Guides

Coding agents

Point Claude Code, Conductor, Codex, OpenCode, Cline, or any OpenAI-compatible agent at the gateway: one base URL, one key, every model in your catalog, and all usage in one place.

Before you start

Mint a key in Settings, API keys and export it: export EXPLABS_API_KEY=xpl_...
Pick a model slug. GET https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/v1/models lists every slug your key can call; the snippets below use examples from the public catalog.

Every agent below works the same way: its provider configuration gets the base URL https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/v1, the key rides as Authorization: Bearer, and models are named by bare slug. Streaming is SSE on both Chat Completions and the Responses API.

Every agent below opens on a Prompt tab: paste it into that agent and it wires itself up, verifies the key, and reports what it changed. Switch to Manual setup to do it by hand. One prompt that works in any of them lives at Setup prompts.

OpenAI Codex CLI

Codex configures custom gateways as a model_providers entry in ~/.codex/config.toml. Current Codex releases speak only the Responses API (wire_api = "responses" is the sole supported value since early 2026), which the gateway serves at /v1/responses.

Paste this into the agent. It wires itself up, then proves the key works.

prompt

I pasted this into you myself — wire THIS coding agent up to my Experiential
Labs gateway, so my model calls route through https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai and show up in my usage.

Ground rules: never print my full key (first 8 characters at most), ask me
before you edit any config file or shell profile, and if you cannot do a step
(no file access, settings live in a GUI), print the exact manual steps for me
instead. Print what you're doing at each step.

1. Get my key. Use EXPLABS_API_KEY from my environment if it is set; otherwise
   ask me to paste one (I can mint it at https://pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/settings/api-keys). It looks
   like xpl_ followed by 40 hex characters.

2. Prove the key works before touching any config:
   GET https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/v1/models with header "Authorization: Bearer <key>" -> 200 and
   the model slugs I can call. Remember the list; I'll pick models from it.

3. Apply the OpenAI Codex CLI integration:
   Add to ~/.codex/config.toml (create it if missing, show me the diff before
   writing):
     model = "<slug I pick>"
     model_provider = "explabs"
     [model_providers.explabs]
     name = "Experiential Labs"
     base_url = "https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/v1"
     env_key = "EXPLABS_API_KEY"
     wire_api = "responses"
   Leave requires_openai_auth unset, and make sure EXPLABS_API_KEY is exported
   where I launch you.

4. Verify end to end. Make one tiny completion with the surface you configured
   ("reply with the single word: ok", small max output) — via your own next
   model call if you now route through the gateway, otherwise via curl with my
   key. Then tell me it landed and that I can watch every call at
   https://pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/telemetry.

5. Recap exactly what you changed (files and values, key shown as xpl_ prefix
   only) so I can undo it later.

~/.codex/config.toml

model = "gpt-5.5"
model_provider = "explabs"

[model_providers.explabs]
name = "Experiential Labs"
base_url = "https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/v1"
env_key = "EXPLABS_API_KEY"
wire_api = "responses"

Run Codex with EXPLABS_API_KEY exported. Leave requires_openai_auth unset: setting it forces a ChatGPT login instead of your gateway key.

Codex continues turns with previous_response_id. The gateway honors continuation on any worker instance and retains continuations for 24 hours; an expired id returns 400 continuation_unavailable and Codex resends the conversation.

OpenCode

OpenCode takes a custom provider in opencode.json (per-project at the repo root, or global at ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json) using the @ai-sdk/openai-compatible package, which targets /v1/chat/completions.

Paste this into the agent. It wires itself up, then proves the key works.

prompt

I pasted this into you myself — wire THIS coding agent up to my Experiential
Labs gateway, so my model calls route through https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai and show up in my usage.

Ground rules: never print my full key (first 8 characters at most), ask me
before you edit any config file or shell profile, and if you cannot do a step
(no file access, settings live in a GUI), print the exact manual steps for me
instead. Print what you're doing at each step.

1. Get my key. Use EXPLABS_API_KEY from my environment if it is set; otherwise
   ask me to paste one (I can mint it at https://pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/settings/api-keys). It looks
   like xpl_ followed by 40 hex characters.

2. Prove the key works before touching any config:
   GET https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/v1/models with header "Authorization: Bearer <key>" -> 200 and
   the model slugs I can call. Remember the list; I'll pick models from it.

3. Apply the OpenCode integration:
   Write the provider block into this project's opencode.json (or
   ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json if I prefer global — ask):
     {"provider": {"explabs": {"npm": "@ai-sdk/openai-compatible",
      "name": "Experiential Labs",
      "options": {"baseURL": "https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/v1", "apiKey": "{env:EXPLABS_API_KEY}"},
      "models": {"<slug>": {"name": "<slug>"}}}}
   Fill limit.context/limit.output for each slug from
   GET https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/api/models/<slug> so my context window is right.

