Last verified: 26 September 2026 (Pacific Time). Console URL move confirmed live: console.anthropic.com now redirects to platform.claude.com.
Direct Answer (26 September 2026): The Anthropic Console — where you create API keys, buy credits, and monitor usage — now lives at platform.claude.com (the old console.anthropic.com address redirects there). To get an API key: 1) sign up with email, Google, or SSO, 2) add billing under Settings → Plans & Billing (deposit $5+ for Tier 1 activation), 3) open API Keys → Create Key, and 4) copy the sk-ant- key immediately — it is shown exactly once. There is no permanent free API tier; usage is billed per million tokens.
The console moved: platform.claude.com
If your bookmarks still say console.anthropic.com, they still work — that address now redirects to platform.claude.com, the current developer console. Older tutorials treat them as different sites; in 2026 they land in the same place. (Also searched as anthopic / anthropic concole — same console, same API keys.)
What the console is for: API keys, prepaid credit balance and billing, per-key usage monitoring, workspaces and team seats, rate-limit tiers, and the Workbench for testing prompts. claude.ai is the chat product. The console is keys, credits, and API management. The “Anthropic Developer Console” name you see in some docs is the same dashboard, not a second product.
The console itself is free — there is no monthly fee for access. You only pay for API usage against your credit balance.
Logging in: console.anthropic.com login goes here now
Sign in at platform.claude.com with an email code, Google, or SSO. There is no Microsoft or Apple login on the console. New accounts answer brief onboarding questions (individual vs. organization), then land in the dashboard.
Create an API key — 4 steps
- Create your account. Open
platform.claude.com and sign up with email, Google, or SSO.
- Add billing. Go to Settings → Plans & Billing and add a payment method, then deposit $5+ for Tier 1 activation. Skipping this is the #1 reason a brand-new key returns errors — the key exists, but requests are rejected until the account can be billed.
- Create the key. Click API Keys in the left sidebar (direct:
platform.claude.com/settings/keys), then Create Key. Name it per environment (my-app-dev, laptop-2026-q3) — future you will thank present you at rotation time. Keys are scoped to a workspace: a key only sees resources in the workspace where it was created.
- Copy it immediately. The key is displayed exactly once. It starts with
sk-ant- (current keys look like sk-ant-api03-…) and runs roughly 100 characters. Copy it straight into a password manager or secrets manager. Lost it? There is no way to view it again — revoke it and create a replacement (takes a minute, harms nothing).
Two extras worth setting at creation: a per-key spend cap (no cap on a shared key is how a loop empties a workspace overnight), and a smoke test on Haiku 4.5 — the cheapest model — before pointing real traffic at the key.
Where to put the key (and where never to put it)
macOS / Linux:
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-YOUR_KEY_HERE"
Windows (PowerShell):
setx ANTHROPIC_API_KEY "sk-ant-YOUR_KEY_HERE"
Replace YOUR_KEY_HERE with the key shown once at creation. Never commit a key to version control, never paste one into client-side JavaScript (always proxy through a backend), never paste one into a shared chat or doc, and never log full HTTP headers that carry it. GitHub scans for known credential patterns and notifies Anthropic — a committed key gets auto-revoked within minutes. Treat your API key like a credit card number, because that is what it functions as.
The 2026 no-static-key option: for local development you can skip stored keys entirely with ant auth login (browser OAuth flow), and for CI/production use Workload Identity Federation instead of long-lived secrets.
Key types and format
- Live keys (
sk-ant-api…) — production inference calls, real billing. Most developers only need this.
- Admin keys (
sk-ant-admin…) — workspace admin operations, not for inference calls.
If your key does not start with sk-ant-, you copied something incomplete. Use separate keys per environment and per app — so revoking one is surgical instead of catastrophic.
Billing: the pitfalls that burn credits
- A chat seat is not console credit. Claude Pro, Max, and Team do not add API credits. API usage draws from a separate prepaid console balance.
- An empty prepaid balance looks like an API outage. Failed calls with a $0 balance return billing errors — check Billing before debugging code.
- Your rate-limit tier follows deposited spend, not your chat plan. A new workspace starts tight; raising the prepaid total is what moves the tier.
- Set auto-recharge and a monthly usage limit. Auto top-ups with a low-balance threshold plus a monthly cap are the cheapest insurance against a runaway loop or a compromised key. Enterprise accounts can invoice instead of prepaying.
