How to Get a Mistral AI API Key

February 20, 2026

Mistral AI is a European LLM provider offering models like Mistral Large and Mistral Small through its API platform.

If you're building an AI-native SaaS product, internal assistant, or agent system, you'll need a Mistral API key.

This guide covers:

Creating your Mistral account
Generating your API key
Configuring billing
Testing your first API call
Using Mistral via Unified's Generative AI API

Step 1: Create or Log In to Your Mistral Account

Go to:

https://console.mistral.ai

If you're creating a new account, you'll need to:

Set up a workspace
Name it
Accept terms

Workspaces determine billing and rate limits.

Step 2: Navigate to API Keys

In the console:

Left sidebar → API Keys

Direct URL:

https://console.mistral.ai/api-keys

Step 3: Create a New API Key

Click:

Create new key

You'll be prompted to:

Assign a name (e.g., prod-backend, staging)
Optionally set an expiration date

Once created, the key will be displayed once.

Copy it immediately and store it securely.

Note: The key may take a few minutes to become active.

Step 4: Store Your Key Securely

Recommended: environment variable.

macOS / Linux

export MISTRAL_API_KEY="<your_key>"

Never:

Commit API keys to version control
Embed them in client-side code
Share them publicly

Treat API keys like credentials.

Step 5: Configure Billing

Mistral offers a limited free tier for experimentation, but production usage typically requires billing.

In the console:

Billing

You may need to:

Add a payment method
Purchase initial credits
Configure auto-reload

Rate limits depend on usage tier and model.

Step 6: Test Your API Key

Example request:

curl https://api.mistral.ai/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MISTRAL_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "mistral-large-latest",
    "messages": [
      {"role": "user", "content": "Explain what an API key is in two sentences."}
    ]
  }'

Common errors: