# How to Use

This guide walks through using Swan Inference as a developer consuming AI models — starting with a no-signup trial, then creating an account, topping up, and making real API requests.

{% hint style="info" %}
Looking to earn by providing GPU resources instead? See [Become a Provider](/core-concepts/swan-2.0-inference-cloud/become-a-provider.md) for the step-by-step setup guide.
{% endhint %}

## 0. Try it now — no signup

The fastest way to see Swan Inference in action: open the [playground](https://inference.swanchain.io/playground), pick a model, and send a message. No account, no API key, no credit card.

<figure><img src="/files/hKcQQjnBR1cXoKhUtD0u" alt="Swan Inference playground"><figcaption><p>Playground — runs GLM 4.7 Flash for anonymous visitors, rate-limited per IP.</p></figcaption></figure>

Ready for more? Sign up below to get an API key and start integrating.

## 1. Sign up and get your API key

Create a free account at [inference.swanchain.io/signup](https://inference.swanchain.io/signup) — email and password only, no credit card required.

<figure><img src="/files/PoFZpvoDC41m15T0hujE" alt="Swan Inference signup form"><figcaption><p>Sign up with email and password.</p></figcaption></figure>

After signing up, navigate to **Keys** in the dashboard. Your API key (`sk-swan-*`) is generated automatically — copy it and keep it secret.

<figure><img src="/files/SPLYnxTy2dQTZAufRInq" alt="Dashboard showing API key"><figcaption><p>Your API key appears under Keys in the dashboard.</p></figcaption></figure>

## 2. Top up credits

Inference requests are paid per token, deducted from your account balance in real time. Fund your account via Stripe (credit card) or crypto deposit (USDC / USDT / SWAN on multiple EVM chains).

* **Stripe:** instant processing, minimum deposit $5
* **Crypto:** per-user HD-derived deposit address shared across EVM chains, minimum $1

<figure><img src="/files/Yj6bE7oAxaBdQxLdkBMn" alt="Deposit credits via Stripe or crypto"><figcaption><p>Add funds via Stripe card payment or crypto deposit.</p></figcaption></figure>

### 20% bonus when depositing SWAN

Depositing SWAN tokens on Swan Mainnet credits your account with a **20% bonus on top of the USD value** — $100 of SWAN becomes $120 of credits. Your account balance is a single USD-denominated pool regardless of how it was funded, so there's nothing special to toggle at request time; you simply get more credits per dollar when you deposit SWAN.

Combined with Swan's already-lower per-token pricing, the deposit bonus pushes effective rates roughly 50–66% below going direct to Anthropic or Google for comparable models. Flip the **Pay with: SWAN** toggle on the [pricing page](https://inference.swanchain.io/pricing) to see the effective rate across every model.

<figure><img src="/files/YioXj73ePS4Jn3UQxAOW" alt="Pay-with-SWAN toggle on pricing page"><figcaption><p>Flip the Pay-with toggle to SWAN to preview the effective rate after the 20% deposit bonus.</p></figcaption></figure>

Usage is deducted from your balance per request. View balance, usage, and the transaction ledger under **Billing** in the dashboard.

## 3. Browse models

The [Models page](https://inference.swanchain.io/models) lists every available model with live pricing, context length, and provider count. Click any model for details and code examples.

<figure><img src="/files/HICZSdvP5QIDQ2gsjTPO" alt="Swan Inference models catalog"><figcaption><p>Live models catalog.</p></figcaption></figure>

The [Pricing page](https://inference.swanchain.io/pricing) compares SwanChain's rates side-by-side against Anthropic, Google, OpenRouter, and other providers for hero models — so you can see how prices stack up at a glance.

<figure><img src="/files/FNguey3R4hBRlVWYfnze" alt="Swan Inference pricing comparison"><figcaption><p>Pricing page with competitor comparison.</p></figcaption></figure>

## 4. Make your first inference request

Swan Inference is fully OpenAI-compatible — any existing OpenAI SDK or integration works by changing two things: the base URL and the API key. The examples below use `zai-org/GLM-4.7-Flash`, one of the cheapest hero models at $0.05 input / $0.36 output per 1M tokens.

### curl

```bash
curl https://inference.swanchain.io/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-swan-YOUR-KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "zai-org/GLM-4.7-Flash",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Say hello in 5 words."}]
  }'
```

### OpenAI Python SDK

```python
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://inference.swanchain.io/v1",
    api_key="sk-swan-YOUR-KEY",
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="zai-org/GLM-4.7-Flash",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Say hello in 5 words."}],
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)
```

### OpenAI Node.js SDK

```javascript
import OpenAI from "openai";

const client = new OpenAI({
  baseURL: "https://inference.swanchain.io/v1",
  apiKey: "sk-swan-YOUR-KEY",
});

const response = await client.chat.completions.create({
  model: "zai-org/GLM-4.7-Flash",
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Say hello in 5 words." }],
});
console.log(response.choices[0].message.content);
```

Streaming, embeddings, image generation, and audio transcription all work identically to OpenAI. See [OpenAI-Compatible API](/core-concepts/swan-2.0-inference-cloud.md#openai-compatible-api) for the full endpoint list.

## Next steps

* [**Inference Marketplace**](/core-concepts/market-provider/inference-marketplace.md) — deeper on how pricing, routing, and settlement work
* [**Become a Provider**](/core-concepts/swan-2.0-inference-cloud/become-a-provider.md) — want to earn by sharing GPU resources instead?
* [**API reference**](https://inference.swanchain.io/docs) — full list of endpoints, parameters, and error codes

Questions? Reach the team on [Discord](https://discord.gg/swanchain) or open an issue on [GitHub](https://github.com/swanchain).


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.swanchain.io/core-concepts/swan-2.0-inference-cloud/how-to-use.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.