API Key

What is an API key and why do I need one?

AssessForge's AI features are powered by Claude, an AI model built by Anthropic. To use these features, you'll need your own credentials from whichever AI provider you choose.

An API key (or, for some providers, an access key pair or service account file) is a unique code — think of it like a password — that links the software to your own account with the provider. When you use an AI feature inside AssessForge, the request is sent directly to that provider using your credentials, and the provider bills you directly for the usage. We don't add a markup or bundle AI into your AssessForge subscription, so you only pay for what you actually use. In practice, typical assessment tasks like generating a document summary or writing up your interview notes cost just a few dollars.

AssessForge supports three providers: Anthropic (direct), Amazon Web Services (AWS) Bedrock, and Google Gemini Enterprise. For most users handling client information, we recommend AWS Bedrock because it offers a self-service Business Associate Agreement that you can sign in minutes. See our privacy page for the full comparison.

Pick the provider you'd like to use, then follow the steps below.

Option 1: Anthropic (Direct)

Use this option if you don't need a Business Associate Agreement, or if you've already secured one through Anthropic's sales process.

  1. Go to https://platform.claude.com

  2. Create a developer account using your email address

  3. Enter your full name and fill in the "What should we call you?" field, then click Continue

  4. Choose Individual or Organization, depending on how you'll be using it

  5. Purchase usage credits. The minimum is $5, but $20 gives you plenty of headroom to try things out. Credits are prepaid balance that gets drawn down as the AI is used — nothing is charged to you automatically beyond what you top up

  6. Click the Get API Key button to generate your key

  7. Copy the key straight away — for security reasons, Anthropic only displays it once. If you close the window without copying, you'll need to generate a new one

  8. Paste the key into AssessForge's settings to activate the AI features

Option 2: AWS Bedrock (Recommended)

AWS Bedrock takes more steps than Anthropic direct, but the whole process is self-service and you'll end up with a fully signed BAA at the end. Plan on about ten to fifteen minutes total. You'll only do this once.

  1. Go to https://aws.amazon.com and click Create an AWS Account. Sign up using your business email and a credit card

  2. When asked, choose the Paid plan (the Free plan doesn't include Bedrock) and Basic Support (free) on the support plan page

  3. Once you're signed in, look at the top-right corner of the AWS Console and switch the region to US East (N. Virginia) — us-east-1. This is the region with the best Claude model availability

  4. Type Bedrock in the top search bar and open the service. Click Model catalog in the left navigation, then click Submit use case details on the Anthropic banner. Provide a brief description of what you'll use Claude for (for example: "Drafting and analysis support for vocational evaluation reports")

  5. Sign the BAA. Type Artifact in the top search bar and open AWS Artifact. Go to Agreements → Account agreements, find AWS Business Associate Addendum, click the radio button next to it, then click Accept agreement. The status will change to Active. Click Download agreement to save a copy for your records

  6. Create a user for AssessForge. Type IAM in the top search bar and open it. Click Users → Create user. Name it something like assessforge-user. Do not check "Provide user access to the AWS Management Console" — this is a programmatic user, not a login. Click Next

  7. Grant Bedrock permissions. Choose Attach policies directly, search for and check AmazonBedrockFullAccess, then click Next and Create user

  8. Generate access keys. Click into the user you just created. Go to the Security credentials tab, scroll down to Access keys, and click Create access key. Choose Application running outside AWS, click Next, then Create access key

  9. Copy both values immediately. You'll see an Access key ID (starts with AKIA...) and a Secret access key. The secret is shown only once — if you close the page without copying, you'll need to delete the key and create a new one. The easiest option is to click Download .csv file so you have both values saved

  10. Open AssessForge's settings and paste in:

    • AWS Access Key ID: the AKIA... value

    • AWS Secret Access Key: the long random string

    • AWS Region: us-east-1

    • AWS Session Token: leave blank — this field is only needed for temporary credentials, which most users don't have

A note on free credits. New AWS accounts typically receive promotional credits during signup — at the time of writing, around one hundred dollars in general AWS Free Tier credit, plus additional Bedrock-specific credit. The exact amount and terms are set by Amazon and may change. For most AssessForge users this is more than enough to test the software and complete dozens of real reports before any paid usage starts. After credits are exhausted, AWS bills your card monthly based on actual usage — there is no monthly minimum.

Option 3: Google Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform

Use this option if you have an existing Google Cloud relationship or a specific preference for Google's ecosystem. The setup involves more coordination than AWS Bedrock because Google's BAA is granted through an account representative rather than self-service. Plan on one to two business days for the full process. Because Google's setup flow changes periodically, the steps below are intentionally high-level — refer to Google's official documentation at the time you actually do this for exact click-by-click instructions.

  1. Sign up for Google Cloud at https://cloud.google.com

  2. Create a new project that will host your AssessForge usage. Give it a meaningful name so you can find it later

  3. Enable the Vertex AI API (which underpins the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform) for your project from the APIs & Services Library

  4. Request a BAA. Contact Google Cloud sales or your account representative and ask for a Business Associate Agreement. You'll need to identify the project that will be used for HIPAA workloads. Approval typically takes one to two business days for legitimate organizations

  5. Once your BAA is in place, accept the agreement in the Google Cloud Console and configure the project for regulated workloads as instructed by Google. This step is what designates your project as HIPAA-eligible

  6. In the Cloud Console, go to IAM & Admin → Service Accounts and create a service account for AssessForge. Give it a meaningful name such as assessforge-service-account

  7. Grant the service account the Vertex AI User role, which allows it to invoke Claude through the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform

  8. Generate a key for the service account in JSON format. The Cloud Console will download a JSON file containing the credentials AssessForge needs

  9. Open AssessForge's settings and provide:

    • Project ID: the ID of the Google Cloud project you created

    • Region: the region you intend to use (e.g., us-east5 or us-central1 for most Claude models)

    • Service account JSON: upload or paste the contents of the JSON file you downloaded

If you get stuck: Google's documentation for setting up Claude on the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform is the authoritative reference. Search for "Anthropic Claude on Vertex AI" or "Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform Claude setup" in Google Cloud's documentation for current step-by-step guides.

Keeping Your Credentials Safe

Treat your API key, AWS access keys, or Google service account file like a password. Don't share them, email them, or post them anywhere public. Anyone who has these credentials can use Claude through your account and incur charges on your card.

If you ever think your credentials have been compromised — for example, if your laptop is lost or stolen, or you accidentally shared a key — you can revoke them and generate new ones from the same place you created them:

  • Anthropic: Go to your API keys page on platform.claude.com, delete the compromised key, and generate a new one

  • AWS: Go to IAM, find your AssessForge user, open the Security credentials tab, deactivate the compromised key, then delete it. Generate a new access key and update AssessForge with the new values

  • Google Cloud: Go to IAM & Admin → Service Accounts, find the service account, delete the compromised key from its Keys tab, and generate a new one

Whichever provider you use, your AssessForge setup just needs the new credentials pasted in to keep working. There's no need to reinstall the software or contact us — credential rotation is something you control directly with your provider.

For everyday peace of mind, we recommend rotating your credentials every few months as a matter of routine. AWS will send you reminders when keys are getting old; Anthropic and Google leave it to you to decide when to refresh.