PonakoTry Ponako

Developer guide

Change one line.
Keep your code.

Your code keeps working. Point the tools you already use at Ponako and send the same requests.

Create a key See live models
A drawn box computer and an open notebook joined by one ink line
01 / Key

Make an API key.

Create an account, open Your Ponako, and make a named key. The full secret appears once. Each key can carry its own daily dollar cap and a requests-per-minute limit.

Small safety habit

Keep the key in an environment variable, not directly in source code. Give separate apps separate keys.

02 / Connect

Point your client here.

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://ponako.com/v1",
    api_key="sk-scalar-YOUR-KEY",
)

Point your client at https://ponako.com/v1 and use the key. Messages, temperature, tools, response formats, and streaming all pass through in the shape you already know.

03 / Ask

Send a completion.

reply = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="Qwen3.8-27B",
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Hello from Ponako"}
    ],
)

print(reply.choices[0].message.content)

Use an exact model from the live market, or use auto and get the cheapest live checked model that is still quick enough; if its boxes die, auto retries on the next cheapest live model — a model you name never changes.

04 / Stream

Stream when it matters.

stream = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="Qwen3.8-27B",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Explain rain."}],
    stream=True,
)

for event in stream:
    print(event.choices[0].delta.content or "", end="")

Ponako forwards tokens as they arrive. The response headers include which provider answered and what the request cost.

05 / Trust

Ask for stronger checks.

Require a minimum trust level with X-Scalar-Min-Tier. Add X-Scalar-Require-Hash: 1 to fail closed unless the provider proved the model file matches the approved one. Add X-Scalar-Vet: 1 to ask a second provider to compare its answer. Add X-Scalar-Min-Tps to require a measured speed floor (8 or higher). The reply may include X-Scalar-Tok-Per-S. Jobs to a live agent are sealed on the wire; emails, phones, cards, and key-shaped secrets are stripped first. Ponako keeps an encrypted copy of the original prompt and the reply. Receipts do not include those texts.

What the checks promise.

A passed check means the model file is the approved one. It does not mean the operator is blind — the answering computer still sees your prompt.

Errors stay ordinary.

Bad keys return 401, insufficient credit returns 402, rate or budget limits return 429, and no eligible provider returns 503.

06 / Go

Your first useful roundtrip.

Create the account, copy a key, paste the sample, and run it. The dashboard shows the request and its cost the moment it finishes.

Create a key