Free Google Gemini Key
Get a free Gemini API key in Google AI Studio and connect the assistant to the Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite model.
What it is and why it matters
Google offers a free Gemini API key that lets Zorya’s assistant work without payment. You create the key in Google AI Studio in a few minutes, and the Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite model answers quickly and is part of Google’s free tier.
When to use it
- When you want to try the assistant without paying.
- When you want a free provider to keep alongside a paid key.
Terms explained
- API key
- An access key for an AI provider’s service. It differs from the Zorya Astro login password and belongs in the dedicated field in assistant settings.
Where to find it
The key: aistudio.google.com/apikey. In Zorya: AI Assistant → “Model & API Key”.
How to use it
- In your browser, open aistudio.google.com/apikey.
- Sign in with your Google account. An ordinary Gmail address works.
- If this is your first visit to Google AI Studio, read the terms of service and accept them.
- Click “Create API key”. If Google asks about a project, keep the suggested one or create a new one.
- Copy the key. New keys start with “AQ.”; older ones start with “AIza”.
- In Zorya, open “AI Assistant” in the top menu. If the “Model & API Key” window doesn’t open by itself, click the key button at the top right.
- Under “Provider”, choose “Google”.
- Under “Model”, choose “Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite”.
- Paste the copied key into the “API Key” field.
- Click “Save”.
- Ask the assistant a short question to check that the key works.
Settings and options
Select an option to learn how it works and when to use it. The label beside its name shows whether it affects calculations, chart appearance or data.
Google AI Studio and Google’s official pagesAction
Google’s page for creating a Gemini API key. Each key belongs to a Google Cloud project; Google creates one for new users.
- What changes
- A new key starts with “AQ.” and is limited to the Gemini API from the start. Free limits count per project, not per key.
- When to use it
- Before your first Gemini request, or when a key needs replacing. Keys are deleted or disabled in the Google Cloud Console.
Google AI Studio: API keys ↗Google: creating and securing a Gemini API key ↗Google: Gemini API rate limits ↗Google AI Studio: your current limits ↗Google: free models and pricing ↗Google: Gemini API terms and data use ↗Google: countries where the Gemini API is available ↗Google Cloud Console: delete or disable a key ↗
Link to this controlProviderData
Service to which the assistant sends the request: Anthropic, OpenAI, Google or Groq.
- What changes
- Determines available models, key requirements and accounting API. The key of one service does not automatically match the other.
- When to use it
- Select the service you have access to; check costs and quotas in your provider account.
ModelData
A specific response model for the selected service.
- What changes
- Can change the speed, quality and cost of the response; does not change the determined astronomical calculation of Zorya Astro.
- When to use it
- To compare interpretations, write down the model and context of the question; the list may change with the version of the program.
API keyData
Secret of access to the selected AI-service.
- What changes
- The saved key allows you to follow calls from your API account. It is not a Zorya Astro login or an automatic subscription to the provider.
- When to use it
- Only enter the special field; for verification, read the status after saving, not insert the key in the message.
Save / Delete keyAction
Controls the recorded assistant parameters.
- What changes
- Saving applies a configuration; removal removes the key from the program, but does not recall it on the provider's site.
- When to use it
- If you need to recall the key as access, do so also in the corresponding service office.
The result
The assistant answers through Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite with your key, free within Google’s limits.
Worked example
This is a teaching example; results for your chart may differ.
- Situation
- You only have a Google account and don’t want to pay for AI yet.
- What to do
- Create a key in AI Studio, then choose the “Google” provider and the “Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite” model in Zorya.
- How to read the result
- The assistant answers; Google’s free limits only cap how many requests you can make.
For professional practice
A free key suits study, general questions and trying out the assistant before a paid plan.
What to check for a precise comparison
On the free tier Google uses requests to improve its products. Don’t send client names or personal details this way.
Keep in mind
The Gemini API free tier costs nothing: Google asks for a billing account only for paid tiers. Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and Gemini 3.8 Flash are both in the free tier. The “≈ $…” line under an answer is an estimate at paid prices; on the free tier you pay nothing.
Privacy, important: on the free tier Google uses your questions and the answers to improve its products, and Google staff may read them. Google asks you not to send sensitive or personal information this way. For client charts, turn off “Use Open Chart” or move to a paid Google tier, where requests are not used to improve products.
Free limits cover requests per minute, requests per day and the amount of text. They count per Google project, not per key, and Google changes them from time to time. aistudio.google.com/rate-limit shows your current limits. The daily limit resets at midnight Pacific time.
If the key was copied only in part, Zorya says “This does not look like an API key for the selected provider.” when you save. If Google rejects the key, the answer shows “API key rejected”. Copy the key again, without spaces, and save it again.
When the free limit runs out, the assistant shows “API balance or quota exhausted” or “Too many requests to the AI provider”. You don’t need to pay: wait a minute, or until the daily limit resets.
Where the key is kept: in the Mac and Windows app, on this device, encrypted by the operating system. In the web version, in the assistant server’s encrypted session for up to 12 hours of inactivity; after that, paste the key again. The key never goes into charts or backups.
“Remove Key” removes the key from Zorya only. To stop the key working altogether, delete or disable it in the Google Cloud Console: console.cloud.google.com/apis/credentials. If someone else may have the key, first create a new one and paste it into Zorya, then delete the old one.
Don’t show the key to anyone or paste it into a question. New “AQ.” keys are limited to the Gemini API from the start. Google no longer accepts an old “AIza” key without restrictions: in AI Studio click “Add restrictions” → “Restrict to Gemini API only” next to it, or create a new key.
The Gemini API is available in Ukraine and many other countries. If AI Studio says it isn’t available in your region, choose another provider in the assistant. Under Google’s terms you must be 18 or older to use the Gemini API. Links to Google’s official pages are below, under “Google AI Studio and Google’s official pages”.