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Quickstart

This guide takes you from nothing to a working API request through your own Antseed gateway. The gateway gives you an OpenAI- and Anthropic-compatible API, API keys with budgets, and a web console at /console where you manage everything.

Pick where the gateway runs, then follow the common steps.

  • On your computer: quickest to try. Keys only work while your computer is on.
  • On a server: always on, reachable by your team over HTTPS.

You can start on your computer and move the gateway to a server later, keeping its keys, members and wallets.

On your computer​

On macOS or Linux (including WSL), one command installs the Antseed CLI, starts the gateway in the background and opens a one-time link to claim its console:

Terminal
curl -fsSL https://antseed.com/install.sh | bash

It needs Node.js 20 or later (on macOS with Homebrew it installs Node.js for you) and installs the CLI with npm, without sudo. When it finishes it prints the setup link, the console URL, the API base URL http://localhost:8379/v1, the log file (~/.antseed/gateway.log) and how to stop the gateway. Continue with Claim the console.

Or step by step​

  1. Install the Antseed CLI. See Install for requirements.

    Terminal
    npm install -g @antseed/cli

  2. Start the gateway. It also starts the buyer, the local process that pays providers.

    Terminal
    antseed gateway start
    Text
    API-key gateway listening on http://127.0.0.1:8379/v1
    0 active key(s). Manage them in the console or with `antseed gateway key …`.
    Console: http://localhost:8379/console
    The console has no owner yet. Get a one-time setup link with `antseed gateway console-link`.

  3. In another terminal, get the setup link:

    Terminal
    antseed gateway console-link
    Text
    Console setup link (single use, valid for 1 hour):
      http://localhost:8379/console/setup#…

Leave antseed gateway start running and continue with Claim the console.

On a server​

Run the installer on a Linux server with systemd. With --domain, it serves the gateway over HTTPS at that hostname:

Terminal
curl -fsSL https://antseed.com/install.sh | bash -s -- --domain gateway.example.com

On a Linux server with systemd, install.sh downloads and runs the server installer, install-gateway.sh, as root (through sudo, which may ask for your password), passing every option through. You can also run the server installer directly:

Terminal
curl -fsSL --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 https://antseed.com/install-gateway.sh | sudo bash -s -- --domain gateway.example.com

Run a gateway on a server explains every option, including Cloudflare Tunnel and running without a domain.

When it finishes, the installer prints a summary:

Text
Base URL:  https://gateway.example.com/v1
API key:   antseed_…
           (shown once; store it now)
Wallet:    0x…  (send USDC on Base to fund paid models)
Console:   https://gateway.example.com/console
Setup:     https://gateway.example.com/console/setup#…

The installer already created a first API key, labelled admin. Save it now: it is not shown again.

The setup link is printed only in an interactive terminal. If you see Setup: run on this server: antseed gateway console-link instead, run:

Terminal
sudo antseed gateway console-link

Without --domain, the gateway only listens on the server. Forward its port from your machine and open the link there:

Terminal
ssh -N -L 8379:127.0.0.1:8379 <user>@<server>

Claim the console​

  1. Open the setup link in your browser. The page says Set up your Antseed console.
  2. Click Create a passkey and confirm with your device's screen lock or a security key. You can choose Sign in with a wallet instead.

You are now the organization's owner. The link works once and expires after one hour; running antseed gateway console-link again gives you a new one. A short tour shows where everything is. Replay it from your account menu with Take the tour.

Passkeys work on localhost and on https:// hostnames, not on bare IP addresses. See Sign-in for other sign-in methods and for inviting your team.

Add funds​

Requests to paid providers are paid in USDC from the workspace's wallet. Providers marked Free work without funds, so you can skip this step to try a free model first.

  1. Open Wallet & Funding and click Add funds.
  2. Choose an amount ($5, $10, $25 or any amount).
  3. Pay one of two ways:
    • Deposit $10 by card (with the amount you chose): a card checkout by Crossmint opens inside the console. Card payments have per-payment limits and are not available in every region; see Funding.
    • Quick deposit: send USDC on Base to the workspace's address, shown with a QR code, from an exchange withdrawal or another wallet.

The balance updates by itself once the funds arrive. Funding covers every option, withdrawals and the authorized wallet.

Create an API key​

  1. Open Keys and click Create key.
  2. Enter a Name, for example My laptop. Budgets and an expiry date are optional; see Budgets and spend limits.
  3. Click Create key.
  4. Copy the secret (antseed_…). It is shown once.

Store it in an environment variable:

Terminal
export ANTSEED_API_KEY="antseed_…"

Pick a model​

  1. Open Models. It lists every model on the network with its number of providers and price range.
  2. Click a model, for example deepseek-v4-flash. A panel opens on the right.
  3. Under Providers, each provider has a copy button for its pinned model id, <peerId>@deepseek-v4-flash.
  4. Under API call, copy the ready-made request. Keep Best provider (automatic) to let the gateway choose, or click Pin next to a provider to send every request to it.

Models and providers explains automatic and pinned routing.

Send your first request​

Use the base URL shown in the console's top bar. For a local gateway it is http://localhost:8379/v1:

Terminal
curl http://localhost:8379/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANTSEED_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model":"<peerId>@deepseek-v4-flash","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"Hello"}]}'

Replace <peerId>@deepseek-v4-flash with the id you copied, or use deepseek-v4-flash alone for automatic routing.

See it in Logs​

Open Logs. Your request is at the top, with its model, provider, status and cost. Click it to see details such as latency and token counts. The cost can show as pending for a moment: the buyer reports the amount paid shortly after the response ends.

Next steps​

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