Your OpenAI API Key

Why your own key

WhisperWizard has no server of its own. Your audio goes from your Mac to your OpenAI account, the text comes back, and that is the whole trip. Bringing your own key is what makes that possible: OpenAI bills your usage directly, at their pay-as-you-go API rates, and you can cap it.

• Transcription uses OpenAI's Whisper model. The language is detected automatically, so you can speak in the language you think in.
• Templates send the transcript, wrapped in your prompt, to OpenAI's chat models. Plain dictation skips this step.

Create a key

1. 1Sign in at platform.openai.com with your OpenAI account, or create one.
2. 2Add a payment method under Billing in your OpenAI billing settings. Keys without billing are refused by the API.
3. 3Open the API keys page and choose Create new secret key.
4. 4Name it "WhisperWizard" so you can recognise and revoke it later.
5. 5Copy the key. It starts with sk- and OpenAI shows it only once.

Paste it into WhisperWizard

During onboarding the key field comes right after the license. Later, open the menu-bar icon, choose Settings, and find OpenAI settings ("Update your OpenAI API Key. You need one to use WhisperWizard.").

When you save, the app makes one tiny test request to check the key works. You will see one of these:

• Saved. You are ready to record.
• "OpenAI API Key is not valid." OpenAI rejected the key. Check billing first, then that you copied the whole key.
• "OpenAI API Key does not appear to be valid." OpenAI answered, but not with text. Try again in a minute; if it persists, create a fresh key.

Cap what you spend

You stay in control of the bill. Set a monthly budget in your OpenAI account under Limits in your OpenAI billing settings. If you reach it, requests stop until you raise it, and WhisperWizard shows an error instead of charging more.

What it costs

There is no WhisperWizard subscription. Your license is a one-time purchase, and OpenAI bills your API usage directly to your OpenAI account. Transcription is priced per minute of audio and template runs per token, both on OpenAI's pricing page. Short dictations cost a fraction of a cent each; check that page for today's numbers, and your usage page for your real ones.

Keeping the key safe

• The key is stored only on your Mac, in WhisperWizard's local settings. It is sent to OpenAI and nowhere else.
• Use a key dedicated to WhisperWizard, so you can revoke it without breaking anything else.
• If you think it leaked, revoke it on the API keys page and paste a new one into Settings.

Still getting an error?

If you still have an error, please send us an email: [email protected]. A human reads every message. Troubleshooting covers the other common causes.