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Getting started

Last reviewed: about 1 year ago

In this guide, you will learn how to create and use your first AI Gateway.

Create a Gateway
  1. Log into the Cloudflare dashboard ↗ and select your account.
  2. Go to AI > AI Gateway.
  3. Select Create Gateway.
  4. Enter your Gateway name. Note: Gateway name has a 64 character limit.
  5. Select Create.

Authenticated gateway

When you enable authentication on gateway each request is required to include a valid cloudflare token, adding an extra layer of security. We recommend using an authenticated gateway when storing logs to prevent unauthorized access and protect against invalid requests that can inflate log storage usage and make it harder to find the data you need. Learn more.

Provider Authentication

Authenticate with your upstream provider using one of the following options:

  • BYOK (Store Keys): Store your credentials in Cloudflare, and AI Gateway will include them at runtime. Refer to BYOK.
  • Request headers: Include your provider key in the request headers as you normally would (for example, Authorization: Bearer <PROVIDER_API_KEY>).

Integration Options

Unified API (OpenAI-Compatible) Endpoint

recommended

The easiest way to get started with AI Gateway is through our OpenAI-compatible /chat/completions endpoint. This allows you to use existing OpenAI SDKs and tools with minimal code changes while gaining access to multiple AI providers.

https://gateway.ai.cloudflare.com/v1/{account_id}/{gateway_id}/compat/chat/completions

Key benefits:

  • Drop-in replacement for OpenAI API
  • Works with existing OpenAI SDKs and other OpenAI compliant clients
  • Switch between providers by changing the model parameter
  • Dynamic Routing - Define complex routing scenarios requiring conditional logic, conduct A/B tests, set rate / budget limits, etc

Example:

import OpenAI from "openai";


const client = new OpenAI({
  apiKey: "YOUR_PROVIDER_API_KEY",
  baseURL:
    "https://gateway.ai.cloudflare.com/v1/{account_id}/{gateway_id}/compat",
});


// Use different providers by changing the model parameter
const response = await client.chat.completions.create({
  model: "google-ai-studio/gemini-2.0-flash", // or "openai/gpt-4o", "anthropic/claude-3-haiku"
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Hello, world!" }],
});

Refer to Unified API to learn more about OpenAI compatibility.

Provider-specific endpoints

For direct integration with specific AI providers, use dedicated endpoints that maintain the original provider's API schema while adding AI Gateway features.

https://gateway.ai.cloudflare.com/v1/{account_id}/{gateway_id}/{provider}

Available providers:

Next steps