> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.portkey.ai/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Portkey with Any OpenAI Compatible Project
> Learn how to integrate Portkey's enterprise features with any OpenAI Compliant project for enhanced observability, reliability and governance.
Portkey enhances any OpenAI API compliant project by adding enterprise-grade features like observability, reliability, rate limiting, access control, and budget management—all without requiring code changes.
It is a drop-in replacement for your existing OpenAI-compatible applications. This guide explains how to integrate Portkey with minimal changes to your project settings.
While OpenAI (or any other provider) provides an API for AI model access. Commercial usage often require additional features like:
* **Advanced Observability**: Real-time usage tracking for 40+ key metrics and logs for every request
* **Unified AI Gateway** - Single interface for 250+ LLMs with API key management
* **Governance** - Real-time spend tracking, set budget limits and RBAC in your AI systems
* **Security Guardrails** - PII detection, content filtering, and compliance controls
# 1. Getting Started with Portkey
Portkey allows you to use 250+ LLMs with your Project setup, with minimal configuration required. Let's set up the core components in Portkey that you'll need for integration.
Virtual Keys are Portkey's secure way to manage your LLM provider API keys. Think of them like disposable credit cards for your LLM API keys, providing essential controls like:
* Budget limits for API usage
* Rate limiting capabilities
* Secure API key storage
To create a virtual key:
Go to [Virtual Keys](https://app.portkey.ai/virtual-keys) in the Portkey App. Save and copy the virtual key ID
Save your virtual key ID - you'll need it for the next step.
Configs in Portkey are JSON objects that define how your requests are routed. They help with implementing features like advanced routing, fallbacks, and retries.
We need to create a default config to route our requests to the virtual key created in Step 1.
To create your config:
1. Go to [Configs](https://app.portkey.ai/configs) in Portkey dashboard
2. Create new config with:
```json theme={"system"}
{
"virtual_key": "YOUR_VIRTUAL_KEY_FROM_STEP1",
}
```
3. Save and note the Config name for the next step
This basic config connects to your virtual key. You can add more advanced portkey features later.
Now create Portkey API key access point and attach the config you created in Step 2:
1. Go to [API Keys](https://app.portkey.ai/api-keys) in Portkey and Create new API key
2. Select your config from `Step 2`
3. Generate and save your API key
Save your API key securely - you'll need it for Chat UI integration.
# 2. Integrating Portkey with Your Project
You can integrate Portkey with any OpenAI API-compatible project through a simple configuration change. This integration enables advanced monitoring, security features, and analytics for your LLM applications. Here's how you do it:
1. **Locate LLM Settings**
Navigate to your project's LLM settings page and find the OpenAI configuration section (usually labeled 'OpenAI-Compatible' or 'Generic OpenAI')."
2. **Configure Base URL**
Set the base URL to:
```
https://api.portkey.ai/v1
```
3. **Add API Key**
Enter your Portkey API key in the appropriate field. You can generate this key from your Portkey dashboard under API Keys section.
4. **Configure Model Settings**
If your integration allows direct model configuration, you can specify it in the LLM settings. Otherwise, create a configuration object:
```json theme={"system"}
{
"virtual_key": "",
"override_params": {
"model": "gpt-4o" // Specify your desired model
}
}
```
# 3. Set Up Enterprise Governance for your Project
**Why Enterprise Governance?**
When you are using any AI tool in an enterprise setting, you need to consider several governance aspects:
* **Cost Management**: Controlling and tracking AI spending across teams
* **Access Control**: Managing which teams can use specific models
* **Usage Analytics**: Understanding how AI is being used across the organization
* **Security & Compliance**: Maintaining enterprise security standards
* **Reliability**: Ensuring consistent service across all users
Portkey adds a comprehensive governance layer to address these enterprise needs. Let's implement these controls step by step.
### Enterprise Implementation Guide
### Step 1: Implement Budget Controls & Rate Limits
Virtual Keys enable granular control over LLM access at the team/department level. This helps you:
* Set up [budget limits](/product/ai-gateway/virtual-keys/budget-limits)
* Prevent unexpected usage spikes using Rate limits
* Track departmental spending
#### Setting Up Department-Specific Controls:
1. Navigate to [Virtual Keys](https://app.portkey.ai/virtual-keys) in Portkey dashboard
2. Create new Virtual Key for each department with budget limits and rate limits
3. Configure department-specific limits
### Step 2: Define Model Access Rules
As your Project scales, controlling which teams can access specific models becomes crucial. Portkey Configs provide this control layer with features like:
#### Access Control Features:
* **Model Restrictions**: Limit access to specific models
* **Data Protection**: Implement guardrails for sensitive data
* **Reliability Controls**: Add fallbacks and retry logic
#### Example Configuration:
Here's a basic configuration to route requests to OpenAI, specifically using GPT-4o:
```json theme={"system"}
{
"strategy": {
"mode": "single"
},
"targets": [
{
"virtual_key": "YOUR_OPENAI_VIRTUAL_KEY",
"override_params": {
"model": "gpt-4o"
}
}
]
}
```
Create your config on the [Configs page](https://app.portkey.ai/configs) in your Portkey dashboard. You'll need the config ID for connecting to your Project's setup.
