How Do I Get Started with the Upstage API and Make My First Request?

Updated

Sign up at console.upstage.ai, claim the $10 in free credit, create an API key, and send your first request to the OpenAI-compatible endpoint at https://api.upstage.ai/v1 using the example code shown in the console. This path works if you want to test Upstage's models before committing to paid usage; once the free credit is used up, you choose between pay-as-you-go billing and prepaid credits.

Step 1: Create an account and claim the free credit

Press the Log in button at the upper right of the console page to sign up. New accounts receive $10 in free credit, which is enough to run initial experiments with the chat, document parsing, extraction, and embedding capabilities.

Step 2: Generate an API key

Click Create new key in the console. Your keys are listed on the API keys page, so you can return there to view or manage them later. Treat the key like a password — it authenticates every request you send.

Step 3: Make your first API request

Pick a capability from the menu and use the ready-to-use code snippet provided for it. The console offers examples in Python, LangChain, LlamaIndex, cURL, and JavaScript. The chat example below uses the OpenAI SDK pointed at Upstage's base URL:

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key="UPSTAGE_API_KEY",
    base_url="https://api.upstage.ai/v1"
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="solar-pro4",
    messages=[
        {
            "role": "user",
            "content": "An $80 item gets a 20% discount, then 10% tax is added. What is the final price? Answer with only the dollar amount."
        }
    ],
    reasoning_effort="medium"
)

message = response.choices[0].message
reasoning = getattr(message, "reasoning", None)
if reasoning:
    print(reasoning)
print(message.content)

What each part does:

  • base_url routes the OpenAI SDK to Upstage instead of OpenAI, so existing OpenAI-style code needs only the key and URL swapped.
  • model="solar-pro4" selects the chat model.
  • reasoning_effort="medium" controls how much reasoning the model applies; the response may include a separate reasoning field alongside the final answer.

Expected result: the script prints the model's reasoning (if returned) and then the final answer — for this prompt, the dollar amount.

Common snags:

  • A 401 error usually means the API key is missing, mistyped, or not yet created.
  • If you're building AI agents, the console points to a machine-readable docs index at /llms.txt for programmatic access to the documentation.

Step 4: Choose the capability that fits your task

Upstage groups its offerings by workflow. Match the capability to what you're building rather than defaulting to chat:

Capability Use it for Where to try it
Chat Conversational tasks with a family of small, powerful LLMs Playground, Documentation
Document parsing Converting complex documents into LLM-readable formats Playground, Documentation
Information extraction Pulling key-values from target documents with high precision Studio, Documentation
Agent Building autonomous agents that complete complex tasks Studio, Documentation
Embeddings Vector representations for search and retrieval Documentation

If your goal is a document QA service or extracting key information from documents, the document-focused capabilities are the intended starting point. On data privacy, Upstage states that it does not store or reuse any data sent to its APIs; the terms page has the details.

Step 5: Decide how to pay after the free credit

Two billing options are available, and the right one depends on your usage pattern:

  • Pay-as-you-go — you pay after you use, with no need to buy credits. Upstage charges your registered payment method each month for your usage. Choose this if your volume is steady and you'd rather not manage a credit balance.
  • Prepaid credits — you pay before you use by buying credits in advance. Buying credits can also raise your rate limit, which matters if you're hitting throughput ceilings during testing or launch. Choose this if you expect bursts of traffic or want predictable spend.

You can add a payment method or buy credits from the billing pages in the console. Current prices are listed on the pricing page; check it before committing to either option.

Quick checklist

  1. Log in at console.upstage.ai and confirm the $10 credit.
  2. Create an API key and note where to find it again.
  3. Run the chat snippet with your key and base_url="https://api.upstage.ai/v1".
  4. Switch to the capability matching your use case and reuse its snippet.
  5. Pick pay-as-you-go or prepaid credits based on volume and rate-limit needs.