Connecting Your MiniMax API
Table of Contents
This guide shows you how to connect a MiniMax API key to your Agento agent.
Prerequisites
Before you start, make sure you have:
- An Agento account with at least one agent created
- A MiniMax platform account with a funded balance (at the time of writing, the minimum top-up is $25)
MiniMax uses a pay-as-you-go model with no subscription required. You just need to sign up and add funds to your account before your API key will work.
Get Your API Key
- Go to platform.minimax.io
- Sign in or create an account
- Add funds to your account (Account > Billing > Top Up). Make sure your balance is above $0 before continuing.
- Navigate to API Keys in your account settings
- Click Create API Key
- Copy the generated API key
Keep this key safe — you won't be able to see it again after leaving the page.
Add the Key to Your Agent
- Open the Agento dashboard and click on your agent
- Go to the Settings tab
- Under AI Provider, select MiniMax
- Paste your API key into the API Key field
- Click Save
Your key is encrypted at rest and never displayed again after saving.
Choose a Model
After saving your API key, your agent uses MiniMax M2.5 by default:
| Model | Best For |
|---|---|
| MiniMax M2.5 | Coding, agentic tasks, and complex reasoning at low cost |
MiniMax M2.5 scores 80.2% on SWE-Bench Verified and supports a 205K token context window.
How Does It Compare?
Here's a quick comparison between MiniMax M2.5 and Claude Opus 4.6 as of February 2026.
Pricing
| Input (per 1M tokens) | Output (per 1M tokens) | |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Opus 4.6 | $5.00 | $25.00 |
| MiniMax M2.5 Standard | $0.30 | $1.20 |
MiniMax M2.5 is roughly 17x cheaper on input and 21x cheaper on output.
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Opus 4.6 | M2.5 |
|---|---|---|
| SWE-Bench Verified (coding) | 80.8% | 80.2% |
| BFCL Multi-Turn (tool calling) | 63.3% | 76.8% |
On real-world coding tasks, the two models are nearly identical. For structured tool/function calling, M2.5 scores 13 points higher. Opus 4.6 remains stronger on complex reasoning and long-context orchestration.
Verify the Connection
Start your agent (or restart it if already running). Send a test message through web chat or Telegram. If the agent responds, your MiniMax API is connected.
Troubleshooting
"Invalid API key" error: Make sure you copied the full key. MiniMax API keys start with eyJ.
"No credits" or billing error: Your MiniMax account balance is empty. Log in at platform.minimax.io, go to Billing, and top up your balance. The minimum top-up at the time of writing is $25.
Rate limit errors: MiniMax M2.5 supports up to 50 TPS on the standard tier. If you hit limits, check your plan at platform.minimax.io.