How to beginner · 3 min read

How to get DeepSeek API key

Q: How to get DeepSeek API key

To get a DeepSeek API key, sign up at the official DeepSeek platform website and create an account. After logging in, navigate to the API section to generate and copy your API key for use in your Python projects with the openai SDK.

Quick answer

To get a DeepSeek API key, sign up at the official DeepSeek platform website and create an account. After logging in, navigate to the API section to generate and copy your API key for use in your Python projects with the openai SDK.

PREREQUISITES

Python 3.8+
pip install openai>=1.0
DeepSeek account registration

Setup

Install the openai Python package to interact with DeepSeek's API, which is OpenAI-compatible. Set your DeepSeek API key as an environment variable for secure usage.

bash

pip install openai>=1.0

Step by step

Follow these steps to obtain and use your DeepSeek API key in Python:

Register at the official DeepSeek website.
Log in and go to the API keys section.
Create a new API key and copy it.
Set the key in your environment variables, e.g., export OPENAI_API_KEY='your_deepseek_api_key' on Unix or set it in your OS environment variables.
Use the key in your Python code to call DeepSeek models.

python

import os
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(api_key=os.environ["OPENAI_API_KEY"])

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="deepseek-chat",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello from DeepSeek!"}]
)

print(response.choices[0].message.content)

output

Hello from DeepSeek! How can I assist you today?

Common variations

You can use different DeepSeek models like deepseek-reasoner for reasoning tasks. The API usage pattern remains the same. For asynchronous calls, use Python's asyncio with compatible HTTP clients or SDK wrappers.

python

import asyncio
import os
from openai import OpenAI

async def main():
    client = OpenAI(api_key=os.environ["OPENAI_API_KEY"])
    response = await client.chat.completions.acreate(
        model="deepseek-chat",
        messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Async call test."}]
    )
    print(response.choices[0].message.content)

asyncio.run(main())

output

Async call test. How can I help you?

Troubleshooting

If you receive authentication errors, verify your API key is correctly set in the environment variable OPENAI_API_KEY. Ensure your DeepSeek account is active and the key has not expired or been revoked. Check your network connection and DeepSeek service status if requests fail.

✅

Key Takeaways

Register on DeepSeek's official platform to generate your API key.
Set your API key securely in the environment variable OPENAI_API_KEY.
Use the OpenAI-compatible openai Python SDK to call DeepSeek models.
DeepSeek supports multiple models like deepseek-chat and deepseek-reasoner.
Check API key validity and environment setup if authentication errors occur.

Verified 2026-04 · deepseek-chat, deepseek-reasoner

Verify ↗