netlify/context-and-tools/netlify-ai-gateway

Netlify AI Gateway

Call AI models from Netlify compute using the provider's official SDK. The gateway injects provider credentials automatically — instantiate the SDK with no args and it works.

Use the provider SDK with injected env credentials. Do not hand-roll a raw fetch() against the gateway URL, and do not wire calls to NETLIFY_AI_GATEWAY_KEY / NETLIFY_AI_GATEWAY_URL as your default path — those are for third-party/unsupported libraries only (see below).

Footguns (read first)

• Not browser-callable. Gateway calls belong in Functions or Edge Functions — never in client-side code. The browser has no injected credentials.
• Runtime-only credentials. Never call the gateway from build scripts, prerender/SSG, or build plugins — those get no credentials and fail. Do AI work at request time; cache to Netlify Blobs if output must look precomputed.
• 60-second sync timeout. A gateway call in a synchronous function is bound by the 60s function timeout. Stream long generations (SDK streaming + ReadableStream), or use a background function that persists output for the client to fetch. Never leave a slow generation unstreamed.
• Requires one production deploy. The gateway does not activate until a project has at least one production deploy. Even for local dev, run netlify deploy --prod once first.
• Don't hardcode model lists. Available models change. Check the live providers endpoint (https://api.netlify.com/api/v1/ai-gateway/providers/detailed) rather than baking in a static list.
• OpenRouter SDK needs 1.2.43+. Earlier versions ignore OPENROUTER_BASE_URL, call openrouter.ai directly, and fail with 401 Missing Authentication header.

Where code goes

Write normal Function/handler code — there is no AI-specific file type. A function at netlify/functions/joke.js exporting config = { path: "/api/joke" } is served at /api/joke under both netlify dev and production.

Provider SDKs (instantiate with no args)

The gateway injects each provider's own env vars, so the official SDK works with zero config.

Anthropic Claude:

import Anthropic from '@anthropic-ai/sdk';
const anthropic = new Anthropic(); // uses ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL
const message = await anthropic.messages.create({
  model: 'claude-sonnet-5-5',
  max_tokens: 1024,
  messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'Hello!' }]
});

OpenAI:

import OpenAI from 'openai';
const openai = new OpenAI(); // uses OPENAI_API_KEY, OPENAI_BASE_URL
const completion = await openai.chat.completions.create({
  model: 'gpt-6.1-sol',
  messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'Hello!' }]
});

Google Gemini:

import { GoogleGenAI } from '@google/genai';
const genAI = new GoogleGenAI({}); // uses GEMINI_API_KEY, GOOGLE_GEMINI_BASE_URL
const result = await genAI.models.generateContent({
  model: 'gemini-3.8-flash',
  contents: 'Hello!'
});

TypeSafe (Jev) — structured decisions (e.g. routing/classifying form submissions):

import type { Config, Context } from '@netlify/functions';
import { choice, TypeSafeClient } from '@typesafe-ai/sdk';
export default async (req: Request, context: Context) => {
  const body = await req.json().catch(() => undefined);
  if (body === undefined)
    return Response.json({ error: 'Request body must be valid JSON.' }, { status: 400 });
  const client = new TypeSafeClient(); // uses TYPESAFE_API_KEY, TYPESAFE_BASE_URL
  const { answers } = await client.systemOne({
    state: body,
    questions: {
      team: choice('Route this contact form submission', {
        sales: null,
        support: null,
        spam: null,
      }),
    },
  });
  return Response.json({ team: answers.team.choice, requestId: context.requestId });
};
export const config: Config = { path: '/api/route', method: 'POST' };

systemOne defaults to the jev-latest model. Each question is a choice(prompt, options) mapping named options to null; the result is at answers.<question>.choice. POST a JSON body (e.g. {"message":"Can someone help us upgrade to 200 seats?"}) with Content-Type: application/json.

OpenRouter (SDK 1.2.43+ required — see footguns):

import { OpenRouter } from '@openrouter/sdk';
const openRouter = new OpenRouter(); // uses OPENROUTER_API_KEY, OPENROUTER_BASE_URL
const result = await openRouter.chat.send({
  chatRequest: {
    model: 'x-ai/grok-4.5',
    messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'Hello!' }]
  }
});

Models available through OpenRouter can be called with either the OpenRouter SDK or the OpenAI SDK using OpenRouter model-ID notation (e.g. deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash-0731) — just pass the ID as the model.

Model IDs above (gpt-6.1-sol, claude-sonnet-5-5, gemini-3.8-flash, x-ai/grok-4.5, etc.) are examples that change — check the live providers endpoint.

Env vars — which to use

Default: supported provider SDKs consume their injected provider-specific vars automatically. Instantiate the SDK with no args as shown above (new OpenAI(), new Anthropic(), new GoogleGenAI({}), new TypeSafeClient(), new OpenRouter()) and the corresponding pair is read for you:

• OpenAI: OPENAI_API_KEY, OPENAI_BASE_URL
• Anthropic: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL
• Google Gemini: GEMINI_API_KEY, GOOGLE_GEMINI_BASE_URL
• OpenRouter: OPENROUTER_API_KEY, OPENROUTER_BASE_URL
• TypeSafe: TYPESAFE_API_KEY, TYPESAFE_BASE_URL

Explicit-config path: NETLIFY_AI_GATEWAY_KEY and NETLIFY_AI_GATEWAY_URL are always injected and never collide with user-set provider vars. Use this pair only when a third-party or unsupported library needs explicit key/base-URL configuration — pass them as constructor arguments. It is not the default; supported SDKs should use their provider-specific vars above.

