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Core Concepts

Key concepts to understand before using the Zihin API.

Tenants​

A tenant is an isolated workspace. Each tenant has its own:

  • Users and roles
  • API keys
  • Agents and configurations
  • Usage quotas and billing
  • Telemetry data

All API calls are scoped to a tenant via the API key or JWT x-tenant-id header.

Providers and Models​

Zihin connects to multiple LLM providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Grok, OpenRouter) through a unified API. You can:

  • Specify a model — call a specific model by name (e.g., gpt-4.1, claude-sonnet-4-5)
  • Use auto-routing — set model: "auto" and let Zihin pick the best model for your task

See Models and Auto-Routing for details.

Agents​

An agent is a configured AI assistant with:

  • A system prompt defining its behavior
  • An LLM model (or auto-routing)
  • Optional tools (database queries, HTTP calls, MCP servers)
  • Optional triggers (webhooks that start conversations)

Agents are created via the console or MCP Server.

API Keys​

API keys follow the format zhn_live_xxxxx (production) or zhn_test_xxxxx (sandbox). Each key is tied to a tenant.

Generate keys at console.zihin.ai > Settings > API Keys.

Tokens and Costs​

LLM usage is measured in tokens. Each model has different pricing per million input/output tokens. Auto-routing optimizes cost by selecting the most efficient model for each task.

Track usage and costs in the console dashboard or via the telemetry API.