Quickstart

Four steps from zero to a live completion.

1. Create an account

Sign in with Google, X, or email from the login page. New accounts receive $5 in credits.

2. Mint an API key

Open Console → API keys and create a key. Copy it once — Vela stores only a hash.

3. Export the key

export VELA_API_KEY="vela-..."

4. Make a request

curl https://www.velacompute.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VELA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "vela-4",
    "messages": [{"role":"user","content":"Write a haiku about APIs"}]
  }'

Or keep the OpenAI SDK and change the base URL to https://www.velacompute.com/v1. Same key unlocks image and video:

# Image
curl https://www.velacompute.com/v1/images/generations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VELA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model":"vela-imagine","prompt":"A silver sail over a black ocean"}'

# Video (4K 60 fps)
curl https://www.velacompute.com/v1/videos/generations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VELA_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model":"vela-video","prompt":"A person walking on a beach at sunset"}'

Give that key to any application. They set base_url to this origin and bill against your Vela ledger.