Precedence: Netlify never overrides a key or base URL you set at project or team level. If you set your own provider key, the gateway defers to it. For Gemini specifically, injection is skipped if GOOGLE_API_KEY or GOOGLE_VERTEX_BASE_URL is set (Vertex/Google-API-key setups win).

To stop all injection, disable AI Features: https://docs.netlify.com/build/build-with-ai/manage-ai-for-your-team/manage-ai-features/#disable-ai-features

Full example (Vite + React + Function)

Detect gateway availability by checking for an injected var, then call the SDK.

Install the client first: npm install openai. Then create netlify/functions/joke.js:

import process from "process";
import OpenAI from "openai";
export default async () => {
  if (!process.env.OPENAI_BASE_URL)
    return Response.json({ error: "AI Gateway not active — deploy to prod once on a credit-based plan" });
  try {
    const client = new OpenAI();
    const res = await client.responses.create({
      model: "gpt-6-luna",
      input: [{ role: "user", content: "Give me a short dad joke about coffee" }],
      reasoning: { effort: "none" },
    });
    return Response.json({
      joke: res.output_text?.trim() || "Out of jokes",
      model: res.model,
      tokens: { input: res.usage.input_tokens, output: res.usage.output_tokens },
    });
  } catch (e) {
    return Response.json({ error: `${e}` }, { status: 500 });
  }
};
export const config = { path: "/api/joke" };

src/App.jsx fetches /api/joke:

import { useState } from "react";
export default function App() {
  const [joke, setJoke] = useState();
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false);
  const getJoke = async () => {
    setLoading(true);
    try {
      const res = await fetch("/api/joke");
      setJoke(res.ok ? await res.json() : { error: res.status });
    } finally {
      setLoading(false);
    }
  };
  return (
    <>
      <button onClick={getJoke} disabled={loading}>
        {loading ? "Thinking..." : "Get joke"}
      </button>
      <pre>{JSON.stringify(joke, null, 2)}</pre>
    </>
  );
}

Local development

Two options — both need at least one prior production deploy:

1. Netlify CLI: netlify dev gives full gateway support.
2. Vite plugin: access the gateway locally without netlify dev. Add @netlify/vite-plugin and run your native dev command (npm run dev):

// vite.config.js
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import react from '@vitejs/plugin-react'
import netlify from "@netlify/vite-plugin";
export default defineConfig({ plugins: [react(), netlify()] })

Setup flow:

npm install -g netlify-cli@latest
netlify login
npm create vite@latest dad-jokes -- --template react --no-interactive
cd dad-jokes && npm install
netlify init
netlify deploy --prod --open   # required: activates the gateway

Billing, limits, constraints

• Plans: Credit-based plans only (Free, Personal, Pro). Enterprise: contact your Account Manager. Legacy plans must switch first. Enabled by default unless you disabled AI Features or set your own provider keys.
• Cost: tokens → USD (provider-published rates) → credits. $1 USD = 180 credits.
• Rate limits (per minute, per team, across all projects): Free 90, Personal 450, Pro 1,800, Enterprise 9,000 credits.
• Context window: input limited to 200k tokens.
• Prompt caching: Anthropic — only the default 5-min ephemeral cache; OpenAI — per-account prompt_cache_key set for you; Gemini — explicit context caching unsupported.
• No pass-through headers (can't enable header-gated experimental features), no batch inference, no OpenAI priority processing.
• OpenRouter ZDR only: Netlify routes only to providers with a Zero Data Retention policy. A model listed in the OpenRouter directory but with no ZDR-guaranteeing host is not served. Browse ZDR-eligible models: https://openrouter.ai/models?zdr=true
• Privacy: The gateway does not store prompts or model outputs.

Cost controls: Set up rate-limiting rules on AI-calling Functions/Edge Functions to prevent visitor abuse and runaway cost: https://docs.netlify.com/manage/security/secure-access-to-sites/rate-limiting/ — and configure auto-recharge or credit packs: https://docs.netlify.com/manage/accounts-and-billing/billing/billing-for-credit-based-plans/configure-auto-recharge/ · https://docs.netlify.com/manage/accounts-and-billing/billing/billing-for-credit-based-plans/buy-credit-packs/

Monitor usage: https://docs.netlify.com/manage/accounts-and-billing/billing/billing-for-credit-based-plans/monitor-usage-for-credit-based-plans

References

• Overview: https://docs.netlify.com/build/ai-gateway/overview.md
• Quickstart: https://docs.netlify.com/build/ai-gateway/quickstart-for-ai-gateway.md
• Examples: https://docs.netlify.com/build/ai-gateway/examples.md — including the AI SEO Image Generator (Gemini image generation): https://github.com/netlify/examples/tree/main/examples/ai-seo-image-generator and a TanStack Start chat app: https://github.com/netlify-templates/tanstack-template

<!-- Gap: exact directly-served model names (Anthropic/OpenAI/Gemini/TypeSafe) are not statically enumerable — rendered at build time from the live providers endpoint. -->

<!-- system: agent-context/ai-gateway/system.md — human-owned, merged by ctx-gen; edit system.md, not this section -->

Netlify house rules (ai-gateway)

These are org conventions, not docs facts — merged into the rendered skill by ctx-gen and never generated. Owned by the skills maintainer.