Configs can be updated anytime to adjust controls without affecting running applications.
### Step 3: Implement Access Controls
Create User-specific API keys that automatically:
* Track usage per user/team with the help of virtual keys
* Apply appropriate configs to route requests
* Collect relevant metadata to filter logs
* Enforce access permissions
Create API keys through:
* [Portkey App](https://app.portkey.ai/)
* [API Key Management API](/api-reference/admin-api/control-plane/api-keys/create-api-key)
Example using Python SDK:
```python theme={"system"}
from portkey_ai import Portkey
portkey = Portkey(api_key="YOUR_ADMIN_API_KEY")
api_key = portkey.api_keys.create(
name="engineering-team",
type="organisation",
workspace_id="YOUR_WORKSPACE_ID",
defaults={
"config_id": "your-config-id",
"metadata": {
"environment": "production",
"department": "engineering"
}
},
scopes=["logs.view", "configs.read"]
)
```
For detailed key management instructions, see our [API Keys documentation](/api-reference/admin-api/control-plane/api-keys/create-api-key).
### Step 4: Deploy & Monitor
After distributing API keys to your team members, your enterprise-ready Project setup is ready to go. Each team member can now use their designated API keys with appropriate access levels and budget controls.
Apply your governance setup using the integration steps from earlier sections
Monitor usage in Portkey dashboard:
* Cost tracking by department
* Model usage patterns
* Request volumes
* Error rates
### Enterprise Features Now Available
**Your Project now has:**
* Departmental budget controls
* Model access governance
* Usage tracking & attribution
* Security guardrails
* Reliability features
# Portkey Features
Now that you have set up your enterprise-grade Project environment, let's explore the comprehensive features Portkey provides to ensure secure, efficient, and cost-effective AI operations.
### 1. Comprehensive Metrics
Using Portkey you can track 40+ key metrics including cost, token usage, response time, and performance across all your LLM providers in real time. You can also filter these metrics based on custom metadata that you can set in your configs. Learn more about metadata here.
### 2. Advanced Logs
Portkey's logging dashboard provides detailed logs for every request made to your LLMs. These logs include:
* Complete request and response tracking
* Metadata tags for filtering
* Cost attribution and much more...
### 3. Unified Access to 250+ LLMs
You can easily switch between 250+ LLMs. Call various LLMs such as Anthropic, Gemini, Mistral, Azure OpenAI, Google Vertex AI, AWS Bedrock, and many more by simply changing the `virtual key` in your default `config` object.
### 4. Advanced Metadata Tracking
Using Portkey, you can add custom metadata to your LLM requests for detailed tracking and analytics. Use metadata tags to filter logs, track usage, and attribute costs across departments and teams.
### 5. Enterprise Access Management
Set and manage spending limits across teams and departments. Control costs with granular budget limits and usage tracking.
Enterprise-grade SSO integration with support for SAML 2.0, Okta, Azure AD, and custom providers for secure authentication.
Hierarchical organization structure with workspaces, teams, and role-based access control for enterprise-scale deployments.
Comprehensive access control rules and detailed audit logging for security compliance and usage tracking.
### 6. Reliability Features
Automatically switch to backup targets if the primary target fails.
Route requests to different targets based on specified conditions.
Distribute requests across multiple targets based on defined weights.
Enable caching of responses to improve performance and reduce costs.
Automatic retry handling with exponential backoff for failed requests
Set and manage budget limits across teams and departments. Control costs with granular budget limits and usage tracking.
### 7. Advanced Guardrails
Protect your Project's data and enhance reliability with real-time checks on LLM inputs and outputs. Leverage guardrails to:
* Prevent sensitive data leaks
* Enforce compliance with organizational policies
* PII detection and masking
* Content filtering
* Custom security rules
* Data compliance checks
Implement real-time protection for your LLM interactions with automatic detection and filtering of sensitive content, PII, and custom security rules. Enable comprehensive data protection while maintaining compliance with organizational policies.
# FAQs
You can update your Virtual Key limits at any time from the Portkey dashboard:1. Go to Virtual Keys section2. Click on the Virtual Key you want to modify3. Update the budget or rate limits4. Save your changes
Yes! You can create multiple Virtual Keys (one for each provider) and attach them to a single config. This config can then be connected to your API key, allowing you to use multiple providers through a single API key.
Portkey provides several ways to track team costs:
* Create separate Virtual Keys for each team
* Use metadata tags in your configs
* Set up team-specific API keys
* Monitor usage in the analytics dashboard
When a team reaches their budget limit:
1. Further requests will be blocked
2. Team admins receive notifications
3. Usage statistics remain available in dashboard
4. Limits can be adjusted if needed
# Next Steps
**Join our Community**
* [Discord Community](https://portkey.sh/discord-report)
* [GitHub Repository](https://github.com/Portkey-AI)
For enterprise support and custom features, contact our [enterprise team](https://portkey.sh/chat-ui-docs).