Testing an OpenAI-Compatible Gateway Without Leaking Secrets

A useful smoke test should prove routing without printing the token. Send a harmless request with a short timeout, record only the HTTP status and model name, and keep credentials in the environment.

For APIClaw, the relevant setup detail is the OpenAI-compatible base URL: the APIClaw Cursor setup guide. Keep the key in Cursor's secret storage rather than a project file.

Minimal checklist

1. Set the base URL and model explicitly.
2. Use a test prompt that cannot trigger a paid workflow.
3. Capture latency and status, not request headers.
4. Rotate the key if a debug log ever includes it.

This separates transport failures from model-selection errors and makes the test repeatable across clients.