Alibaba Cloud Model Studio:Get an API key

Get an API key

1. Go to the Alibaba Cloud Model Studio console, select your target region in the upper-right corner. Go to the API key page and click Create API Key.

2. In the pop-up window, configure the following settings and click OK:

   • Owner Account: Select the Alibaba Cloud account (digit-only ID in the Account column).

   • Workspace: Select the default workspace.

3. Click the icon next to the API key to copy it.

   Root accounts can view all API keys. RAM users can only view keys they created.

   

Use API keys

• Method 1: Call models in third-party tools.

  If you use a tool such as Chatbox to call a model, you typically need:

  • The API key from this topic

  • The base URL for the region where the API key was created:

    • Singapore: https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1

    • US (Virginia): https://dashscope-us.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1

    • China (Beijing): https://dashscope.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1

    • China (Hong Kong): https://cn-hongkong.dashscope.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1

    • Germany (Frankfurt): https://{WorkspaceId}.eu-central-1.maas.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1. Replace {WorkspaceId} with your actual Workspace ID.

  • The model name, such as qwen-plus

  Set up developer tools: Chatbox, Cline, Claude Code, Dify, OpenClaw (formerly Clawdbot/Moltbot), Postman, Qwen Code.

• Method 2: Call models in code

  Call the Qwen API in code. Set the API key as an environment variable to avoid hardcoding it in source code.

Never share your API key publicly. Unauthorized use can cause security breaches or financial loss.

API key permissions

An API key’s permissions are determined by its workspace. All API keys in the same workspace share identical permissions. You do not need separate keys for different model types (such as text-to-text, text-to-image, speech synthesis).

• Default workspace API key: You can use this API key to call all standard models and applications in the default workspace.

• Sub-workspace keys: can call standard models that the sub-workspace has been granted access to, and applications within that sub-workspace.

API key validity

API keys remain valid permanently unless deleted manually.

To grant temporary access to third-party applications or users, or to control high-risk operations such as accessing or deleting sensitive data, generate a temporary API key (valid for 60 seconds). This avoids exposing long-term API keys and reduces leak risk.

FAQ