> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.apiosk.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Connections

> How an assistant comes to hold a credential that can spend, and what bounds it.

A connection lets an AI client — ChatGPT, Claude, an agent runtime — act for one
person's Apiosk account, within limits that person set.

The rule behind the whole flow: **a person is the authority on money; software
is the authority on nothing.** The assistant does the typing; the person makes
the decision.

## The flow

1. **Invitation.** In the app, under **Integrations**, the person starts a
   connection. They get a short invitation to paste into the assistant.
2. **Intent.** The assistant registers what it is and what it wants to be
   called, and receives a verification link to hand back.
3. **Approval.** The person opens that link, signs in, and sets the two
   ceilings: per request and per day. A short code confirms the approval.
4. **Tokens.** The assistant exchanges the code for its own access and refresh
   tokens. The secret itself never passes through the assistant's prompt.

Connecting through a client that supports OAuth — the [MCP server](/mcp/overview)
— collapses steps 1 to 4 into the client's own consent screen.

## What a connection may do

|                         |                                                                         |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Spends from**         | The person's own balance                                                |
| **Per-request ceiling** | Set at approval, changeable in the app                                  |
| **Daily ceiling**       | Rolling 24 hours, set at approval                                       |
| **Revocation**          | Immediate, from **Integrations**; every token dies with it              |
| **Scope**               | Optionally bound to one workspace, so it spends that workspace's budget |

Each call is checked against the ceilings at the moment it reserves money, so a
burst of parallel calls cannot slip past them.

## Connections or API keys?

|            | Connection                     | [Organisation API key](/app/api-keys) |
| ---------- | ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------- |
| Belongs to | A person                       | An organisation                       |
| Created by | Approving a client             | An owner or admin, in the app         |
| Spends     | That person's balance          | The organisation's main balance       |
| Limits     | Per request, per day           | Per request, per month                |
| Used by    | ChatGPT, Claude, agent clients | Your own servers, over HTTPS          |

Use a connection when a person is in the loop. Use an API key when a server
runs on its own.