Mr. Daniels,

You are correct that the prompt to "Save API key" in the notebook interface often only saves it for the current session or device cache, which can expire or be cleared.

To achieve the global and persistent availability you are looking for, you need to save the key to a secure, permanent location that the Wolfram System can access automatically.

Persistent Storage in the Wolfram Cloud

Using SetCloudAPICredentials

This function is designed to securely store API keys in your cloud account, making them available to any notebook or function you run there.

Set the Credential

Run this command once in a Cloud Notebook

SetCloudAPICredentials["ChatGPT", "YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY_HERE"]

Note: Replace "YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY_HERE with your actual API key.

Access the Credential

The key is now stored securely in the your Wolfram Cloud account. In any future session or notebook, you can retrieve it automatically:

$APICredentials["ChatGPT"]

Use in Code

When using a function that requires the key, you can pass the retrieved credential directly. For instance, with the built-in ChatGPT functionality:

ChatAPICredentials = $APICredentials["ChatGPT"];

(* Now the Chat function will use this key automatically *)
Chat["Explain the concept of persistent key storage in the Wolfram Cloud.", ChatAPICredentials]