> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://openlayer.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Set up the gateway

> Sign in to the admin portal, connect a provider, and issue your first API key

This guide is for the **operator** running the gateway. By the end you'll have a provider connected
and an API key you can hand to an app or a teammate.

<Info>
  You'll need the **admin portal URL** and an **admin key**. You get both when
  we set up your gateway. Don't have one yet? [Reach out to
  us](mailto:support@openlayer.com) and we'll get one running for your team.
</Info>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Sign in to the admin portal">
    Open `https://your-gateway.example.com/admin` and enter your admin key.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Connect a provider">
    Go to **Providers** under Settings and add one:

    * **Name**: a label you choose, such as `openai`.
    * **Base URL**: the provider's API root, such as `https://api.openai.com`.
    * **Format**: one of `openai`, `anthropic`, or `azure_openai`.
    * **API key**: the provider's secret. It's encrypted before it's stored, and the page shows only
      a hint of it afterwards.

    For every option, including Azure and its API version, see
    [Connect providers](/docs/gateway/connect-providers).

    Save your changes. The gateway picks up the new provider right away, with no restart.

    <img width="700" style={{ borderRadius: "0.5rem" }} src="https://mintcdn.com/openlayer-docs/a2_1CfDP3O8kf5P1/images/gateway/provider_config.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=a2_1CfDP3O8kf5P1&q=85&s=2dae03df249e936a524ed3648af4feb8" alt="Connecting a provider on the Providers page" data-path="images/gateway/provider_config.png" />
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create an API key">
    Go to **API keys** and create a key. You can give it a name, and attach a user or a group so you
    can track and govern it later.

    Copy the key when it appears. It's shown **only once** and starts with `sk-olga-`. Store it
    somewhere safe.

    <img width="700" style={{ borderRadius: "0.5rem" }} src="https://mintcdn.com/openlayer-docs/a2_1CfDP3O8kf5P1/images/gateway/api_key_create.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=a2_1CfDP3O8kf5P1&q=85&s=688f7a6447ee7fc6985c7fe4e8e8d241" alt="Creating an API key" data-path="images/gateway/api_key_create.png" />
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Hand it off

Give the developer two things:

* The **gateway base URL**, such as `https://your-gateway.example.com/v1`.
* The **API key** you just created.

That's everything they need to send traffic. Point them at
[Make your first request](/docs/gateway/make-your-first-request).

## Where configuration lives

Almost everything you administer lives in the portal and takes effect at runtime, with no redeploy:

| Portal page | What it holds |
| - | - |
| **Providers** | Upstreams and their API keys |
| **Observability** | Connected Openlayer workspaces and destinations |
| **API keys** | The keys your apps send |
| **Usage limits**, **Content guardrails**, **Routing rules**, **Model access** | The policies enforced on each request |

Only deployment-level settings are environment variables on the gateway host: the admin key, the
encryption key that protects stored secrets, and feature toggles. Those are set at deploy time, so
coordinate with us to change one.

<Note>
  Older deployments seeded providers, routing, and observability from a
  `config.yaml` file. That file is now a one-time import, read on first boot and
  ignored afterwards, and it will be removed. Edit these resources in the portal
  instead.
</Note>

## Next steps

Now that traffic can flow, decide what the gateway should enforce on it.

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Set usage limits" icon="wallet" href="/docs/gateway/budgets-and-limits">
    Cap spend, requests, or tokens per key, user, or group.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Add guardrails" icon="shield-alert" href="/docs/gateway/guardrails">
    Block or redact PII, stop prompt injection, and screen for unsafe content.
  </Card>
</Columns>


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