How to get an Anthropic API Key

(as of April 2026)

Step 1

Make a Claude Developer account at https://platform.claude.com/. (You can just use your Google account)

Step 2

Once you're in the Console, click your name in the bottom left corner, then "Organization settings", then "Billing". You should land here: https://platform.claude.com/settings/billing.

Step 3

Follow the directions on the page to purchase $5 of credits. (This will be enough to last you a long, long time)

Step 4

Staying in Organization settings, click "API keys" to navigate here: https://platform.claude.com/settings/keys. Click "Create key", give it a name, and copy the text to a document for safekeeping.

You're ready to go!

Important note: your API key acts as a password to the $5 in credits you purchased. Accordingly, don't share it with others. If you accidentally do, don't worry - just head back to the place in the Console where you created the API key (https://platform.claude.com/settings/keys), delete it, and create a new one.