openai-cookbook/examples/data/oai_docs/node-setup.txt

Node.js is a popular JavaScript framework that is commonly used for web development. OpenAI provides a custom [Node.js / TypeScript library](https://github.com/openai/openai-node) which makes working with the OpenAI API in JavaScript simple and efficient.

## Step 1: Setting up Node



To use the OpenAI Node.js library, you will need to ensure you have Node.js installed.

To download Node.js, head to the [official Node website](https://nodejs.org/en/download) and download the most recent version marked "LTS" (Long Term Support). If you are installing Node.js for the first time, you can follow the [official Node.js usage guide](https://nodejs.org/api/synopsis.html#usage) to get started.





Once you have Node.js installed, the OpenAI Node.js library can be installed. From the terminal / command line, run:

```
npm install --save openai
# or
yarn add openai
```



## Step 2: Set up your API key



The main advantage to making your API key accessible for all projects is that our SDK will automatically detect it and use it without having to write any code.



1. **Open Terminal**: You can find it in the Applications folder or search for it using Spotlight (Command + Space).
2. **Edit bash profile**: Use the command `nano ~/.bash_profile` or `nano ~/.zshrc` (for newer MacOS versions) to open the profile file in a text editor.

3. **Add Environment Variable**: In the editor, ensure you have set your API key as shown below, replacing `your-api-key-here` with your actual API key:

```
export OPENAI_API_KEY='your-api-key-here'
```

4. **Save and exit**: Press Ctrl+O to write the changes, followed by Ctrl+X to close the editor.

5. **Load your profile**: Use the command `source ~/.bash_profile` or `source ~/.zshrc` to load the updated profile.

6. **Verification**: Verify the setup by typing `echo $OPENAI_API_KEY` in the terminal. It should display your API key.





1. **Open command prompt**: You can find it by searching "cmd" in the start menu.

2. **Set environment variable in the current session**: To set the environment variable in the current session, use the command below, replacing `your-api-key-here` with your actual API key:

```
setx OPENAI_API_KEY "your-api-key-here"
```

    This command will set the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable for the current session.

3. **Permanent setup**: To make the setup permanent, add the variable through the system properties as follows:

    - Right-click on 'This PC' or 'My Computer' and select 'Properties'.
    - Click on 'Advanced system settings'.
    - Click the 'Environment Variables' button.
    - In the 'System variables' section, click 'New...' and enter OPENAI_API_KEY as the variable name and your API key as the variable value.

4. **Verification**: To verify the setup, reopen the command prompt and type the command below. It should display your API key:
   `echo %OPENAI_API_KEY%`





## Step 3: Sending your first API request



After you have Node.js configured and set up an API key, the final step is to send a request to the OpenAI API using the Node.js library. To do this, create a file named `openai-test.js` using the terminal or an IDE.

Inside the file, copy and paste one of the examples below:

<CodeSample
    defaultLanguage="ChatCompletions"
    code={{
        ChatCompletions: `
import OpenAI from "openai";\n
const openai = new OpenAI();\n
async function main() {
  const completion = await openai.chat.completions.create({
    messages: [{ role: "system", content: "You are a helpful assistant." }],
    model: "gpt-3.5-turbo",
  });\n
  console.log(completion.choices[0]);
}\n
main();
`.trim(),
        Embeddings: `
import OpenAI from "openai";\n
const openai = new OpenAI();\n
async function main() {
  const embedding = await openai.embeddings.create({
    model: "text-embedding-ada-002",
    input: "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog",
  });\n
  console.log(embedding);
}\n
main();
`.trim(),
        Images: `
import OpenAI from "openai";\n
const openai = new OpenAI();\n
async function main() {
  const image = await openai.images.generate({ prompt: "A cute baby sea otter" });\n
  console.log(image.data);
}
main();
`.trim(),
    }}
/>

To run the code, enter `node openai-test.js` into the terminal / command line.

The [Chat Completions](/docs/api-reference/chat/create) example highlights just one area of strength for our models: creative ability. Explaining recursion (the programming topic) in a well formatted poem is something both the best developers and best poets would struggle with. In this case, `gpt-3.5-turbo` does it effortlessly.