Portkey enhances any OpenAI API compliant project by adding enterprise-grade features like observability, reliability, rate limiting, access control, and budget management—all without requiring code changes. It is a drop-in replacement for your existing OpenAI-compatible applications. This guide explains how to integrate Portkey with minimal changes to your project settings. While OpenAI (or any other provider) provides an API for AI model access. Commercial usage often require additional features like:

Advanced Observability: Real-time usage tracking for 40+ key metrics and logs for every request
Unified AI Gateway - Single interface for 250+ LLMs with API key management
Governance - Real-time spend tracking, set budget limits and RBAC in your AI systems
Security Guardrails - PII detection, content filtering, and compliance controls

1. Getting Started with Portkey

Portkey allows you to use 250+ LLMs with your Project setup, with minimal configuration required. Let’s set up the core components in Portkey that you’ll need for integration.

Create Virtual Key

Virtual Keys are Portkey’s secure way to manage your LLM provider API keys. Think of them like disposable credit cards for your LLM API keys, providing essential controls like:

Budget limits for API usage
Rate limiting capabilities
Secure API key storage

To create a virtual key: Go to Virtual Keys in the Portkey App. Save and copy the virtual key ID

Save your virtual key ID - you’ll need it for the next step.

Create Default Config

Configs in Portkey are JSON objects that define how your requests are routed. They help with implementing features like advanced routing, fallbacks, and retries.We need to create a default config to route our requests to the virtual key created in Step 1.To create your config:

Go to Configs in Portkey dashboard

Create new config with:

{
    "virtual_key": "YOUR_VIRTUAL_KEY_FROM_STEP1",
}

Save and note the Config name for the next step

This basic config connects to your virtual key. You can add more advanced portkey features later.

Configure Portkey API Key

Now create Portkey API key access point and attach the config you created in Step 2:

Go to API Keys in Portkey and Create new API key
Select your config from Step 2
Generate and save your API key

Save your API key securely - you’ll need it for Chat UI integration.

2. Integrating Portkey with Your Project

You can integrate Portkey with any OpenAI API-compatible project through a simple configuration change. This integration enables advanced monitoring, security features, and analytics for your LLM applications. Here’s how you do it:

Locate LLM Settings Navigate to your project’s LLM settings page and find the OpenAI configuration section (usually labeled ‘OpenAI-Compatible’ or ‘Generic OpenAI’).”
Configure Base URL Set the base URL to:
```
https://api.portkey.ai/v1
```
Add API Key Enter your Portkey API key in the appropriate field. You can generate this key from your Portkey dashboard under API Keys section.
Configure Model Settings If your integration allows direct model configuration, you can specify it in the LLM settings. Otherwise, create a configuration object:
```
{
  "virtual_key": "<YOUR_VIRTUAL_API_KEY>",
  "override_params": {
    "model": "gpt-4o" // Specify your desired model
  }
}
```

3. Set Up Enterprise Governance for your Project

Why Enterprise Governance? When you are using any AI tool in an enterprise setting, you need to consider several governance aspects:

Cost Management: Controlling and tracking AI spending across teams
Access Control: Managing which teams can use specific models
Usage Analytics: Understanding how AI is being used across the organization
Security & Compliance: Maintaining enterprise security standards
Reliability: Ensuring consistent service across all users

Portkey adds a comprehensive governance layer to address these enterprise needs. Let’s implement these controls step by step.

Enterprise Implementation Guide

Step 1: Implement Budget Controls & Rate Limits

Virtual Keys enable granular control over LLM access at the team/department level. This helps you:

Set up budget limits
Prevent unexpected usage spikes using Rate limits
Track departmental spending

Setting Up Department-Specific Controls:

Navigate to Virtual Keys in Portkey dashboard
Create new Virtual Key for each department with budget limits and rate limits
Configure department-specific limits

Step 2: Define Model Access Rules

As your Project scales, controlling which teams can access specific models becomes crucial. Portkey Configs provide this control layer with features like:

Access Control Features:

Model Restrictions: Limit access to specific models
Data Protection: Implement guardrails for sensitive data
Reliability Controls: Add fallbacks and retry logic

Example Configuration:

Here’s a basic configuration to route requests to OpenAI, specifically using GPT-4o:

{
	"strategy": {
		"mode": "single"
	},
	"targets": [
		{
			"virtual_key": "YOUR_OPENAI_VIRTUAL_KEY",
			"override_params": {
				"model": "gpt-4o"
			}
		}
	]
}

Create your config on the Configs page in your Portkey dashboard. You’ll need the config ID for connecting to your Project’s setup.

Configs can be updated anytime to adjust controls without affecting running applications.

Step 3: Implement Access Controls

Create User-specific API keys that automatically:

Track usage per user/team with the help of virtual keys
Apply appropriate configs to route requests
Collect relevant metadata to filter logs
Enforce access permissions

Create API keys through:

Example using Python SDK:

from portkey_ai import Portkey

portkey = Portkey(api_key="YOUR_ADMIN_API_KEY")

api_key = portkey.api_keys.create(
    name="engineering-team",
    type="organisation",
    workspace_id="YOUR_WORKSPACE_ID",
    defaults={
        "config_id": "your-config-id",
        "metadata": {
            "environment": "production",
            "department": "engineering"
        }
    },
    scopes=["logs.view", "configs.read"]
)

For detailed key management instructions, see our API Keys documentation.

