Automatic use API key once chatGPT account limits exceeded

Open 💬 4 comments Opened Aug 31, 2025 by anfedoro

What feature would you like to see?

Hello
Could you please add configuration to continue a workflow smoothly using API key once chatGPT account limits exceeded? Very convenient and do not break action in the middle of code change.

Thanks in advance

Are you interested in implementing this feature?

_No response_

Additional information

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4 Comments

anfedoro · 12 months ago

Probably closely related: https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/2733

Not really. Using IDE extension you do not see an option to have both login and API. You have to log off before you see an option to connect using API KEY.
If you login and reach your limits, you have manually logoff and force to use the KEY. Result - broken workflow and lost context.
My expectation is that the agent continue workflow after login limit exhausted using the KEY.

Sotiris-Bekiaris · 12 months ago

Result - broken workflow and lost context.

This is so true. Losing context also means higher token usage, which leads to hitting limits faster, spending more, and getting worse results.

I’ve lost context before due to an authentication error right in the middle of a feature, and I had to log out and log back in.

Lack of history is another known issue, and it should definitely be taken into consideration when switching from subscription to API key.

jeffscottward · 11 months ago

> Probably closely related: https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/2733 Not really. Using IDE extension you do not see an option to have both login and API. You have to log off before you see an option to connect using API KEY. If you login and reach your limits, you have manually logoff and force to use the KEY. Result - broken workflow and lost context. My expectation is that the agent continue workflow after login limit exhausted using the KEY.

I don't even see that. Where do you see you can even put in any API credentials in the first place? It's only a ChatGPT login no? I'm not talking about the CLI only. I'm talking about the VS code extension. Like in the extensions side bar. And it looks like a ChatGPT UI.

wbdb · 5 months ago

@etraut-openai @charley-oai Any update on this in light of the Responses API changes?
https://github.com/openai/codex/issues/3942#issuecomment-4056440615

From a company perspective, maintaining separate credit balances (API vs. in-app credits) adds unnecessary friction. Unifying or simplifying this would make it much easier to continue using OpenAI products without interruption.

It would be especially helpful to allow users to provide an API key directly in the Codex app (or via config.toml). That way, when users hit limits (e.g., 5h or weekly caps), they can seamlessly continue working via the API.

Also worth noting: both credits and API balances expire after a year, so aligning these systems would reduce confusion and overhead.