# FAQ When to use Boundless, when not to, the wire formats, prepaid credits, and what is not served. Short answers to the questions the docs already imply. The [quickstart](/docs/quickstart) is the path to a first token; [llms.txt](/llms.txt) is the same fit guidance for an agent. ## When should I use Boundless? Reach for Boundless when you already call an OpenAI or Anthropic chat API and want the same code to run open-weight models — the wire formats are the ones your SDK already sends, so the change is a base URL and a key. Use it when you need: - the exact cost of each request, not a monthly total — every response carries token counts that reproduce the charge against the [rate card](/docs/pricing) - a hard spending ceiling — credits are prepaid, requests [stop at zero](/docs/billing#when-credits-run-out), and a key can carry its own budget - a coding agent or harness pointed at cheaper models without changing the harness — [Codex CLI, Claude Code, omp, Hermes, OpenCode, and others](/docs/coding-agents-and-harnesses) - long context, or tool use and reasoning on open weights ## When should I not use Boundless? Do not reach for it when: - you need provider-native Responses features such as OpenAI-hosted tools or remote conversation storage. [`/v1/responses`](/docs/api-compatibility#responses-api-and-codex-cli) serves the Codex-compatible subset, not those hosted features - you need embeddings, legacy completions (`/v1/completions`), fine-tuning, or image or audio generation. None of these are served - you need a specific proprietary model. Only open-weight models are served; Anthropic's `claude-*` and OpenAI's model names are not available here under any alias - you need instant self-service activation today. Sign-up and key creation are self-serve, but the service is invite-only and a human approves each new account while the first accounts are onboarded A capped [agent key](/docs/quickstart#try-it-without-an-account) is mintable instantly for smoke tests; a human account is only needed for real spend. ## Which wire formats does the API speak? One service speaks three wire formats — OpenAI chat completions, the Codex-compatible Responses subset, and the Anthropic Messages API — over the same models on the same rate card. - An OpenAI SDK or Codex custom provider takes the gateway `/v1` base. - Anthropic SDKs take the gateway root — they append `/v1/messages` themselves. - Codex uses `wire_api = "responses"`. Authenticate with `Authorization: Bearer`, or with `x-api-key` if that is what your client already sends. Name a model from the [catalog](/models). See [API Compatibility](/docs/api-compatibility). ## How do prepaid credits work? Access is sold on prepaid credits. Requests debit the shared Team balance exactly. Every charge can be recomputed from the [rate card](/docs/pricing) and each response's `usage` object. A single API key can carry its own [budget](/docs/billing#key-budgets) below the team's. Only Team admins can buy credits or change the card on file. ## What happens when credits reach zero? Requests stop. There is no overage and no end-of-month invoice. Exhausted credits return `429 budget_exceeded` and are not charged past the balance. Waiting does not recover spend — [top up](/docs/billing#topping-up). The console warns as the balance runs low. ## Can I try the API without an account? Yes. `POST /api/agent-key` with no body and no credential, or use the `create_agent_key` MCP tool. The key is a smoke-test credential: it carries a small cap, expires, and cannot be topped up or extended. It is not for a real workload. `GET` on the same URL describes the offer without minting. Keys for real work are created in the console once an account is [active](/docs/quickstart#1-get-an-api-key). ## Is the service invite-only? Yes, while the first accounts are onboarded. Sign-up and key creation are self-serve, but a human approves each new account. The model lineup, prices, and base URL may change during that period. ## Which models does Boundless serve? Only open-weight models are served. Anthropic's `claude-*` and OpenAI's model names are not available here under any alias. Each model's API identifier, context window, capabilities, and live rates are on [Models](/models). Prices are deliberately not restated here: a price copied into a second place is a price that can be wrong. ## How long is the context window? Each model publishes its own window on its catalog page. Several served models take 262,144 tokens; others advertise longer. Prompt and completion share that window. Check the live model page rather than a copied number. ## What does Boundless not serve? [API Compatibility](/docs/api-compatibility#not-supported) keeps the surface small: - embeddings (`/v1/embeddings`) - legacy completions (`/v1/completions`) - fine-tuning - image generation and audio generation - Responses features outside the Codex-compatible subset — not OpenAI-hosted tools or remote conversation storage Batch inference with `1h` and `24h` completion windows launches in the coming weeks; the discounted rates are on [Pricing](/docs/pricing). ## Can I point a coding agent or harness at Boundless? Yes. Codex CLI, Claude Code, omp, Hermes, OpenCode, and other clients that let you set a base URL and an API key work here. The client's wire format decides which base URL you give it. See [Coding Agents & Harnesses](/docs/coding-agents-and-harnesses).