BYOK guide

Setting up your API keys

A click-by-click walkthrough for getting each key and adding it to Maneku. Takes about ten minutes the first time.

On a credit plan? You don't need any of this — we run the AI for you. This page is only for bring-your-own-key (BYOK) users. See Getting Started instead.

Maneku uses three providers. You'll create an account with each, generate a key, and paste it into Maneku's Settings. A key is shown only once at creation — copy it straight away; if you lose it, you just delete it and make a new one.

Anthropic Required

Powers the co-host's responses. Key looks like sk-ant-…

  1. Go to console.anthropic.com and sign up or sign in.

  2. Add billing first. Open Settings → Billing and add a card / buy prepaid credits. New accounts sometimes include trial credit (you may be asked for a phone number to claim it). This step matters: a brand-new key will be rejected until the account can be billed — it's the #1 cause of "key doesn't work."

  3. Open API Keys in the left sidebar (direct link: console.anthropic.com/settings/keys), then click Create Key.

  4. Give it a name like maneku and create it. Copy the key now — it starts with sk-ant- and is shown only this once.

  5. In Maneku, open Settings → paste it into the Anthropic field and wait for the green check.

Groq Required Free

Transcribes the conversation. No credit card needed. Key looks like gsk_…

  1. Go to console.groq.com and create an account (Google, GitHub, or email — verify your email if asked).

  2. Open API Keys in the left sidebar, or go straight to console.groq.com/keys.

  3. Click Create API Key, give it a name like maneku, and submit.

  4. Copy the key immediately — it starts with gsk_ and is shown only once. After you close the dialog it can't be retrieved.

  5. In Maneku, open Settings → paste it into the Groq field and wait for the green check.

Why required? The co-host replies to a live transcript of the conversation, and Groq is what produces that transcript. Without it, the co-host has nothing to respond to.

ElevenLabs Optional

A more natural voice than your computer's built-in one. Skip to the end if you don't want it.

Monetized show? You'll need a paid ElevenLabs plan. Their free tier is licensed for non-commercial use only and requires crediting ElevenLabs in your content — so a show with ads, sponsors, or memberships can't legally run on it. Commercial rights start with their Starter plan (~$6/mo, ~30 min of voice); a regular show more realistically fits Creator (~$22/mo). See elevenlabs.io/pricing.

  1. Go to elevenlabs.io and sign up or sign in.

  2. Click Developers in the left sidebar, then the API Keys tab.

  3. Click Create Key and give it a name like maneku.

  4. Enable the right permission. New ElevenLabs keys are restricted by default — you pick which features the key can use. Make sure Text to Speech is enabled, or the key won't work with Maneku. (You can leave an optional credit limit if you want a spending cap.)

  5. Create it and copy the key now — after creation you'll only ever see its name and last few characters.

  6. In Maneku, open Settings → paste it into the ElevenLabs field, then choose ElevenLabs as your voice provider.

Heads-up: if the co-host stays silent or falls back to the system voice after adding ElevenLabs, the key is almost always missing the Text to Speech permission. Re-create it with that enabled.

You're set

Once Anthropic and Groq show green checks (and ElevenLabs too, if you added it), you're ready to join a room. Keys are stored encrypted on your own device and are never sent to Maneku.

Trouble with a key? See Troubleshooting → API keys, or email support@maneku.ai.