Making your first AI Key
This guide explains what is an API key using friendly & understandable examples with a full step-by-step guide.
Introduction
What is an AI Key?
For a simple example we'll use a restaurant as an example, So think of it like :
| Role | The Action |
|---|---|
| You (The customer) | You're the customer and you want food, but you can't go into the kitchen directly to get the food. |
| The AI Key (The waiter) | The waiter takes your order (the prompt), delivers it to the kitchen, and then brings the food (the response) back to you. |
| The Server (The kitchen) | The kitchen has the ingredients and recipes (AI Models), But only the waiter can enter and get the food |
Now think of it as Instead of food you're ordering messages and recieving response.
How To Get an AI Key for free
Tip
You Can expand the boxes
Here you can explore and learn about free AI services you can easily connect to Coditan!
Google Gemini - Google's Frontier AI
To start off with making a Google Gemini AI key follow these steps :
1. Create an account: Go to Google AI Studio
2. Navigate to the correct menu: After signup you'll have a chat menu, go to the bottom left and look for API key Or click this text
3. Create The AI Key Click the Create API key Button and give it a name and click Create key
| Model | Best for | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| gemini/gemini-3.5-flash-preview | Daily usage with fast responses | 7/10 |
| gemini/gemini-3.1-pro-preview | Heavy coding & the best quality | 8.5/10 |
Our rating of Google Gemini
Intelligence: 6.8/10
Coding: 7/10
Usage limits 8/10
Notes Quick responses, larger context window (1M Tokens), in some cases less friendly usage limits.
Once you're done paste the API key into Coditan either when in the setup menu or in the settings -> preferences
Mistral AI - Top-tier coding AI
For you to get a Mistral AI key for completely free you must follow these steps :
1. Create an account: Go to Mistral AI Studio and create an account
2. Navigate to the AI keys menu: After signing in open This Link to enter the AI key menu
3. Create The AI Key: Click the Add a new key and give it a name and click Create new key
| Model | Best for | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| mistral/mistral-medium-3.5 | Advanced coding, quick response times and intelligence. | 9/10 |
| mistral/devstral | Excels in action calling and instruction following leading to better results. | 8.3/10 |
Our rating of Mistral AI
Intelligence: 7.3/10
Coding: 8.5/10
Usage limits 10/10
Notes Usage feels unlimited under most uses, rarely hits a rate limit or usage limit and overall amazing models.
Once you're done paste the API key into Coditan either when in the setup menu or in the settings -> preferences
Ollama Cloud - Near Unlimited usage
For you to connect to ollama cloud you must follow these steps
1. Download Ollama: Go to The Ollama download page and download ollama.
2. Create an account: After installing open the app and login or signup for an account.
| Model | Best for | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| ollama/gpt-oss:120b-cloud | Advanced reasoning, good action usage but fails in some creative work and lacks knowledge in some areas | 6.4/10 |
| ollama/qwen3-coder-next:cloud | Amazing model designed for everyday usage with top-tier knowledge, coding and action calling. | 8.5/10 |
Our rating of Ollama Cloud
Intelligence: 7.1/10
Coding: 8.3/10
Usage limits 10/10
Notes The usage limits are the main thing that makes Ollama cloud worth it, it offers ridiculously large free usage limits to the point you'll only use 20% of your weekly in a month.
Once you're done paste the API key into Coditan either when in the setup menu or in the settings -> preferences