Activate Studio and generate an API key

Set up your Studio›Studio ↗ account and create an API key you can use to call Mistral models.

• Free mode: API access is enabled by default with no credit card required. Usage and rate limits apply.
• Secure key management: set expiration dates and rotate keys regularly

By the end you will have a working API key ready to use in your first request.

Time to complete: ~5 minutes

• A Mistral account ↗.

1. Open the Studio›Studio console ↗.
2. Navigate to API Keys in the left sidebar.
3. Click Create new key.

4. Add a Name to identify the key (for example, "First test key").
5. Set an Expiration date. Regular rotation improves security.

6. Click Create new key.
7. Copy the key immediately and store it in a secure location (password manager or secrets vault).

You have completed the setup:

1. You are in Free mode with limited usage and rate limits.
2. You have an API key stored securely.

Test the key with a quick curl request:

curl https://api.mistral.ai/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MISTRAL_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "mistral-small-latest",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello, Mistral!"}]
  }'

curl https://api.mistral.ai/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MISTRAL_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "mistral-small-latest",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello, Mistral!"}]
  }'

A successful response confirms your key is working.