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Beginner Tips and Tricks for Reka AI: Your First Chat and API Call

A practical Reka beginner guide covering API setup, model selection, media inputs, key security, and usage-based costs.
Length4 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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To get started with Reka, create a developer account, add credits, make an API key, and send a simple chat-completions request to https://api.reka.ai/v1. Keep the key private, select a model available to your account, and check its supported features before adding images, video, tools, or structured output.

How to make your first Reka API call

Reka’s developer quickstart uses the OpenAI SDK with Reka’s API base URL. Before calling the API, add credits to your account: Reka says requests with a zero balance return an insufficient-balance error. See Reka’s developer documentation for the current setup instructions and examples.

  1. Create an account and API key. Store the key in an environment variable. Do not put it in browser or mobile-app code, commit it to a public repository, or share it with anyone.
  2. Install the OpenAI SDK for your chosen language, or use curl. Reka’s quickstart provides examples for Python, JavaScript, and curl.
  3. Set the API base URL to https://api.reka.ai/v1 and provide your Reka API key as the SDK’s API key.
  4. Choose a model your account can access and send a basic chat-completions request with a user message. Confirm the request succeeds before adding more complex features.

For a multi-turn conversation, include the full conversation history in the request’s messages array. A later request does not automatically know what was said in an earlier one unless you send that context again.

Choose a model your account can use

Reka’s model guide identifies reka-flash and reka-edge (or reka-edge-2603) as baseline models for public access, while noting that other models may be available. Do not assume every account sees the same catalog: query the Models API with your key to check access.

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Compare the options against the needs of your particular task:

  • Availability: confirm the model appears for your account.
  • Input type: check whether it supports the text, image, or video input you intend to send.
  • Context and output limits: consult the current model catalog for the selected model’s context length and output capacity.
  • Features and parameters: verify support for streaming, tools, structured outputs, and any sampling parameters your application needs. These capabilities can differ by model.
  • Cost: compare input, output, and cached-input rates for the expected volume of use.

The model-list reference exposes modality and feature metadata; use it rather than inferring capabilities from a model’s name. Check the model-list reference and current model guide before building around a particular feature.

Start with text, then add chat features

Make one straightforward text request first. Once that works, add only the capabilities your task needs. Reka’s Chat API follows the OpenAI Chat Completions request and response shape, but supported options vary by model. Check feature support before relying on a particular parameter or behavior.

For streaming, tools, or structured outputs, follow the relevant Chat API guidance and confirm that the chosen model supports the feature. Keep the conversation history in the messages array when a request depends on earlier turns.

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Use images and video appropriately

The Chat API documentation lists image_url, video_url, audio_url, and pdf_url as supported media content types. Begin with one image and a specific question; add multiple images or another media type only when the task calls for it. The media URL must be accessible to Reka.

For short video clips

Reka says Chat API video works best for clips shorter than 30 seconds. A video URL also needs to be directly accessible to the service; protected video providers may block downloads.

For longer videos

Use Reka’s Vision API workflow for longer videos instead of treating the short-video Chat API route as the recommended option. The Vision API processes an uploaded video for querying. Follow the current Vision API documentation for its upload and query flow.

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Understand credits, token charges, and usage

Reka bills Chat Completions by input and output tokens at the selected model’s rates; cached input has its own applicable rate. Prices are model-specific and can change, so check the current Reka Gateway pricing page before estimating spend.

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As displayed by Reka on 5 October 2026, the listed text rates included:

Model Input price Output price
reka-edge-2603 $0.10 per million tokens $0.10 per million tokens
reka-flash-3 $0.10 per million tokens $0.20 per million tokens

These are the rates Reka displayed on that date, not a promise of current or future pricing. Your total depends on the model and the tokens used. Add credits before sending requests, then use the developer Usage page to review requests and spend by model.

Keep your API key and account secure

  • Keep the API key in a server-side environment variable or another secret store; never embed it in client-side code.
  • If a key is exposed, replace it through your developer account and update the application using it.
  • Check the Usage page regularly so you can spot unexpected requests or spending.

Reka’s FAQ states that the company is SOC 2 Type I certified as of June 2025. That is Reka’s own FAQ statement; the FAQ says readers can contact the company for a copy of the report. Consult Reka’s FAQ for account and security details.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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