AI subscriptions and API keys: a practical guide

Start with the vocabulary

You do not always need an API key to write decks and study. You need it when asking the generation feature to use your own AI account.

1. Three accounts of cost, not one

An API lets software request work from an AI service. An API key is a secret credential authorizing that work on your account. It is different from your email login code, Quiz Notebook recovery key and chat password.

Chat subscriptions and API billing are separate even when you use the same email. You do not need to buy a paid chat subscription first to use an API. Check the API account’s own billing settings.

2. Choose your workflow

You can work manually in your existing AI chat app and review its output before importing a supported format. That workflow is separate from this API connection.

BYOK means bring your own key: you choose the model and manage the AI bill. This guide covers direct OpenAI and Anthropic connections. Gemini, NotebookLM, Azure and Bedrock credentials are not compatible with these fields.

Commissioning a deck uses our production service, with a suitability review, agreed scope, review and delivery. Do not send your personal key. Check the service page for the current availability of paid orders.

3. Before connecting

Prepare your API account, API billing, an accessible model ID and a short sample you have permission to send. For school or company accounts, obtain the organization’s permission to connect an external service.

The web app requires email login, a valid web pass and a registered, active device in account settings. A key alone does not unlock a feature that is not yet available.

Never enter a key on this guide page or send it through a support form or email. Use the password-style field in the official web app.

4. Create an OpenAI key

1. Sign in to the official OpenAI API Platform, rather than ChatGPT’s subscription settings.
2. Create or select a dedicated Quiz Notebook project in your organization, making usage tracking and revocation easier.
3. Check API Billing, payment details and credits. Review Auto-reload and turn it off if you do not want automatic credit purchases.
4. Open the project’s API Keys and create a new secret key. Give it a recognizable name and keep it in a secure password manager.
5. Grant only necessary permissions where possible. This connection needs permission to create Responses API requests; Read Only will not work. Do not use an admin key.
6. Copy the exact API model ID from official model documentation and check that your project can use it. A chat display name or subscription name is not a model ID.

If you lose the secret, create a replacement and revoke the old key. Billing, project permissions and model access must all be valid.

5. Create a Claude / Anthropic key

1. Sign in to the official Claude Console, separate from Claude Pro or Max subscription settings.
2. Select your organization and workspace, then prepare API billing. Review available recharge and spending controls.
3. Create a key for inference in API Keys. Use a single-workspace key here, not an admin key or credentials from another cloud platform.
4. Check its name, permissions and expiry, then store the secret securely. Keep track of the workspace whose usage you will monitor.
5. Find an available API model ID in official documentation. Select Anthropic as the provider in Quiz Notebook.

An existing paid Claude subscription does not replace Console API credits or API billing setup.

6. Connect in Quiz Notebook

1. Sign in to the official web app; confirm your pass and active device in account settings.
2. Choose a deck. For your first test, use one or two short questions and answers you wrote yourself.
3. Expand the section labelled ‘내 API로 AI 후보 만들기’ (Create AI candidates with my API) below the selected deck. It is not inside account settings.
4. Select OpenAI or Anthropic, enter the exact model ID and paste the key in ‘본인 API 키’ (Your API key). Remove surrounding spaces and line breaks.
5. Read and accept the transfer and separate billing notice. The selected deck’s question and answer text is sent, not automatically read images or attachments.
6. Press ‘별도 후보 덱 만들기’ (Create a separate candidate deck) once and wait. Entering a key alone does not make an AI request.
7. Review the separate candidate deck against the source for accuracy, explanations and rights. It is not merged into the original deck or reviewed through the commissioned-production service.
8. Check Usage and Billing with your provider before increasing the amount of material.

7. Where your key and material go

The route is your browser → Quiz Notebook server → selected AI provider → your browser. The server temporarily handles the key in memory; this is not a browser-to-provider-only connection.

The current implementation does not persist the API key in the account database or browser storage, or intentionally log request bodies. Reloading or signing out clears the on-screen key. This does not guarantee zero retention by the AI provider; its policies also apply.

Encrypted private sync is separate from sending readable text to AI. Remove unnecessary names, contact details and student records. Check permission to use and transmit the material before requesting generation.

8. Control costs

Costs depend on the model, input and output tokens and number of calls. Tokens are not the same as characters. Longer sources, longer answers and repeated requests can cost more.

Estimate input tokens × input rate plus output tokens × output rate, using the pricing page’s units. Check model-specific caching or reasoning charges, tax and currency conversion. Your web pass is a separate cost.

OpenAI spend alerts do not stop traffic. Check Limits for ‘Enforce a hard limit’ and save the intended setting. Enforcement can be delayed, allowing a small overrun. Auto-reload limits control credit purchases, not API spending itself.

For Claude, check organization/workspace usage and billing controls in Console. Start small and review alerts, limits and automatic recharges separately.

9. Disconnect, replace or cancel

1. Select ‘입력한 API 키 지우기’ (Clear entered API key) to clear the on-screen key and consent. This does not cancel a request already running.
2. To prevent future use elsewhere, revoke or delete the key in your provider’s API Keys settings. Clearing a field does not revoke it.
3. Use a newly created key when reconnecting. If a key may have leaked, revoke it first and check Usage and Billing for unfamiliar activity.
4. Manage chat subscriptions, API automatic recharges and your Quiz Notebook pass separately. Cancelling one does not cancel the others.

For support, provide the time, provider, model ID and an error screenshot with secrets hidden. Never send the raw key.

10. Troubleshooting

Disabled button: check availability, login, pass, transfer consent and whether a request is running. A device error after submission means you should check registration and activation.

Key/model/permission error: check the selected provider, whitespace, expiry, revocation, project permissions and exact model ID. Paying for chat does not fund the API.

Quota or busy error: check credits, rate limits and spending limits. New credits may take time to appear; do not repeatedly buy more before diagnosing the error.

Timeout or invalid output: this web app does not retry automatically. The provider may have processed billable work. Check Usage before retrying with a shorter source.

Wrong content: a successful connection is not an accuracy check. Correct or discard unsupported candidate questions.

11. Sharing, rights and organizations

Do not share keys with friends or students: calls can be charged to the same account. Institutional deployments need separate account ownership, permissions and cost agreements. Do not attach keys or real student data to an inquiry.

We recommend personal study use of AI outputs. Check permission before sending copyrighted textbooks or notes to an external AI, publishing outputs or selling them. Private use does not automatically resolve copyright issues.

API keys authorize AI calls; email codes authenticate login; recovery keys unlock encrypted decks. They are not interchangeable.

12. Frequently asked questions

Does entering a key charge me? No request is sent merely by entering it. Generation may incur charges when the provider processes your request.

Will it match my chat subscription’s output? Models, prompts, settings and tools can differ. Chat search and attachment features are not automatically included.

Must I enter it again? Currently, yes after reload or sign-out: keys are not saved permanently. Staying logged in is separate from retaining a key.

Do installed tablet and desktop apps have this same menu? This guide covers the web app. Installed apps’ personal-AI workflows and release status may differ; check their version-specific manuals.