Step 4: Deploy & Monitor

After distributing API keys to your team members, your enterprise-ready Project setup is ready to go. Each team member can now use their designated API keys with appropriate access levels and budget controls. Apply your governance setup using the integration steps from earlier sections Monitor usage in Portkey dashboard:

Cost tracking by department
Model usage patterns
Request volumes
Error rates

Enterprise Features Now Available

Your Project now has:

Departmental budget controls
Model access governance
Usage tracking & attribution
Security guardrails
Reliability features

Portkey Features

Now that you have set up your enterprise-grade Project environment, let’s explore the comprehensive features Portkey provides to ensure secure, efficient, and cost-effective AI operations.

1. Comprehensive Metrics

Using Portkey you can track 40+ key metrics including cost, token usage, response time, and performance across all your LLM providers in real time. You can also filter these metrics based on custom metadata that you can set in your configs. Learn more about metadata here.

2. Advanced Logs

Portkey’s logging dashboard provides detailed logs for every request made to your LLMs. These logs include:

Complete request and response tracking
Metadata tags for filtering
Cost attribution and much more…

3. Unified Access to 250+ LLMs

You can easily switch between 250+ LLMs. Call various LLMs such as Anthropic, Gemini, Mistral, Azure OpenAI, Google Vertex AI, AWS Bedrock, and many more by simply changing the virtual key in your default config object.

4. Advanced Metadata Tracking

Using Portkey, you can add custom metadata to your LLM requests for detailed tracking and analytics. Use metadata tags to filter logs, track usage, and attribute costs across departments and teams.

Custom Metata

5. Enterprise Access Management

Budget Controls

Set and manage spending limits across teams and departments. Control costs with granular budget limits and usage tracking.

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Enterprise-grade SSO integration with support for SAML 2.0, Okta, Azure AD, and custom providers for secure authentication.

Organization Management

Hierarchical organization structure with workspaces, teams, and role-based access control for enterprise-scale deployments.

Access Rules & Audit Logs

Comprehensive access control rules and detailed audit logging for security compliance and usage tracking.

6. Reliability Features

Fallbacks

Automatically switch to backup targets if the primary target fails.

Conditional Routing

Route requests to different targets based on specified conditions.

Load Balancing

Distribute requests across multiple targets based on defined weights.

Caching

Enable caching of responses to improve performance and reduce costs.

Smart Retries

Automatic retry handling with exponential backoff for failed requests

Budget Limits

Set and manage budget limits across teams and departments. Control costs with granular budget limits and usage tracking.

7. Advanced Guardrails

Protect your Project’s data and enhance reliability with real-time checks on LLM inputs and outputs. Leverage guardrails to:

Prevent sensitive data leaks
Enforce compliance with organizational policies
PII detection and masking
Content filtering
Custom security rules
Data compliance checks

Guardrails

Implement real-time protection for your LLM interactions with automatic detection and filtering of sensitive content, PII, and custom security rules. Enable comprehensive data protection while maintaining compliance with organizational policies.

FAQs

How do I update my Virtual Key limits after creation?

You can update your Virtual Key limits at any time from the Portkey dashboard:1. Go to Virtual Keys section2. Click on the Virtual Key you want to modify3. Update the budget or rate limits4. Save your changes

Can I use multiple LLM providers with the same API key?

Yes! You can create multiple Virtual Keys (one for each provider) and attach them to a single config. This config can then be connected to your API key, allowing you to use multiple providers through a single API key.

How do I track costs for different teams?

Portkey provides several ways to track team costs:

Create separate Virtual Keys for each team
Use metadata tags in your configs
Set up team-specific API keys
Monitor usage in the analytics dashboard

What happens if a team exceeds their budget limit?

When a team reaches their budget limit:

Further requests will be blocked
Team admins receive notifications
Usage statistics remain available in dashboard
Limits can be adjusted if needed

Next Steps

Join our Community

For enterprise support and custom features, contact our enterprise team.

Ecosystem

LLM Integrations

Cloud Platforms

Guardrails

Plugins

Vector Databases

Agents

AI Apps

Libraries

Tracing Providers

Documentation Index

​1. Getting Started with Portkey

​2. Integrating Portkey with Your Project

​3. Set Up Enterprise Governance for your Project

​Enterprise Implementation Guide

​Step 1: Implement Budget Controls & Rate Limits

​Setting Up Department-Specific Controls:

​Step 2: Define Model Access Rules

​Access Control Features:

​Example Configuration:

​Step 3: Implement Access Controls

​Step 4: Deploy & Monitor

​Enterprise Features Now Available

​Portkey Features

​1. Comprehensive Metrics

​2. Advanced Logs

​3. Unified Access to 250+ LLMs

​4. Advanced Metadata Tracking

Custom Metata

​5. Enterprise Access Management

Budget Controls

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Organization Management

Access Rules & Audit Logs

​6. Reliability Features

Fallbacks

Conditional Routing

Load Balancing

Caching

Smart Retries

Budget Limits

​7. Advanced Guardrails

Guardrails

​FAQs

​Next Steps

1. Getting Started with Portkey

2. Integrating Portkey with Your Project

3. Set Up Enterprise Governance for your Project

Enterprise Implementation Guide

Step 1: Implement Budget Controls & Rate Limits

Setting Up Department-Specific Controls:

Step 2: Define Model Access Rules

Access Control Features:

Example Configuration:

Step 3: Implement Access Controls

Step 4: Deploy & Monitor

Enterprise Features Now Available

Portkey Features

1. Comprehensive Metrics

2. Advanced Logs

3. Unified Access to 250+ LLMs

4. Advanced Metadata Tracking

5. Enterprise Access Management

6. Reliability Features

7. Advanced Guardrails

FAQs

Next Steps