# Get an API key: Meta Model API

> One Meta Model API key serves Muse Spark and Muse Image pay-as-you-go, with Direct Connection available and a cheaper Contributor tier that trains on your prompts.

- Canonical: https://big-agi.com/docs/connect-meta
- Minimum tier: open  [Open ⊂ Free ⊂ Pro - a tier only ever ADDS to the Open baseline]
- Kind: provider · Last content update generation: 2026-09-03 · Review by: 2026-12-03
- Answers: Where do I create a Meta Model API key? · What is the difference between Muse Spark Standard and Contributor? · Why is there a pause before Muse Spark starts answering? · Can Big-AGI generate images with Muse Image? · How do I use METAAI_API_KEY on my own server?

The Meta Model API serves Meta's **Muse Spark** reasoning models and **Muse Image** on one pay-as-you-go key. Every Muse Spark reply reasons first, so the first word arrives a few seconds after you send.

## Meta Model API account

Accounts live at [dev.meta.ai](https://dev.meta.ai/). Billing is pay-as-you-go per token, charged at a rising payment threshold and monthly; the [pricing page](https://dev.meta.ai/docs/pricing-rate-limits) is the source of record. Keys, usage and billing belong to a **team**, and every key in the team shares the team's rate limit (the per-minute ceiling on requests and tokens).

## Creating a key

1. Open [dev.meta.ai/api-keys](https://dev.meta.ai/api-keys) - the empty key field links there as **get a Key**.
2. Create a key and copy it: it is shown once.

Keys start with `LLM_`, followed by digits and a secret. The field accepts that prefix at 20 characters or more, so a wrong key of the right shape passes the field and is refused upstream with `Unauthorized`.

## Add it to Big-AGI

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

**Advanced** carries an **API Host** field for a proxy or a gateway of your own: give it a bare origin such as `https://api.meta.ai`, since Big-AGI appends the API paths itself.

## Standard and Contributor tiers

Each Muse Spark version is served twice. **Standard** does not use your prompts and completions for training. **Contributor** (the `-contributor` ids) is heavily discounted in exchange for Meta training future models on your prompts and completions, with lower rate limits. Same model, same capabilities. Big-AGI ships the Contributor models hidden; unhide them from the model list to opt in.

## What we measured, September 2026

Snapshot of 2026-09-02 from a US connection: single runs of short prompts through Big-AGI's own pipeline, not benchmarks, and prices read from the pricing page the same day.

| Model | Context | $/1M in | $/1M out | Input |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muse Spark 1.3, 1.2, 1.1 | 1M | $1.25 (cache hits $0.15) | $4.25 | text, images |
| Muse Spark 1.3 and 1.2 Contributor | 1M | $0.10 (cache hits $0.002) | $0.20 | text, images |
| Muse Image 1.0 | - | $0.01 per image | - | text, reference images; one image out |

Muse Spark reasons before every answer: a two-word reply spent about 340 reasoning tokens and 9 seconds at the default effort, first token after 2.2 s. The **Reasoning Effort** control runs from minimal to xhigh, and there is no off. Web search is a per-model switch and adds $2.50 per 1,000 searches to the token bill. Muse Image returns one WebP image per request and runs without streaming. Standard rate limits are 3,000 requests and 4M tokens per minute per team; Contributor is documented at 100 requests per minute. Video, PDF and audio input are served by the API but not yet carried by Big-AGI.

## Capping the spend

Usage and billing live at [dev.meta.ai/usage](https://dev.meta.ai/usage) and [dev.meta.ai/billing](https://dev.meta.ai/billing). No spend-cap control is recorded here, so the enforceable ceiling is whatever the billing page offers. The per-message cost Big-AGI shows is an estimate from the published rates, never a limit.

## Direct Connection

Available: Meta's API accepts browser-direct requests, so the toggle appears under **Advanced** once the key is in the field. It starts off. On that path the browser cannot read Meta's rate-limit headers.

> **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.

## Using a server-side key

Self-hosters set `METAAI_API_KEY` in the server environment, and `METAAI_API_HOST` to change the endpoint. No green check appears and the field stays empty, but the server supplies the key on every request: add the service by hand, leave **Meta Model API Key** empty and press **Models** ([keys held by a server you operate](/docs/self-host-configuration)).

## When this doesn't work

| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| `Unauthorized` after pressing **Models** | The key is wrong, revoked, or missing on the server: Meta returns the same error for all three. | Recreate the key at dev.meta.ai/api-keys: [key and access errors](/docs/issue-key-and-access) |
| A long pause, then the answer | Muse Spark reasons first, and the default effort is high. | Lower **Reasoning Effort** in the model parameters |
| The reply ends early or comes back empty | The response-token cap was spent on reasoning. | Raise the output tokens, or lower the effort |
| `Rate limit exceeded` | The team's per-minute limit is shared by every key, and the Contributor limits are far lower. | Wait a minute, or use the Standard model: [key and access errors](/docs/issue-key-and-access) |

## 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)
- [Keys held by a server you operate](/docs/self-host-configuration)