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Screen Answerer requires a Google Gemini API key to analyze questions and generate answers. Follow these steps to get your free API key.

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What you’ll need

Before you begin, make sure you have:
  • A Google account
  • Access to Google AI Studio
The Gemini API offers a generous free tier with 15 requests per minute and 1,500 requests per day. Perfect for personal use.

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Step-by-step guide

1

Navigate to Google AI Studio

Go to Google AI Studio in your web browser.You’ll be directed to the API key management page.
2

Sign in to your Google account

If you’re not already signed in, you’ll need to authenticate with your Google account.Use the same account you want to associate with the API usage.
3

Create a new API key

On the API key page, click the Create API Key button.
If this is your first time, you may need to accept Google’s terms of service for the Generative AI API.
You’ll be prompted to:
  1. Select an existing Google Cloud project or create a new one
  2. Click Create API key in existing project (or Create API key in new project)
4

Copy your API key

Once created, your API key will be displayed. It will look something like:
AIzaSyAbCdEfGhIjKlMnOpQrStUvWxYz1234567
Copy this key immediately! While you can view it again later, it’s best to store it securely right away.
Click the Copy icon next to the key to copy it to your clipboard.
5

Add the API key to Screen Answerer

Now that you have your API key:
  1. Open Screen Answerer in your browser
  2. Click the ⚙️ Settings icon in the top right corner
  3. Select the API Key tab
  4. Paste your API key into the input field
  5. Click Save Settings
Screen Answerer will validate your key by making a test request to ensure it works properly.
Your API key is stored locally in your browser’s localStorage and is never sent to Screen Answerer’s servers. It’s used only for direct API calls to Google’s Gemini service.

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API key format

Valid Gemini API keys follow this format:
  • Start with AIza
  • Followed by 35 alphanumeric characters, hyphens, or underscores
  • Total length: 39 characters
Example: AIzaSyAbCdEfGhIjKlMnOpQrStUvWxYz1234567
Screen Answerer validates the format of your API key before saving it. If you see an “Invalid API key format” error, double-check that you copied the entire key correctly.

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Security best practices

Your API key is like a password. Never share it publicly or commit it to version control. Anyone with access to your key can use your Gemini API quota.
Visit the Google Cloud Console to monitor your API usage and ensure you’re staying within the free tier limits.
If you believe your API key has been exposed, go back to Google AI Studio and regenerate it immediately. Remember to update Screen Answerer with the new key.
For added security, you can restrict your API key to specific websites or IP addresses in the Google Cloud Console. This prevents unauthorized use even if the key is leaked.

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Troubleshooting

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”Invalid API key” error

If Screen Answerer reports an invalid API key:
  1. Verify the key format matches the pattern described above
  2. Check for extra spaces or characters when copying
  3. Ensure the API is enabled in your Google Cloud project
  4. Try regenerating the key in Google AI Studio

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”API quota exceeded” error

If you hit quota limits:
  1. Wait for the quota to reset (quotas reset every minute/day)
  2. Reduce your monitoring frequency in Screen Answerer
  3. Consider upgrading to a paid plan in Google Cloud if needed

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Test API key manually

You can verify your API key works by making a test request using curl: 
curl -X POST \
  "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models/gemini-2.0-flash-lite:generateContent?key=YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"contents":[{"parts":[{"text":"Hello"}]}]}'
Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your actual key. A successful response confirms the key is valid.

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Next steps

Using screen monitor

Learn how to monitor your screen for quiz questions

Best practices

Optimize API usage and improve performance

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