# venice-api-overview

Provides your coding agent with an architectural guide to the Venice AI API, covering base URLs, auth modes, route categories, and response headers.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · ★ 160
- Author: veniceai
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/veniceai/skills/tree/HEAD/skills/venice-api-overview/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-23
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/venice-api-overview

## What it does

This skill maps out the OpenAI-compatible Venice AI API hosted at `https://api.venice.ai/api/v1`. It indexes endpoints across text, embeddings, decisions, image generation, audio, and video pipelines, referencing the live OpenAPI specification at `/swagger.yaml`.

It details two access models: traditional Bearer API keys linked to an account, and x402 SIWX wallet authentication using USDC on Solana or Base. Missing credentials on protected endpoints trigger an HTTP `402` payment challenge response instead of a standard `401`.

Video upscaling models like `topaz-video-upscale` demand a Bearer key, meaning raw crypto wallets cannot request quotes for them. The skill also tracks deprecated endpoints returning `410 Gone`, such as the retired `/billing/usage` route.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add veniceai/skills --skill venice-api-overview -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/venice-api-overview/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/venice-api-overview/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add veniceai/skills --skill venice-api-overview -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/venice-api-overview/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add veniceai/skills --skill venice-api-overview -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/venice-api-overview/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install veniceai/skills venice-api-overview
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/venice-api-overview/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add veniceai/skills --skill venice-api-overview -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/veniceai/skills --path skills/venice-api-overview
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/venice-api-overview/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add veniceai/skills --skill venice-api-overview -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/veniceai/skills/tree/HEAD/skills/venice-api-overview/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- determine the correct endpoint category across Venice AI inference tasks
- configure x402 wallet authentication headers alongside Bearer tokens
- handle Venice-specific headers for rate limits and 402 payment discovery
- identify retired endpoints returning HTTP 410 before calling them

## Example prompts
- Show the Venice AI endpoints for chat completions and image generation.
- How does x402 wallet authentication work compared to Bearer keys in Venice AI?
- Which Venice API routes are accessible without any credentials?

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: a4e34058e63e0003.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE a4e34058e63e0003
````text
---
name: venice-api-overview
description: High-level map of the Venice AI API - base URL, which auth mode each endpoint accepts (API key, x402 wallet, or none), endpoint categories (including decisions, voice changer, and retired routes), response headers (rate limit, balance, deprecation, x402), pricing model, error shape, and versioning. Load this first when starting any Venice integration.
---

# Venice API Overview

Venice AI is an OpenAI-compatible inference platform for text, image, audio, video, embeddings, and typed decisions. One API - two ways to pay: a traditional **API key** (Venice account), or a **wallet** (x402, USDC on Base or Solana, no account required).

## Use when

- You're writing code against `api.venice.ai` for the first time.
- You need to decide between API-key and x402/wallet authentication.
- You want a quick map of which endpoint to call for which task.
- You need to understand the common response headers (`x-ratelimit-*`, `PAYMENT-REQUIRED`, deprecation headers, etc.).

## Base URL

All endpoints live under:

```
https://api.venice.ai/api/v1
```

The OpenAPI spec is served at `https://api.venice.ai/api/v1/swagger.yaml` (`info.version` is a `YYYYMMDD.HHMMSS` timestamp; read it from the live spec).

## Authentication

| Scheme | Header | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| `BearerAuth` | `Authorization: Bearer $VENICE_API_KEY` | Server-side apps, account management, usage analytics, DIEM / bundled credits |
| `siwx` (x402) | `SIGN-IN-WITH-X: <base64 SIWX JSON>` (legacy `X-Sign-In-With-X` also accepted) | No account, pay-as-you-go with USDC on Base or Solana, serverless / agents |

Not every endpoint accepts both:

| Endpoints | Accepts |
|---|---|
| All inference: chat, responses, embeddings, decisions, image, audio (speech, transcriptions, voices, queue/retrieve/complete, voice-changer queue/retrieve/complete), video queue/retrieve/complete, augment, `POST /crypto/rpc/{network}` | Bearer **or** SIWX |
| `/api_keys/*` (except `generate_web3_key`), `/billing/*` (except the retired `/billing/usage`), `/characters/*` | Bearer only (a `SIGN-IN-WITH-X` header alone gets `401 Authentication failed`) |
| `/x402/balance/{wallet}`, `/x402/transactions/{wallet}` | SIWX only (signer must own the wallet) |
| `/models*`, `/image/styles`, `/video/quote` (except upscale models such as `topaz-video-upscale`: Bearer key required, so wallets can't quote them), `/audio/quote`, `/audio/voice-changer/quote`, `/crypto/rpc/networks`, `/tee/attestation`, `/tee/signature`, `/api_keys/generate_web3_key`, `POST /x402/top-up` | No auth needed |

On any route that needs credentials - Bearer-only ones included - a request with **no** `Authorization` and no `SIGN-IN-WITH-X` header gets `402` with an x402 discovery body (payment options + SIWX challenge + `authOptions`), not `401`. See [`venice-auth`](../venice-auth/SKILL.md).

```bash
# Bearer
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE a4e34058e63e0003

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