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xAI API error

xAI API 401 Unauthorized: what it means and how to fix it

Error message
401 Unauthorized

Retry? Not statedLast verified 1 documented fix1 source

What it means

Returned on all endpoints when no authorization header or an invalid authorization token was provided.

Causes

  • No authorization header was provided
  • An invalid authorization token was provided

How to fix it

  1. Fix 1.

    Supply a bearer authorization header with your xAI API key. You can get a new API key on the xAI Console.

    YAML
    Authorization: Bearer <XAI_API_KEY>

More xAI API errors

All 18 xAI API errors

HTTP 401 at other providers

Compare 401 across providers

FAQ

What does the xAI API error "401 Unauthorized" mean?

Returned on all endpoints when no authorization header or an invalid authorization token was provided.

How do I fix xAI API "401 Unauthorized"?

Supply a bearer authorization header with your xAI API key. You can get a new API key on the xAI Console.

Should I retry xAI API "401 Unauthorized"?

Not stated. The official docs do not say whether this error is retryable.

Which other AI APIs return HTTP 401?

Per their official error docs: Anthropic API (401 authentication_error), Azure OpenAI (401 Unauthorized), Cohere API (401 Unauthorized), DeepSeek API (401 - Authentication Fails), Gemini API (401 authentication), Groq API (401 Unauthorized), Mistral API (401 Unauthorized), OpenAI API (401 Invalid Authentication; 401 Incorrect API key provided; 401 You must be a member of an organization to use the API; 401 IP not authorized), OpenRouter (401 authentication), Vertex AI (401 UNAUTHENTICATED).

Sources

Last verified against 1 source: xAI API's official docs and official SDK repositories.

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