create new secret key
Secret keys let your apps call the OpenAI API.
This view is a simplified sketch: the labels on your page may differ slightly.
Paste the key into PopMCP
In PopMCP, paste the key into API key and connect. PopMCP checks it by listing the models it can use, which costs nothing. New connections start read-only, so your AI can list models and read files but cannot generate anything or spend credit until an owner or admin allows write actions.
Optional: add an Admin key for usage and costs
Usage, costs, projects, members and audit logs only answer to a separate Admin key, which starts with sk-admin-. If you are an organization owner, make one at platform.openai.com/settings/organization/admin-keys and paste it into Admin key under More options. Leave it out if you only want to use models and files.
Connect in PopMCP
Open your workspace, choose OpenAI in the marketplace, and fill in the connect dialog:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| API keysecret | In the OpenAI API dashboard open API keys and create a secret key. It is shown only once. Stored encrypted and used only on our servers.Encrypted with AES-256-GCM on save and never shown again. |
| Admin keysecret | Only for usage, costs, projects, members and audit logs. An organization owner makes it under Organization settings, Admin keys.Encrypted with AES-256-GCM on save and never shown again. |
| Organization IDtext | Leave blank unless your key belongs to several organizations. It is on the General page of your organization settings. |
| Project IDtext | Leave blank for a project key, which already names its project. Only useful with an older user key. |
| Data regiontext | Leave blank unless your project uses data residency. Then enter its region code: us, eu, ae, au, ca, jp, in, sg, kr, gb. |
PopMCP verifies the credential against OpenAI immediately. On success the connection flips to Verified and its MCP tools are provisioned.
Verify it worked
PopMCP marks the OpenAI connection Verified and labels it with the last four characters of your key, because no OpenAI route says who a key belongs to. Asking the AI to list the models your key can use returns real results at no cost.
Troubleshooting
"OpenAI did not accept this API key..."
Why: The key was copied incompletely, has been deleted, or does not match an Organization ID or Project ID you set.
Fix: Make a new key at platform.openai.com/api-keys and copy it right away. Leave the fields under More options blank unless you need them.
"That is not an OpenAI secret key..."
Why: An organization ID, project ID, webhook secret or another company's key was pasted.
Fix: Paste a secret key from platform.openai.com/api-keys. It starts with sk-.
"This call needs a normal OpenAI API key..."
Why: The connection only has an Admin key, which works for organization routes alone.
Fix: Make a normal key at platform.openai.com/api-keys and connect OpenAI again with both.
"This call needs an OpenAI Admin key..."
Why: Usage, costs, projects, members and audit logs only answer to an Admin key, and this connection has none.
Fix: Have an organization owner make one at platform.openai.com/settings/organization/admin-keys, then add it under More options.
The AI says it has no API credit
Why: OpenAI answered 429 because the organization has no credit left. This is not a rate limit, so waiting will not help. A ChatGPT plan does not pay for API use.
Fix: Add credit in the billing settings of the API dashboard. It can take a few minutes to show.
The AI says a spend limit was reached
Why: A limit set on the organization or project has been reached.
Fix: An owner can raise it in the OpenAI limits or billing settings.
The AI says it cannot generate anything
Why: The connection is read-only, which is how every new connection starts. Generating spends credit, so it counts as a write.
Fix: Have an owner or admin allow write actions on the connection in PopMCP.
The key lacks a permission, or a model is refused
Why: The key is Restricted or Read only, or the project does not allow that model.
Fix: Change the key's permissions at platform.openai.com/api-keys, and ask the AI to list the models the key can use.
Your project uses data residency and calls are refused
Why: OpenAI asks such projects to call a host for their region.
Fix: Connect OpenAI again and enter the region code, like eu, in Data region under More options.
Generated audio does not play in the chat
Why: Chat clients show images from a tool but do not play audio.
Fix: A short clip comes back as base64. A longer one is saved to your OpenAI files for seven days, and the AI gives you its file id.