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Connect your OpenAI account

Set up your own OpenAI key for Image Generation, Word Art and Style Remix in three steps, keep it safe, and know what it costs and what to do if it stops working.

Image Generation, Word Art and Style Remix can run on your own OpenAI account. You make one key, paste it into Pixel Wrangler once, and you're done. It takes about ten minutes, and you don't need to be technical. OpenAI bills you directly for what your shoppers generate, at OpenAI's own prices. Background Removal doesn't use your key.

Prefer a hand? We can connect it for you. Just ask.

Before you start

You need three things on the OpenAI side:

  • An OpenAI API account at platform.openai.com. This is separate from a ChatGPT subscription; a ChatGPT plan doesn't include API use.
  • A verified organization. OpenAI asks organizations to verify before its image models work. In OpenAI, open Settings → Organization → General and follow the verification steps. It can take a little while to go through, so start here.
  • Some credit. Add a few dollars under Settings → Billing. The default model, gpt-image-2, costs about US$0.01–0.02 per image at the quality the customizer uses, so a small top-up goes a long way.

Step 1: Get your OpenAI account ready

  1. Sign in at platform.openai.com.
  2. Finish organization verification (above) if you haven't yet.
  3. Add credit under Settings → Billing.
  4. Set a monthly budget. On your project's limits page, set a monthly spend limit you're comfortable with. Depending on your OpenAI settings, a budget may stop requests or only alert you, so also keep a modest prepaid credit balance: when the credit runs out, generation stops rather than running up a bill. You can raise either any time.

Step 2: Create a key just for Pixel Wrangler

Give Pixel Wrangler its own key, not one you use for anything else. That way you can see exactly what it spends, and you can switch it off without touching anything else.

  1. In OpenAI, open API keys and click Create new secret key.

  2. Name it Pixel Wrangler and pick the project it belongs to. A project just for Pixel Wrangler is tidiest: its budget and usage then cover only your store.

  3. Choose the permissions. Restricted is the safest choice. Allow:

    • Models: Read. We use this to check your key works and can reach the model you pick. Without it the key won't connect.
    • Image generation (OpenAI groups it under model capabilities). This is what Image Generation, Word Art and Style Remix use.

    Leave everything else off. A key with All permissions also works, but it can do more than Pixel Wrangler needs.

  4. Click Create and copy the key. It starts with sk-. OpenAI shows it only once, so go straight to step 3.

OpenAI renames its settings from time to time. If a menu reads a little differently, look for the closest match.

Step 3: Connect it in Pixel Wrangler

  1. In the Pixel Wrangler app, open Wrangler AI and the Connection & models tab.
  2. On the Connect your OpenAI account card, paste your key into OpenAI secret key.
  3. Leave the model on gpt-image-2 (recommended), or pick another your account can use. You can set a different model for one tool under Use a different model for some tools.
  4. Click Connect and use key.

We check the key with OpenAI before saving anything. Connecting doesn't generate an image or cost anything. If OpenAI turns the key down, we don't save it, and the card tells you why in plain words.

Then try it. Open a test template and run each tool you plan to offer: Image Generation, Word Art and Style Remix. These tests are billed by OpenAI like any other generation, usually a few cents in total. Check the results, and the usage in your OpenAI account, before turning the tools on for shoppers. Wrangler AI covers switching the tools on for your store and each template.

Keeping your key safe

What we do with it:

  • We check it, then store it encrypted. The key is encrypted before it's saved, and only used to run your shoppers' generations.
  • We never show it again. After you connect, the app shows only the last four characters, so you can tell which key is in use.
  • Disconnect deletes it. Clicking Disconnect, then Disconnect and delete key, deletes the key from Pixel Wrangler. It doesn't delete the key in OpenAI; revoke it there too if you no longer want it.

What it costs

  • OpenAI bills you directly for every generation that runs on your key, at OpenAI's prices. The default gpt-image-2 is about US$0.01–0.02 per image; Word Art styles and Style Remix send a reference image, which adds a little. OpenAI's pricing page is the source of truth.
  • Pixel Wrangler doesn't charge for these three tools while your key is connected. Nothing for them appears on your Shopify bill.
  • Per-session limits on the Wrangler AI page still cap what one shopper can generate. They're your main day-to-day lever on cost.
  • Fair-use cap. As a safety net against a runaway loop, a store can run up to 10,000 generations on its own key in any 30 days. Most stores never get near it.

If something goes wrong

Generations run only while your key works. If OpenAI rejects the key, says your account is out of credit or over its budget, says your organization isn't verified, or says the key lacks image permission, Pixel Wrangler switches the three tools off and hides them from shoppers. Shoppers never see an error from OpenAI, and the tools don't quietly move to another account. The card's status changes to Needs attention, and a red banner on the Connection & models tab explains what happened.

To fix it, sort out the cause in OpenAI (add credit, raise the budget, finish verification or fix the key's permissions), then connect a working key again. The tools come back as soon as it's connected.

A brief OpenAI hiccup, like a busy moment or a short outage, doesn't switch anything off. Shoppers can simply try again.

What the card saysWhat to do
OpenAI didn't accept this keyCheck the key hasn't been revoked, or create a new one
This key can't list modelsEdit the key's permissions: allow Models: Read and image generation
Your OpenAI account is out of credit or has hit its billing limitAdd credit or raise your budget in OpenAI, then reconnect
OpenAI needs your organisation to be verifiedFinish verification in OpenAI's settings, then reconnect
Your OpenAI account doesn't have access to the chosen modelPick another model and connect again
Too many attemptsWait 10 minutes; we allow five key checks per 10 minutes

Changing or disconnecting

  • New key or new model: paste the key again, choose the model and click Replace and use key. If the new key is turned down, your existing connection stays as it was.
  • Disconnect: click Disconnect, then Disconnect and delete key. On plans that include Pixel Wrangler's AI account, disconnecting returns you to that. Otherwise the three tools stay hidden until you connect again.

Want us to set it up?

We're happy to connect it for you. Email hey@pixelwrangler.io and we'll find a time to walk through it together on a short call. You paste the key yourself while we guide the rest, so it never has to travel by email or chat.

The fine print

Your OpenAI account is yours: you're responsible for it, its settings and everything it's charged, under OpenAI's own terms. OpenAI sets its prices and can change them. Pixel Wrangler doesn't bill you for generations on your key, and those generations only run while the key works.