# Quickstart

> Implementation reference · 2026-10-26 · Configure a deployment before sending traffic.

The application uses server-side authentication, balances and requests. `https://xxxrouter.com` is the official service domain; for local testing, replace it with your deployment origin. The service has not yet been deployed and integration certification is not complete. Same-origin `/v1` is supported through the gateway. Models start disabled; operators must configure credentials, certify routes and set prices before enabling them. This reference is not evidence of deployment or completed integration testing.

1. Sign in to the console and review your USD balance.
2. Create an API key. Copy it once and store it in your server's secret manager.
3. Review the model's response mode and effective price.
4. Call the API from your backend. Track the returned request ID in Usage & Logs.

```sh
export XXXROUTER_API_KEY='YOUR_SERVER_SIDE_KEY'
curl https://xxxrouter.com/v1/models \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $XXXROUTER_API_KEY"
```

```sh
curl https://xxxrouter.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $XXXROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Idempotency-Key: sample-chat-request-001' \
  -d '{"model":"deepseek-v4-flash","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"Hello"}],"max_tokens":256,"stream":false}'
```

Chat follows an OpenAI-style contract. Image APIs support both direct results and task responses; they are not universally drop-in OpenAI Images replacements. The console Playground uses the same prices and accounting policy as external API calls, through the signed-in session, attributed separately from API keys.

Continue: [authentication](/docs?page=auth&lang=en), [model capabilities](/docs?page=models&lang=en), [images](/docs?page=images&lang=en), [errors](/docs?page=errors&lang=en). Machine interfaces: [OpenAPI](/openapi.json), [llms.txt](/llms.txt), [full text](/llms-full.txt).