A Practical Guide to Major LLM Services: URLs, Docs, and API Tips

DeepSeek Official Service

Portal: https://platform.deepseek.com

Documentation: https://api-docs.deepseek.com/zh-cn/

OpenAI‑compatible parameters:

base_url: https://api.deepseek.com or https://api.deepseek.com/v1

api_key: create in the portal and store securely (e.g., environment variable)

model: deepseek-chat or deepseek-reasoner (both use DeepSeek‑V3.2‑Exp)

curl https://api.deepseek.com/chat/completions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${DEEPSEEK_API_KEY}" \
  -d '{
        "model": "deepseek-chat",
        "messages": [
          {"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant."},
          {"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}
        ],
        "stream": false
      }'

Alibaba Cloud Bailei (DashScope) Platform

Portal: https://bailian.console.aliyun.com/

Documentation: https://help.aliyun.com/zh/model-studio/what-is-model-studio

New users (from 2025‑09‑08) receive a 90‑day free quota of 70 million tokens.

Parameters:

base_url: https://dashscope.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1 (Singapore region: https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1)

api_key: the key created in the console

model: deepseek-v3.2-exp (example)

curl -X POST https://dashscope.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DASHSCOPE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
        "model": "deepseek-v3.2-exp",
        "messages": [
          {"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant."},
          {"role": "user", "content": "你是谁？"}
        ]
      }'

Baidu Cloud Qianfan Platform

Portal: https://cloud.baidu.com/product-s/qianfan_home

Parameters:

base_url: https://qianfan.baidubce.com/v2

api_key: the key created in the console

model: deepseek-v3 or deepseek-v3.2 (example)

curl --location --request POST 'https://qianfan.baidubce.com/v2/chat/completions' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer ${BAIDU_API_KEY}' \
  --data-raw '{"model":"deepseek-v3.2","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"hello"}],"temperature":0.6,"top_p":0.95,"stop":[],"web_search":{"enable":false}}'

ByteDance Volcengine Ark Platform

Portal: https://console.volcengine.com/ark/region:ark+cn-beijing/model

Parameters:

base_url: https://ark.cn-beijing.volces.com/api/v3/

api_key: the key created in the console

model: deepseek-v3-1-250821 (latest available)

import os
from volcenginesdkarkruntime import Ark
client = Ark(api_key=os.getenv("ARK_API_KEY"), timeout=1800)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="deepseek-v3-1-250821",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "我要研究深度思考模型与非深度思考模型区别的课题，体现出我的专业性"}],
    thinking={"type": "disabled"}
)
print(response)

OpenRouter

Unified OpenAI‑compatible endpoint: https://openrouter.ai/api/v1 (requires API key bound to a credit‑card).

Free‑tier model example: deepseek/deepseek-chat-v3.1:free.

curl https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
        "model": "deepseek/deepseek-chat-v3.1:free",
        "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "What is the meaning of life?"}]
      }'

Google Gemini

OpenAI‑compatible wrapper base URL: https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/openai/

Model example: gemini-2.0-flash.

curl https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/openai/ \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $GEMINI_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
        "model": "gemini-2.0-flash",
        "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Explain how AI works in a few words"}]
      }'

Comparative Observations

Alibaba Cloud UI lists model codes with copy buttons, clear capability tables, and free‑tier limits, making it the most developer‑friendly.

Baidu Cloud requires extra navigation steps and hides model IDs behind an “experience” button, reducing discoverability.

Volcengine’s model list is incomplete; the latest DeepSeek version (v3.2‑exp) is unavailable, only v3.1‑250821.

OpenRouter offers a convenient unified API but mandates credit‑card verification, which may be a barrier.

Google Gemini provides both native and OpenAI‑compatible endpoints; documentation emphasizes the native API.

References

DeepSeek API key creation: https://platform.deepseek.com/api_keys

Google AI Studio: https://aistudio.google.com/