Hello,
Hope everyone is doing well. I’ve been having some trouble with calling the GPT 4.1 mini API via my .env file.
When I hard code the API key everything works fine. Checking my directory everything is where it’s suppose to be. I even ran a separate script to check my env and the API key loads just fine.
This is the error message I’m getting:
OpenAI API error: You exceeded your current quota, please check your plan and billing details. For more information on this error, read the docs: https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/error-codes/api-errors .
I’ve loaded money into my account. I have about $20 worth of credits. I haven’t exceeded any limits. I’ve barely got a chance to use it…
I’m confused, if anyone could aid in shining some light and giving some clarity I’d really appreciate it.
Thanks again.
1 Like
Welcome to the community!
If it works hardcoded, I would print out the env to make sure it has the right value. Sounds like it’s not loading correctly.
Let us know if that doesn’t work.
_j
June 10, 2025, 4:57pm
3
This post’s script will attempt to make a “list models” call - then give you all the env variables that the client is actually detecting and using, so you can see if others are being grabbed and conflicting, such as a different organization.
Have you tried printing the API key the code obtains, to ensure you have set the key you think you are using?
Here’s a better version of finding out the credentials that are used - which are automatic and don’t need you to specify the default environment variable key.
import openai
def get_org_model(client, model="gpt-4o-mini"):
try:
return client.models.retrieve(model).id # Makes test API call
except Exception as your_error:
return your_error
def env_info():
cl…
4 Likes
The main issue was that my system was using a global key… Once I deleted it out of Environment Variables everything worked as should.
I appreciate the help.
2 Likes
This scripted helped a lot. My system was using a global key. Once I figured that out and deleted it the calls started going through.
Thanks for the help. Much appreciated.
2 Likes
Thanks Man!
Was stuck for about 4-5 hours lol
T_O
November 2, 2025, 9:11pm
7
THANK YOU , I was using a global key that I set in my system environment variables in the past!