# Get a Cerebras key, and leave Direct Connection on

> Cerebras is the one AI service that ships with Direct Connection already on, because the browser path works where the server path meets a bot challenge.

- Canonical: https://big-agi.com/docs/connect-cerebras
- Minimum tier: open  [Open ⊂ Free ⊂ Pro - a tier only ever ADDS to the Open baseline]
- Kind: provider · Last content update generation: 2026-07-27 · Review by: 2026-10-27
- Answers: Where do I create a Cerebras API key? · Do I need a payment method to use the trial? · Why is Direct Connection already on for Cerebras?

Cerebras is the one AI service Big-AGI ships with Direct Connection already switched on. The browser carries the request from the start, and that ordering is deliberate.

## Why the browser path is the default here

Cerebras serves the Big-AGI fast edge servers a bot-challenge page, while a browser passes through it cleanly. So the browser path is the working one here, and turning Direct Connection **off** is what breaks it. It disables itself when no browser-side key is present, so deployments holding the key on a server are unaffected.

> **Direct Connection works only with your API key stored in the browser**, and with an AI service that permits direct browser calls (CORS). Where it cannot be used, requests route through the Big-AGI fast edge servers instead - everything still works, within the standard upload size and time limits.

## The account and its tiers

Three tiers are published - **Free Trial**, **Developer (Pay as You Go)** and **Enterprise** ([Cerebras' own list](https://inference-docs.cerebras.ai/support/rate-limits)). Trial credits are granted only after a verified payment method is on the account, so the card comes before the first answer. The enforceable limit is the **Limits** section inside the account, reached from the console home.

## Getting a key from the console

1. Sign in at [cloud.cerebras.ai](https://cloud.cerebras.ai), the console the app links to.
2. Create an API key from inside the console. No deep link to that page is published, so navigate from the console home ([docs entry](https://inference-docs.cerebras.ai/introduction)).
3. Copy it there.

## Where the key goes

Open **Models** (`Ctrl + Shift + M`) and press **More Services** if the **Setup AI Models** wizard appears. Then **Add** -> **Cerebras**, paste into **Cerebras API Key**, and press **Models** - the list filling in below is your confirmation ([add and manage your keys](/docs/connect-models)).

There is no host field here: every request reaches Cerebras' own endpoint.

## Related

- [Connect an AI service](/docs/connect-models)
- [Direct Connection](/docs/feature-direct-connection)
- [What your provider does with your text](/docs/privacy-data-flow)