NeverMetered
Get API key

Use NeverMetered with curl

Raw HTTP requests, for testing or for languages without an SDK.

OpenAI ChatAnthropic Messages
Model
qwen3.8-27b
128K context on the free plan65,536 max output tokens on the free planReplace YOUR_API_KEY with your key.
  1. 1

    Create an API key

    Create a key in API keys and name it after the tool, for example “curl”. A dedicated key per tool lets you see its usage separately and give it its own parallel-stream cap. The key is shown once; the snippets below use YOUR_API_KEY where it goes.

  2. 2

    Export your key

    export NEVERMETERED_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"
  3. 3

    Keep it for new terminals (optional)

    The command above only lasts for the current terminal. Save it once so every new terminal has it.

    # zsh (the macOS default)
echo 'export NEVERMETERED_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"' >> ~/.zshrc
# bash
echo 'export NEVERMETERED_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"' >> ~/.bashrc
  4. 4

    List the models you can call

    curl https://api.nevermetered.com/v1/models \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NEVERMETERED_API_KEY"
  5. 5

    Send a request

    curl https://api.nevermetered.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NEVERMETERED_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "qwen3.8-27b",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Reply with the word ready"}]
  }'
  6. 6

    Verify it works

    A JSON response with the model's reply means you're set. The request shows up in Requests within a few seconds, with its input, cached and output tokens.

Tips
  • Add -N and "stream": true to see tokens as they are generated. In PowerShell, stream with curl.exe (not curl, which is an alias for Invoke-WebRequest in Windows PowerShell) and pipe the JSON body in, as in the quickstart.
  • On the free tier, add -i to see the x-ratelimit-remaining-requests header (in PowerShell, Invoke-RestMethod -ResponseHeadersVariable h on PowerShell 7).

Troubleshooting

404 model_not_found
Use a model id exactly as GET /v1/models lists it, for example qwen3.8-27b. Plans can restrict which models a key may call.
400 context_length_exceeded
The conversation outgrew the 128K context window (input + output). Let the tool compact or start a fresh session, or get a larger window on your plan.
429 concurrency_limit_exceeded
All your parallel streams are busy and your queue allowance is full. Lower the tool's parallelism (subagents, batch size), or get more streams on your plan.
Answers stop mid-sentence
The response hit your plan's output cap of 65,536 tokens (finish reason length or max_tokens). Ask for shorter steps, or upgrade for a higher cap.
403 email_verification_required
Free requests need a verified email. Click the link in your verification email (you can resend it from the dashboard), or upgrade.
429 daily_quota_exceeded
You've used today's free requests; agents send one request per step, so they go quickly. The allowance resets at 00:00 UTC, and paid plans have no daily limit.
503 / 504 request_queue_timeout
The service stayed busy longer than the queue timeout and nothing was generated. Retry with backoff, and give the tool a generous request timeout.
503 service_unavailable
No GPU capacity is online at the moment. It's temporary and your setup is fine: retry in a little while, and check the status page.