Protect Your OpenAI API Keys

Q: How do I protect my OpenAI API key?

ShieldKey wraps your OpenAI API key in a proxy token. Your real key stays encrypted — team members use revocable shield tokens that can be disabled in one click, without rotating the underlying key.

Q: Can I use ShieldKey with the openai SDK?

Yes. ShieldKey works as a drop-in proxy. Point your openai SDK at proxy.shieldkey.io and use a shield token instead of your real API key. No code changes beyond the base URL and key.

Q: What happens to my OpenAI key if a team member leaves?

Revoke their shield token instantly from the ShieldKey dashboard. Your real OpenAI key stays active — no rotation, no downtime, no re-deploying secrets across services.

Before & After

See how ShieldKey protects your OpenAI integration with minimal code changes.

Before — raw OpenAI key

import OpenAI from "openai";

const client = new OpenAI({
  apiKey: "sk-proj-abc123..."  // ← leaked on GitHub
});

const res = await client.chat.completions.create({
  model: "gpt-4o",
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Hello" }]
});

After — ShieldKey proxy token

import OpenAI from "openai";

const client = new OpenAI({
  apiKey: "sk_shield_t_9f3a...",       // ← revocable proxy token
  baseURL: "https://proxy.shieldkey.io/v1"
});

const res = await client.chat.completions.create({
  model: "gpt-4o",
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Hello" }]
});

What ShieldKey Does for Your OpenAI Keys

Instant Revocation

Disable any team member's access to your OpenAI key in one click. No key rotation. No downtime. No re-deploying environment variables.

Spend Limits

Set per-token spend caps so a compromised token can't run up your OpenAI bill. Get alerts before limits are hit.

IP Allowlisting

Restrict each shield token to specific IPs or CIDR ranges. Even if a token leaks, it's useless from unauthorized networks.

Full Audit Trail

See every API call made through your OpenAI key — who made it, when, from where, and what they accessed.

Zero-Knowledge Encryption

Your OpenAI key is encrypted with AES-256-GCM. It's only decrypted in memory during request proxying — never stored in plaintext.

Team Access Control

Issue individual shield tokens to each team member. When someone leaves, revoke their token — everyone else keeps working.

FAQ

How do I protect my OpenAI API key?

Add your OpenAI key to ShieldKey's encrypted vault. ShieldKey generates a proxy token (starting with sk_shield_t_) that your team uses instead. Your real sk-proj- key stays encrypted and is never exposed to team members.

Can I use ShieldKey with the openai SDK?

Yes. Point your openai SDK at proxy.shieldkey.io and use a shield token instead of your real API key. The SDK works identically — ShieldKey transparently proxies every request.

What happens to my OpenAI key if a team member leaves?

Revoke their shield token from the dashboard. Your real OpenAI key stays active — no rotation, no downtime, no re-deploying secrets across services. Everyone else keeps working without interruption.

Does ShieldKey add latency to OpenAI API calls?

ShieldKey's proxy adds less than 25ms at the p50. The proxy decrypts your key in memory, forwards the request, and streams the response back. For most OpenAI API calls, this overhead is negligible.