4. Verify end to end. Make one tiny completion with the surface you configured
   ("reply with the single word: ok", small max output) — via your own next
   model call if you now route through the gateway, otherwise via curl with my
   key. Then tell me it landed and that I can watch every call at
   https://pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/telemetry.

5. Recap exactly what you changed (files and values, key shown as xpl_ prefix
   only) so I can undo it later.

opencode.json

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "model": "explabs/claude-opus-5",
  "provider": {
    "explabs": {
      "npm": "@ai-sdk/openai-compatible",
      "name": "Experiential Labs",
      "options": {
        "baseURL": "https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/v1",
        "apiKey": "{env:EXPLABS_API_KEY}"
      },
      "models": {
        "claude-opus-5": {
          "name": "Claude Opus 5",
          "limit": {
            "context": 200000,
            "output": 64000
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Models you list here appear in the /models picker automatically. Set limit.context and limit.outputfrom the catalog's values (GET https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/api/models/<slug>), since OpenCode cannot infer them for a custom gateway.

Cline (VS Code)

Cline is configured in the extension's settings UI, not a file.

Paste this into the agent. It wires itself up, then proves the key works.

prompt

I pasted this into you myself — wire THIS coding agent up to my Experiential
Labs gateway, so my model calls route through https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai and show up in my usage.

Ground rules: never print my full key (first 8 characters at most), ask me
before you edit any config file or shell profile, and if you cannot do a step
(no file access, settings live in a GUI), print the exact manual steps for me
instead. Print what you're doing at each step.

1. Get my key. Use EXPLABS_API_KEY from my environment if it is set; otherwise
   ask me to paste one (I can mint it at https://pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/settings/api-keys). It looks
   like xpl_ followed by 40 hex characters.

2. Prove the key works before touching any config:
   GET https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/v1/models with header "Authorization: Bearer <key>" -> 200 and
   the model slugs I can call. Remember the list; I'll pick models from it.

3. Apply the Cline integration:
   Your settings live in the VS Code UI, so print these for me to set by hand:
   API Provider "OpenAI Compatible"; Base URL https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/v1; API Key = my key (no
   Bearer prefix); Model ID = a slug from step 2; and per-model context window /
   max output tokens from https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/api/models/<slug>.

4. Verify end to end. Make one tiny completion with the surface you configured
   ("reply with the single word: ok", small max output) — via your own next
   model call if you now route through the gateway, otherwise via curl with my
   key. Then tell me it landed and that I can watch every call at
   https://pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/telemetry.

5. Recap exactly what you changed (files and values, key shown as xpl_ prefix
   only) so I can undo it later.

Open Cline's settings and set API Provider to OpenAI Compatible.
Base URL: https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/v1
API Key: your xpl_... key (no Bearer prefix).
Model ID: a slug from /v1/models, e.g. claude-opus-5.
Set the model's context window and max output tokens in Cline's per-model fields from the catalog's values; Cline cannot infer them for models it does not recognize.

Any other OpenAI-compatible tool

Tools built on the official OpenAI SDKs (and most terminal agents, including Blackbox and Grok Build) honor the standard environment pair; nothing else changes:

Paste this into the agent. It wires itself up, then proves the key works.

prompt

I pasted this into you myself — wire THIS coding agent up to my Experiential
Labs gateway, so my model calls route through https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai and show up in my usage.

Ground rules: never print my full key (first 8 characters at most), ask me
before you edit any config file or shell profile, and if you cannot do a step
(no file access, settings live in a GUI), print the exact manual steps for me
instead. Print what you're doing at each step.

1. Get my key. Use EXPLABS_API_KEY from my environment if it is set; otherwise
   ask me to paste one (I can mint it at https://pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/settings/api-keys). It looks
   like xpl_ followed by 40 hex characters.

2. Prove the key works before touching any config:
   GET https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/v1/models with header "Authorization: Bearer <key>" -> 200 and
   the model slugs I can call. Remember the list; I'll pick models from it.

3. Apply the Any other OpenAI-compatible tool integration:
   Export OPENAI_BASE_URL="https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/v1" and OPENAI_API_KEY="<my key>" wherever I
   launch you, and name models by slug. If your own config wants the values
   instead, it needs the same three: base URL https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/v1, my key, and a slug.

4. Verify end to end. Make one tiny completion with the surface you configured
   ("reply with the single word: ok", small max output) — via your own next
   model call if you now route through the gateway, otherwise via curl with my
   key. Then tell me it landed and that I can watch every call at
   https://pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/telemetry.

5. Recap exactly what you changed (files and values, key shown as xpl_ prefix
   only) so I can undo it later.

shell

export OPENAI_BASE_URL="https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/v1"
export OPENAI_API_KEY="xpl_..."

If a tool asks for the values in its own config instead, it needs the same three: base URL https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/v1, the key, and a model slug.

Claude Code

The gateway serves the Anthropic Messages API at /v1/messages, so Claude Code connects like any LLM gateway: point ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL at it (no /v1 suffix; Claude Code appends the path) and pass your key as ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN. Any catalog slug works as the model, not just Claude models.

