Accessing Meta's Llama 4 Models Through API: A Guide
Llama 4, the open-source and highly capable multimodal model, is now accessible through APIs offered by several providers, making it easier for developers to integrate the model into their applications. In this article, we will explore the APIs provided by Hugging Face, OpenRouter, GroqCloud, Together.ai, Cloudflare Workers AI, and other platforms.
Hugging Face
Hugging Face offers Llama 4 access through API calls and provides a built-in chat interface. To get started, create a Hugging Face account and obtain an API key from your user settings. The Hugging Face Inference API serves as a unified gateway to multiple underlying providers, including Groq and Together AI.
- Sign up and get your API token.
- Use the Hugging Face SDK or direct HTTP requests specifying the Llama 4 model endpoint.
- Optionally, configure model parameters and deployment settings if using custom hosting.
For more details, refer to Hugging Face's documentation.
OpenRouter
OpenRouter provides free API access to both Llama 4 models, Maverick, and Scout. While no direct documentation was found, OpenRouter functions as a unified API gateway for LLMs, including Llama 4. Register on OpenRouter, get API keys, and use OpenRouter’s endpoints that internally route requests to Llama 4 deployments on partners like Together.ai or GroqCloud. Consult OpenRouter's documentation for exact URL paths and usage.
GroqCloud
GroqCloud offers day-zero access to Llama 4 Scout and Maverick models, with an emphasis on low-latency and high performance. After registration, configure your app integration with provided API keys, use GroqCloud SDK or API endpoints to send prompts and receive model responses. Pricing is competitive, with Scout costing between $0.15-$0.25 per million tokens, and Maverick costing more.
Together.ai
Together.ai provides API access to Llama 4 models (Scout and Maverick) after a simple registration process. Developers receive free credits upon sign-up and can immediately start using the API with an issued key. Use Together.ai API endpoints, similar to OpenAI's style, for prompt completion. Pricing examples include Scout costing approximately $0.19-$0.29 per million tokens, and Maverick costing $0.29-$0.49 per million tokens.
Cloudflare Workers AI
Cloudflare Workers AI integrates Llama 4 inference with compute, storage, and agent layers for building applications tightly coupled with the model runtime. Deploy Workers scripts calling Llama 4 APIs directly provided by Cloudflare, making it suitable for developers wanting serverless architecture with Llama models.
Additional Access Points
Llama 4 models can also be accessed via AWS Marketplace, providing OpenAI API compatible Llama 4 Scout deployments. If you prefer direct cloud VM deployment, this can be an option. Additionally, Databricks supports Llama 4 Maverick for text understanding through Foundation Model APIs, useful if you use the Databricks ecosystem.
In summary, to access Llama 4 models through APIs, create accounts on chosen provider platforms, obtain API keys or credentials, review API documentation for endpoint URLs, request formatting, and authentication methods, and follow the provider's instructions for API usage. For exact API endpoints, SDK usage, and example calls, see each provider's developer documentation. With multiple cost-effective choices beyond OpenAI GPT-4 alternatives, developers have flexibility depending on their deployment, performance, and cost needs.
- To utilize Llama 4 data science capabilities with Hugging Face, developers need to sign up, obtain an API token, and use either the Hugging Face SDK or direct HTTP requests, specifying the Llama 4 model endpoint.
- OpenRouter, using their API gateway, provides access to both the Llama 4 models (Maverick and Scout) and routes requests to Llama 4 deployments placed on partners like GroqCloud and Together.ai, requiring registration for API keys to use their endpoints.
