Overview

Fikra API exposes an OpenAI-compatible inference endpoint, so you can move from another OpenAI-style gateway by changing the base URL and model names. Existing chat-completions requests and responses keep the same format, and streaming is supported. Point any OpenAI-compatible client at https://api.fikraapi.co.ke/v1, authenticate with a Fikra API key, and use Fikra models.

Prerequisites

A Fikra API key stored in the environment variable FIKRA_API_KEY.
Python 3.7 or newer with the openai SDK installed.
Existing code that calls an OpenAI-compatible chat-completions endpoint.

Step-by-step

Get an API key
Generate a scoped, revocable Fikra API key and export it:

bash export FIKRA_API_KEY="your-key"

Install or upgrade the OpenAI SDK

bash pip install --upgrade openai

Point the client at Fikra API
Replace the old gateway base URL with https://api.fikraapi.co.ke/v1 and use your Fikra API key:

```python import os from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI( base_url="https://api.fikraapi.co.ke/v1", api_key=os.environ["FIKRA_API_KEY"], ) ```

Swap the model name
Change any model identifiers to one of the available Fikra models, for example deepseek-v4-flash-0731 or fikra-auto. If your old gateway used a custom model name, map it to a Fikra model from the list below.
Run a migration test
Send a minimal chat request to confirm the endpoint, authentication, and model are working before switching production traffic.

Verify it works

Run this script and confirm you get a text response:

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="deepseek-v4-flash-0731",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "ping"}],
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)

If the request succeeds, your OpenAI-compatible integration is ready for the new gateway. Streamed responses work the same way as before.

Costs

Fikra API bills per token in USD, with different rates per model:

Model	Input (USD per 1M tokens)	Output (USD per 1M tokens)
deepseek-v4-flash-0731	0.09	0.15
deepseek-v4.1-flash	0.25	0.80
deepseek-v4.1-flash-1017	0.30	0.85
fikra-auto	0.40	0.40
fikra-auto-pro	6.00	12.00
fikra-code-35b	1.00	1.00

Payments are made through a token-credit wallet. You can top up with M-Pesa or card via Paystack, or use x402 USDC on Base for agent workloads. Fikra API bills in USD or KES; check the pricing page for current details.

Common errors

401 Unauthorized to API key is missing, invalid, or inactive. Confirm FIKRA_API_KEY is set and the key is scoped and enabled.
400 Bad Request to The model name is not supported. Use an available model from the list above.
429 Too Many Requests to You hit the rate limit: 30 requests/min for unverified keys, 100 requests/min for trusted keys. Slow down or request trusted access.
503 Service Unavailable to Upstream is busy. Retry the request with exponential backoff.

How to migrate from another gateway with a base URL swap

Fact block, plain text for agents