Bring your own API keys
Connect your own provider accounts so the steps they cover cost no credits and you pay the provider directly.
AutoTube normally runs every generation on its own provider accounts and bills you in credits. Bring your own key and a step that your key covers costs zero credits — the provider charges you instead. This is what the Own Keys plan is for; see Plans & billing.
Where keys go
Open Account & Settings from the account menu and select the API Keys tab. Each provider has a row.
| Provider | What your key covers |
|---|---|
| Google AI | Nano Banana image models and Gemini image-prompt generation |
| OpenAI | Script generation on GPT models |
| Anthropic | Script generation on Claude models |
| xAI | Grok outline and script generation, Grok Imagine images and image prompts |
| Replicate | Replicate image and video generations, plus Qwen3 and Chatterbox voiceover |
| ElevenLabs | The ElevenLabs voiceover provider |
Click + Add key, paste the key and save. Keys are stored encrypted. Once a key is saved the row offers Change, Test — which calls the provider to check the key works — and Remove. There is no on/off switch: a saved key is used, a removed key is not.
Each row also links out to the page where that provider issues keys.
What still costs credits
Bringing your own keys changes who pays for a model call, not what the app does. Credits are still spent on:
- Any model you have not brought a key for, at the normal rate.
- Stock-footage picking, on every plan.
- Rendering past your plan's daily included render allowance, and skip-the-line rendering at any time.
A plan that is not Own Keys hides providers it does not entitle. If you already stored a key for one of those, the row stays visible, reads Not used on this plan, and offers only Remove.
Usage history
Below the keys, Recent usage lists the last generations that ran on your keys, each marked Succeeded or Failed. The link opens the full API key usage history.
The same log has its own page, API key usage. It lists every generation that ran on your own keys with the API, When, Model, Tokens, Status, Project, Media run and Error for each, filterable by provider and sortable by API, time or status. Use it to reconcile a provider's bill against what AutoTube actually ran.
For what credits themselves pay for, see Credits & usage.