A 401 from the ElevenLabs API means the request isn’t authenticated. In practice, you’ll usually see detail.status = "invalid_api_key" when the API key is missing, misspelled, or sent in the wrong header. Make sure you include your key in the xi-api-key HTTP header on every request. (help.elevenlabs.io)
Other 400/401 statuses you might see in the response body and what to do
quota_exceeded: You don’t have enough credits. On Creator or above, enable usage‑based billing in your Subscription page. (elevenlabs.io)
voice_not_found or max_character_limit_exceeded: These also surface under the 400/401 bucket; use a valid voice_id or reduce the input size per model limits. (elevenlabs.io)
If the header and key are correct but you still get errors, check the exact detail.status in the JSON and see ElevenLabs’ status page to rule out any active incidents. (elevenlabs.io)
If you can share the exact response body (without your key), I can point to the specific fix based on the documented status. (elevenlabs.io)
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