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OpenAI API Authentication

How to authenticate OpenAI API requests: one Bearer API key plus a connectionId. MindCloud stores your OpenAI API key securely — set it once, never resend it.

Every OpenAI API request through MindCloud needs two things: a MindCloud API Key and a connectionId for your OpenAI account. This page covers both, plus exactly how to send them, so you do not need to visit any other page to get authenticated.

Steps to authenticate

  1. Create a MindCloud account at app.mindcloud.co if you do not already have one.
  2. Generate a MindCloud API Key in API Keys. This is the Bearer token you send on every request. Keep it on your server.
  3. Create a OpenAI connection in Connections. OpenAI uses an API key. You generate the key in your OpenAI account, then paste it in when you create the connection — MindCloud stores it securely and never returns it in a response.
  4. Copy the connection’s connectionId — you will send it on every request alongside your MindCloud API Key.

How requests are authenticated

Authentication has two layers. Your MindCloud API Key authenticates the request to MindCloud, sent as a Bearer token in the Authorization header. The connectionId selects the connected OpenAI account that should run the action. MindCloud stores and refreshes the OpenAI credentials behind that connection, so you never send provider tokens with your requests.

Pass connectionId in the query string for GET and DELETE actions, and in the JSON body for POST, PUT, and PATCH actions.

For example, calling List Models with an OpenAI connection looks like this:

curl --request POST \
  --url "https://connect.mindcloud.co/v2/universal/apps/openAi/actions/list-models/run" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $MINDCLOUD_API_KEY" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{
  "connectionId": "$CONNECTION_ID",
  "arguments": {}
}'

The Authorization: Bearer <your MindCloud API Key> header authenticates you to MindCloud; the connectionId tells MindCloud which OpenAI account to run the action against. Missing or invalid Authorization returns 401, and a missing or mismatched connectionId returns 400.

Create an OpenAI API key

You need an OpenAI Platform account with API access. API keys are secret server-side credentials and should never be exposed in browser or client-side code.

  1. Open the API keys page in the OpenAI Platform

    Sign in to the OpenAI Platform and go to the API keys page for your account or project.

    OpenAI Platform → API keys
  2. Create a new secret key

    Create a new secret key, give it a recognizable name, and apply any project restrictions you need.

  3. Copy the key immediately

    Copy the API key as soon as OpenAI shows it and store it somewhere secure. If you lose it, generate a new key.

  4. Paste the key into MindCloud

    Return to the MindCloud Open AI connection form and paste the copied key into the API key field.

Keep your key safe

Keep your MindCloud API Key on your server; do not ship it in browser code, mobile apps, public repositories, or logs. Anyone with the key can call the Universal API as your MindCloud account, across every connection you have created.