Paste this into the agent. It wires itself up, then proves the key works.

prompt

I pasted this into you myself — wire THIS coding agent up to my Experiential
Labs gateway, so my model calls route through https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai and show up in my usage.

Ground rules: never print my full key (first 8 characters at most), ask me
before you edit any config file or shell profile, and if you cannot do a step
(no file access, settings live in a GUI), print the exact manual steps for me
instead. Print what you're doing at each step.

1. Get my key. Use EXPLABS_API_KEY from my environment if it is set; otherwise
   ask me to paste one (I can mint it at https://pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/settings/api-keys). It looks
   like xpl_ followed by 40 hex characters.

2. Prove the key works before touching any config:
   GET https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/v1/models with header "Authorization: Bearer <key>" -> 200 and
   the model slugs I can call. Remember the list; I'll pick models from it.

3. Apply the Claude Code integration:
   You cannot repoint yourself mid-session. Offer me two placements and apply
   the one I pick: (a) append to my shell profile, or (b) print for one-off use:
     export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai"        # no /v1 suffix
     export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="<my key>"
     export ANTHROPIC_MODEL="<slug I pick>"
   Then tell me to restart you from a shell with those set. Warn me plainly:
   extended thinking is unavailable through the gateway and image pastes are
   rejected (the lane is text-only).

4. Verify end to end. Make one tiny completion with the surface you configured
   ("reply with the single word: ok", small max output) — via your own next
   model call if you now route through the gateway, otherwise via curl with my
   key. Then tell me it landed and that I can watch every call at
   https://pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/telemetry.

5. Recap exactly what you changed (files and values, key shown as xpl_ prefix
   only) so I can undo it later.

shell

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai"
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="xpl_..."
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL="claude-opus-5"
claude

The Messages lane is a translation onto the gateway's chat surface, with three visible limits: extended thinking is not available (thinking blocks are accepted and dropped), image and document blocks are rejected because the chat surface is text-only, and /v1/messages/count_tokens answers an explicit 404 not_found_error (Claude Code estimates locally).

Conductor

Conductor (the Mac app that runs parallel Claude Code agents in git worktrees) delegates provider configuration to Claude Code's environment contract, so it uses the same three variables. Set them in Settings, Environment under the Claude Code section:

Paste this into the agent. It wires itself up, then proves the key works.

prompt

I pasted this into you myself — wire THIS coding agent up to my Experiential
Labs gateway, so my model calls route through https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai and show up in my usage.

Ground rules: never print my full key (first 8 characters at most), ask me
before you edit any config file or shell profile, and if you cannot do a step
(no file access, settings live in a GUI), print the exact manual steps for me
instead. Print what you're doing at each step.

1. Get my key. Use EXPLABS_API_KEY from my environment if it is set; otherwise
   ask me to paste one (I can mint it at https://pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/settings/api-keys). It looks
   like xpl_ followed by 40 hex characters.

2. Prove the key works before touching any config:
   GET https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/v1/models with header "Authorization: Bearer <key>" -> 200 and
   the model slugs I can call. Remember the list; I'll pick models from it.

3. Apply the Conductor integration:
   Print these for me to put in Settings -> Environment (Claude Code section),
   or write them to this repo's .conductor/settings.local.toml under
   [environment_variables] if I prefer (make sure that file is
   git-ignored before writing my key into it):
     ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL = "https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai"
     ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN = "<my key>"
     ANTHROPIC_API_KEY = ""
   The empty ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is required: it stops Claude Code from trying to
   authenticate with Anthropic directly.

4. Verify end to end. Make one tiny completion with the surface you configured
   ("reply with the single word: ok", small max output) — via your own next
   model call if you now route through the gateway, otherwise via curl with my
   key. Then tell me it landed and that I can watch every call at
   https://pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/telemetry.

5. Recap exactly what you changed (files and values, key shown as xpl_ prefix
   only) so I can undo it later.

Conductor → Settings → Environment

ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai
ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN=xpl_...
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY must be present and empty: it stops Claude Code from trying to authenticate with Anthropic directly. To scope the gateway to one repository instead, put the same variables in .conductor/settings.local.toml (machine-local, so the key stays out of the shared config):

.conductor/settings.local.toml

[environment_variables]
ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL = "https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai"
ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN = "xpl_..."
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY = ""

Conductor's per-chat model picker lists stock Claude aliases; to route a picker alias to a different catalog slug, remap it with ANTHROPIC_MODEL or the ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_*_MODEL variables in the same environment block. The Claude Code lane limits above apply unchanged.

Watch what your agents spend

Every call an agent makes lands in the same usage stream as the rest of your traffic. Humans read it at Logs and Credits; agents read their own via GET https://api-pr-683.preview.experientiallabs.ai/api/gateway/usage/daily. Mint one key per agent to see spend broken out per tool.

Error handling is uniform across agents: see Errors for the stable codes and the retry playbook.
Which models an agent can reach, and how each is paid for, is the catalog and lanes story in Models.

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