Quickstart
Your first request in a minute, with curl or the OpenAI SDK you may already use.
Get a key
Create an API key in the Vultr console and keep it in an environment variable, so it never lands in your code:
export VULTR_INFERENCE_API_KEY=...Every request goes to https://api.vultrinference.com/v1 with the key as a bearer token. Authentication has the details.
Send a request
curl https://api.vultrinference.com/v1/chat/completions \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $VULTR_INFERENCE_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"model": "deepseek-v4.1-flash",
"messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Write a haiku about the sea."}]
}'import os
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(base_url="https://api.vultrinference.com/v1", api_key=os.environ["VULTR_INFERENCE_API_KEY"])
reply = client.chat.completions.create(
model="deepseek-v4.1-flash",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Write a haiku about the sea."}],
)
print(reply.choices[0].message.content)import OpenAI from "openai";
const client = new OpenAI({ baseURL: "https://api.vultrinference.com/v1", apiKey: process.env.VULTR_INFERENCE_API_KEY });
const reply = await client.chat.completions.create({
model: "deepseek-v4.1-flash",
messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Write a haiku about the sea." }],
});
console.log(reply.choices[0].message.content);The answer is a chat completion, in the shape OpenAI and OpenRouter use: the text is choices[0]., and usage counts the tokens you are billed for. model in the answer is the model that wrote it.
Pick a model
model takes any id from the model list. Leave it out on /v1/chat/completions or /v1/responses and the request goes to deepseek-v4.1-flash; /v1/messages needs it.
A model id that does not match any model is not an error on the chat routes: the request goes to deepseek-v4.1-flash, and the answer's model says so. Check it if you typed the id by hand.
The list is public, so it needs no key. Each entry has the model's prices, context window, the inputs it reads and the parameters it takes, with their ranges and defaults; Models shows the same list as pages.
# Every model, with its prices, limits and the parameters it reads (no API key needed)
curl https://api.vultrinference.com/v1/models
# Only the models that write text, in OpenRouter's public model shape
curl "https://api.vultrinference.com/v1/models?format=openrouter&output_modalities=text"import os
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(base_url="https://api.vultrinference.com/v1", api_key=os.environ["VULTR_INFERENCE_API_KEY"])
for model in client.models.list():
print(model.id)Next
- SDKs and compatibility: the OpenAI, Anthropic and OpenRouter SDKs, and what each route speaks.
- Streaming: print the answer as it is written.
- Errors and Limits: what can go wrong, and what to retry.
Endpoints