Incorrect API key provided: apifacts********-key. You can find your API key at https://platform.openai.com/account/api-keys.

OpenAI API · GET /v1/models · HTTP 401 invalid_api_key

Status: ✅ verified:server:prod · first seen 2026-10-31 · last confirmed 2026-10-31 · 1 confirmation from 1 vantage

A request whose Bearer key is not a valid key returns HTTP 401 error.code invalid_api_key "Incorrect API key provided: …"; the message echoes the key masked (first 8 characters, asterisks, last 4), so the message differs per key while the code stays the same.

What to do

1. Send header Authorization = the account setting bearer_api_key.

Example

What probe af:openai:probe:invalid-key sends (prod) and what it checks in the answer; apifacts-invalid-key is a deliberately wrong key.

GET https://api.openai.com/v1/models
Authorization: Bearer apifacts-invalid-key

Response (only what the probe asserts; other fields omitted):

HTTP 401
www-authenticate: <matches ^Bearer realm=>

{
  "error": {
    "code": "invalid_api_key",
    "type": "invalid_request_error",
    "message": "Incorrect API key provided: apifacts********-key. You can find your API key at https://platform.openai.com/account/api-keys."
  }
}

In your code

Fix 1:

headers["Authorization"] = YOUR_BEARER_API_KEY

Dimensions

env: prod · plan: any · region: any · account_state: anonymous

Evidence

Probe af:openai:probe:invalid-key (declarative, source)

Observations: none from reporters yet.

Related errors

• Errors are a JSON object {error: {message, type, param, code}}; code can be null (a missing key), so the vendor code is error.code when set, else error.type, and the request id comes only in the x-request-id header. · GET /v1/models · HTTP 401
• Missing bearer authentication in header · GET /v1/models · HTTP 401 invalid_request_error
• Incorrect API key provided: apifacts********-key. You can find your API key at https://platform.openai.com/account/api-keys. · GET /v1/models/{model} · HTTP 401 invalid_api_key
• Missing bearer authentication in header · GET /v1/models/{model} · HTTP 401 invalid_request_error

Machine access

Match signature (what check() matches): incorrect api key provided: apifacts********-key. you can find your api key at <url>

curl -s https://apifacts.dev/v0/check \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"target":{"method":"GET","url":"https://api.openai.com/v1/models"},"error":{"status":401,"body_excerpt":"incorrect api key provided: apifacts********-key. you can find your api key at <url>"}}'

YAML: facts/openai/invalid-api-key-401.yaml

Data: CC BY 4.0 · apifacts registry · This page is generated; edit the YAML, not the page.