OpenAI Proxy (Go 1.22)

A tiny reverse proxy in Go that forwards requests to an OpenAI-compatible API. Useful for:

• Centralizing API key management
• Swapping between OpenAI-compatible providers by changing a single URL
• Running locally or in a container with minimal configuration

The proxy:

• Forwards method, path, query, and most headers unmodified
• Optionally injects an Authorization header from a server-side API key
• Streams responses (Server-Sent Events / chunked responses) through to clients

Project Structure

• main.go — Proxy server implementation
• go.mod — Go module definition (Go 1.22)
• Dockerfile — Multi-stage build for a small, static container image
• .gitignore — Common Go and IDE ignores

Requirements

• Go 1.22+ (for local builds), or
• Docker (for containerized runs)

Configuration

You can configure the proxy using flags or environment variables. Environment variables are used when the corresponding flag is not provided.

Flags:

• -openai-key — API key to inject as Authorization: Bearer <key> in outgoing requests
• -openai-url — Target base URL for the OpenAI-compatible API (default: https://api.openai.com)
• -port — Port to run the proxy on (default: 8080)

Environment variables:

• OPENAI_API_KEY — Same as -openai-key
• OPENAI_URL — Same as -openai-url
• PORT — Same as -port

Behavior:

• If an API key is provided (via -openai-key or OPENAI_API_KEY), the proxy sets Authorization: Bearer <key> on all outgoing requests, overriding any client-provided Authorization header.
• If no API key is provided, the proxy forwards the client's Authorization header as-is.
• All other headers are forwarded unmodified.

Quick Start

Run locally (Go)

1. Clone and enter the repository, then:

• With environment variables:

  export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-xxxx
  export OPENAI_URL=https://api.openai.com
  export PORT=8080
  go run . 
  

• With flags:

  go run . -openai-key=sk-xxxx -openai-url=https://api.openai.com -port=8080
  

The server will start on http://localhost:8080 and forward to the configured OPENAI_URL.

Run with Docker

Using the pre-built image (recommended)

Pull and run the pre-built image from Docker Hub:

docker pull alexsergin/openai-proxy:latest
docker run -d -p 8080:8080 \
  -e OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-xxxx \
  -e OPENAI_URL=https://api.openai.com \
  alexsergin/openai-proxy:latest

Or run directly without pulling first:

docker run -d -p 8080:8080 \
  -e OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-xxxx \
  -e OPENAI_URL=https://api.openai.com \
  alexsergin/openai-proxy:latest

The proxy will be available at http://localhost:8080.