First API call | Qwen Cloud

Set up your account and make your first API call to Qwen models.

Prerequisites

Create an account

Go to Qwen Cloud and sign in with GitHub or email.

Get your API key

Navigate to API Keys, click Add API Key, and copy your key (starts with sk-). Detailed guide →

Keep your API key secret! Never commit it to version control or share it publicly.

Set your environment variable

Store your API key so your code can access it:

export DASHSCOPE_API_KEY="sk-your-api-key-here"

For permanent setup across sessions, see Configure your API key →.

Make your first call

Python
Node.js
curl

Install the OpenAI SDK:

pip install openai

Create a file hello_qwen.py:

import os
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
  api_key=os.getenv("DASHSCOPE_API_KEY"),
  base_url="https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1",
)

completion = client.chat.completions.create(
  model="qwen3.6-plus",
  messages=[
    {"role": "user", "content": "Hello! Tell me a fun fact about AI."}
  ]
)

print(completion.choices[0].message.content)

Run it:

python hello_qwen.py

Install the OpenAI SDK:

npm install openai

Create a file hello_qwen.mjs:

import OpenAI from "openai";

const openai = new OpenAI({
  apiKey: process.env.DASHSCOPE_API_KEY,
  baseURL: "https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1"
});

const completion = await openai.chat.completions.create({
  model: "qwen3.6-plus",
  messages: [
    { role: "user", content: "Hello! Tell me a fun fact about AI." }
  ]
});

console.log(completion.choices[0].message.content);

Run it:

node hello_qwen.mjs

curl -X POST https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DASHSCOPE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "qwen3.6-plus",
    "messages": [
      {
        "role": "user",
        "content": "Hello! Tell me a fun fact about AI."
      }
    ]
  }'

For Java, Go, PHP, C#, and other languages, use the OpenAI-compatible endpoint shown in the curl tab with your language's HTTP client. For Java, you can also use the DashScope Java SDK.

What's next?

Text generation guide — Streaming, function calling, and more
Vision models — Analyze images and videos
Model selection — Choose the right model for your use case
Try AI — Try models interactively

​Prerequisites

​Make your first call

​What's next?

Prerequisites

Make your first call

What's next?