Can I use my own API keys with Lava (BYOK)?

Bring Your Own Keys (BYOK)

Yes. Lava supports Bring Your Own Keys — you can use your own API keys from AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, etc.) with Lava's gateway.

How BYOK Works

When you use BYOK mode:

• You provide your own API key for the AI provider
• Lava's gateway routes the request using your key to make the call
• Usage is still tracked and metered by Lava
• Billing, wallet management, and analytics all work the same

The difference is that the AI provider charges are billed to your account directly, rather than going through Lava's provider accounts.

When to Use BYOK

• You have negotiated rates with a provider and want to keep using them
• You have existing credits (e.g., AWS Bedrock credits, Azure credits) that you want to use
• Compliance requirements mean your API calls must go through your own provider account
• Fallback resilience — if Lava's gateway goes down, you already have the credentials to call providers directly

Without BYOK

If you don't use BYOK, Lava provides API keys for all 38+ supported providers. The AI provider costs are included in your Lava usage — you get one bill from Lava instead of managing separate provider accounts.

POST Request Mode

There's also a third option: instead of routing calls through the gateway at all, you can make AI calls directly with your own keys and send usage data to Lava via POST requests. Lava handles billing and wallet management based on the usage you report. This keeps Lava completely off your critical path while still giving you all the billing infrastructure.