How To Setup Your API Key in Prism Tree
An essential onboarding step to configure your account, since all AI features rely on the user to provide their own API Key.
What is BYOK?
BYOK stands for "Bring Your Own Key." Prism Tree is built on a BYOK model, which means you connect the product to your own Anthropic or OpenAI account to power its AI features. Your key is stored securely on your account and used whenever Prism Tree runs an AI operation on your behalf.
This is a deliberate design choice. Your career data stays between you and the AI provider you choose — Prism Tree never routes your information through shared AI infrastructure or a middleman account. You control the key, you control the access.
Why Prism Tree uses BYOK
A few reasons this model exists. First, privacy: your resume, accomplishments, and career history are sensitive. Routing all of that through a single platform-controlled AI account creates a concentration of data that BYOK avoids. Second, control: you decide which provider and model handles your data, and you can revoke access at any time by rotating or deleting your key. Third, transparency: your API usage appears directly on your Anthropic or OpenAI dashboard, so there's no black box around what's being called and how often.
How to get an API key
Anthropic (Claude) Go to console.anthropic.com, sign in or create an account, and navigate to API Keys in the left sidebar. Create a new key and copy it — you won't be able to see it again after leaving that page, so copy it before you close the modal.
OpenAI (GPT) Go to platform.openai.com, sign in or create an account, and navigate to API Keys under your profile menu. Create a new secret key and copy it immediately.
Both providers may require you to add a payment method before your key will work. Check your account settings on their platforms if a freshly created key returns an authentication error.
Configure Your Key in Prism Tree
- Go to Settings (bottom of the left nav).
- Under AI Provider, you'll see two key input fields — one for Anthropic, one for OpenAI.
- Paste your key into the appropriate field and click Save.
- Prism Tree will validate the key with a test call before saving. If the key is invalid, you'll see an error inline — double-check that you copied the full key with no leading or trailing spaces.
You can save keys for both providers simultaneously. Which one gets used depends on your Active Provider selection below the key fields.
To remove a key, click the Clear button next to that field. Prism Tree will fall back to platform defaults.
Choosing a provider and model
Once you have a key saved, you can choose your active provider and model from the same Settings page.
Provider options:
- Anthropic — powers features with Claude models
- OpenAI — powers features with GPT models
Model options:
| Provider | Model | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Fast responses, everyday use |
| Anthropic | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | Richer output, complex analysis |
| OpenAI | GPT-4o mini | Fast responses, everyday use |
| OpenAI | GPT-4o | Richer output, complex analysis |
Haiku and GPT-4o mini are faster and cheaper to run. Sonnet and GPT-4o give noticeably better output on tasks like cover letters, career analysis, and the Stage 2 calibration conversation. If you're doing a focused session and want the best results, switching to a Sonnet or GPT-4o temporarily is worth it.
Your provider and model selection is saved automatically and persists across sessions.
What your key powers
Your API key is used for every AI feature in Prism Tree. That includes:
Job applications: fit score analysis, interview prep kits, cover letter generation, tailored resume generation, and recruiter message drafts.
Career Brain: resume parsing, skills synthesis, the Enrichment Agent conversations in the Unpack tab, and competency tagging that runs after each session.
Framework: the Stage 2 calibration conversation that establishes your seniority level and builds your competency framework, plus the Advise tab's career advisor chat.
Personalization: the AI-powered voice interview that builds your writing style guide, and the writing sample analysis path.
A valid key is required for all of these features to work. If no key is saved, AI features will return an error when triggered.
Security and privacy
Your API key is stored encrypted on your Prism Tree account. It is never transmitted to or logged by Prism Tree's application layer in plaintext — it is decrypted in memory only at the moment an AI call is made, then discarded.
Prism Tree does not share your key with any third party. The only outbound use of your key is the direct API call to Anthropic or OpenAI on your behalf when you trigger an AI feature.
If you believe your key has been compromised, revoke it immediately from the Anthropic or OpenAI console and generate a new one. You can then update it in Prism Tree Settings.
Troubleshooting
"Invalid API key" error when saving The key failed the validation test. Common causes: you copied only part of the key, there's a leading or trailing space, or the key has been revoked. Go back to your provider's dashboard, check the key status, and re-copy it.
AI features aren't working even with a key saved Check that your selected Active Provider matches the key you saved. If you saved an Anthropic key but OpenAI is selected as the active provider, Prism Tree will try to use OpenAI and fall back to platform defaults for that provider.
Key saved successfully but I'm not seeing it reflected in usage There can be a short delay before your key is active on a new session. Try refreshing the page. If usage isn't appearing on your provider's dashboard after a few AI calls, re-save the key from Settings.