Getting started

This guide takes a facility from nothing to a working first request in three steps.

Before you begin

Select the facility you want to configure using the facility selector in the main Performance Hub toolbar.
Have a billing card stored for the facility. Top-ups charge your stored billing card; if none is on file, the Balance & Top-up page shows "No card on file." with an Add payment details link.

Step 1 — Enable the module

Open AI Models, Credits & Usage from the main menu. If the module has not been enabled for this facility yet, the Overview tab shows an enable prompt:

"Enable AI Models, Credits & Usage — Turn on prepaid AI inference for this facility. We will provision a secure inference key; you can then top up a balance and create API keys."

Click the enable button. Provisioning takes a few seconds (the button shows "Enabling…").

Step 2 — Make your first top-up

Go to Budgets & Limits → Balance & Top-up.

Top up balance and Auto top-up cards

Figure 1: The Top up balance card (presets, amount, stored card) and the Auto top-up card

In the Top up balance card, pick a preset ($25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1000) or type an amount. "Minimum top-up is $10."
Check the stored card shown beneath the amount (e.g. "Amex ending 0005 · exp 06/29"). Use Edit payment details if it needs updating.
Click Top up $–.––. On success you'll see "Top-up successful. Your balance has been credited." Top-ups appear in the balance instantly.

Recommended: in the Auto top-up card, switch on Enable auto top-up, set When balance is below and Top up by (also minimum $10), and click Save changes. Your card is then charged automatically whenever the balance falls below the threshold, so inference never stops unexpectedly. See Budgets & top-ups for details.

Step 3 — Send your first request

Pick whichever path applies to you:

If you have AI Agents

Nothing to configure — AI Agent devices paired with this facility connect to AI Models automatically. Open Settings (cog) → Agent Access & API Keys and confirm your agent appears under Connected AI Agents with status Online. See AI Agents.

If you're connecting your own software

Open Settings (cog) → Agent Access & API Keys and click Create key. Copy the secret from the "Copy your API key" dialog — "This is the only time the full key is shown. Store it somewhere safe."
Use the Base URL and example request shown in the Connecting to the API card on the same page. A minimal test:

curl https://app.performancehub.co/ai/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "auto", "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]}'

See Connecting your application for Python and TypeScript examples.

Step 4 — Verify

Open the Logs tab. Your test request should appear within moments, with its model, token counts, cost, speed, and a success status. If it doesn't, see Troubleshooting.

Recommended next steps

Set spend limits — Budgets & Limits → Spend Limits. A monthly cap is a sensible safety net; see Budgets & top-ups.
Review the model catalog — Settings → Models. All models are enabled by default; use the quick presets to narrow the set if you have provider or budget preferences. See Models.
Consider guardrails — Settings → Guardrails for PII masking, secret redaction, and prompt-injection shielding. None are enabled by default. See Guardrails.