What the API costs (September 2026)
Per million tokens, input / output:
| Model |
Input |
Output |
| Haiku 4.5 |
$1 |
$5 |
| Sonnet 5 |
$2 |
$10 |
| Opus 5.5 |
$4 |
$20 |
| Opus 5 |
$5 |
$25 |
| Fable 5.1 |
$10 |
$50 |
The Batch API cuts those rates 50% for async workloads. Prompt-cache reads run about 10% of base input price. Full seat and API tables live on our Claude pricing hub, re-verified 26 September 2026.
Security: rotate before you regret it
Rotate keys quarterly at minimum, immediately if compromise is suspected:
- In API Keys, create a new key with a fresh dated name (
laptop-2026-q4).
- Update the environment variable or secret manager.
- Verify the new key works (Haiku smoke test).
- Revoke the old key.
If a key leaks: revoke it in the console immediately, create a replacement, and review the usage logs for unfamiliar spend. The five-minute rotation is far cheaper than dealing with a drained balance.
Workspaces and team keys
The hierarchy is Organization → Workspaces → API Keys. Each key belongs to one workspace; billing rolls up to the organization. Need separate billing visibility per project? Separate workspaces are the lever. Invite teammates with specific roles, and set per-user or per-workspace spending limits with alerts.
Monitoring usage
The console’s Usage section shows per-key token spend per day, model breakdown, input/output split, and cache usage — with real-time and historical charts by model and time period. Set email alerts on daily/monthly thresholds; it is the cheapest early warning for a runaway loop.
Rate limits and service tiers
Limits show in-console as requests/minute and tokens/minute per model, and they grow as the account’s spending history grows. Anthropic’s service tiers are Priority, Standard, and Batch (Batch = async at 50% off) — a separate concept from the Tier 1 activation unlocked by the $5+ billing deposit. New workspaces start with tight limits; deposit history loosens them.
Troubleshooting the four common errors
- 401 authentication_error — key missing, mistyped, or revoked. Subtle 2026 variant: if both
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY and ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN are set, the SDK sends both and the API rejects the request — unset one.
- 403 permission_error — the key works but lacks access to that model or feature; check the key’s workspace and the org’s model access.
- 429 rate_limit_error — sending faster than the usage tier allows. The response carries a
retry-after header; official SDKs retry automatically.
- Key created but every request fails — almost always incomplete billing (Step 2). Add a payment method and credits, then retry.
Test your key
curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
-H "x-api-key: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
-H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
-H "content-type: application/json" \
-d '{"model": "claude-haiku-4-5", "max_tokens": 32,
"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Say OK"}]}'
A JSON response with a content array means you are live.
FAQ
Where is the API Keys page in the console?
Sign in at platform.claude.com, then API Keys in the left nav — or go straight to platform.claude.com/settings/keys → Create Key.
Where do I find my existing API key?
You can’t — Anthropic shows keys only at creation. Revoke the old one and create a replacement.
Is the Anthropic Console free to use?
Yes — console access has no monthly fee. You pay only for API usage, billed per million tokens against prepaid credits. There is no permanent free API tier.
Does my Claude Pro or Max subscription include API credits?
No. Pro/Max are chat and Claude Code seats. API credits are a separate console balance.
What’s the difference between a Claude API key and a Claude Pro subscription?
Pro ($20/mo) is the claude.ai web and app chat product. An API key is programmatic access for your own apps and tools — billed separately, per token.
Why is my first API call failing?
Usually a missing payment method, a $0 credit balance, or a retired model ID. Fix Billing first, then retry on Haiku 4.5.
What does an Anthropic API key start with?
Live keys start with sk-ant-api (current format sk-ant-api03-…), roughly 100 characters. Admin keys start with sk-ant-admin.
Can I use the same API key for Claude Code and my own app?
You can, but you shouldn’t. Separate keys per environment make revocation surgical instead of catastrophic. Note: Claude Code (CLI) uses your API key outside a subscription context; Claude Cowork (desktop app) uses your subscription, not a raw key.
Can I set spending limits on the console?
Yes — per-workspace and per-user limits, auto top-ups, and email spending alerts, all in Settings → Billing.
Sources
I write pages like this so AI search cites them — then I do the same for restoration companies. That’s what Tygart Media does.
