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Inception Labs Provider Guide

Inception Labs is a Tier-2 catalog provider: OpenAI-wire-compatible with no behavioural quirks, so its entire integration is one JSON file (src/lib/providers/catalog/inception-labs.json) rather than hand-written code. That file is the source of truth for everything on this page.

Key Facts​

  • Provider id: inception-labs (aliases: inception, mercury)
  • Protocol: OpenAI-compatible (/chat/completions)
  • Base URL: https://api.inceptionlabs.ai/v1
  • Default model: mercury-2
  • Models in catalog: 1
  • Streaming: supported
  • Tool calling: supported (native)
  • Structured output: supported
  • Embeddings: not supported
  • Billing: free-tier
  • Key format: ^sk_[A-Za-z0-9_-]+$

Quick Start​

1. Get an API key​

  1. Visit: https://platform.inceptionlabs.ai and sign in (Google OAuth works)
  2. New accounts get 100M free tokens with no card required
  3. Create an API key under Dashboard -> API Keys
  4. Set INCEPTION_LABS_API_KEY in your .env file

2. Configure​

export INCEPTION_LABS_API_KEY=your-api-key
export INCEPTION_LABS_MODEL=mercury-2      # optional — overrides the default model
export INCEPTION_LABS_BASE_URL=https://api.inceptionlabs.ai/v1   # optional — self-hosted or proxy

3. Use it​

import { NeuroLink } from "@juspay/neurolink";

const neurolink = new NeuroLink();

const result = await neurolink.generate({
  input: { text: "Explain context windows in one paragraph." },
  provider: "inception-labs",
  model: "mercury-2",
});

console.log(result.content);
# CLI
npx @juspay/neurolink generate "Hello" --provider inception-labs

Per-request credentials work as they do for every provider:

await neurolink.generate({
  input: { text: "Hello" },
  provider: "inception-labs",
  credentials: {
    inceptionLabs: { apiKey: process.env.INCEPTION_LABS_API_KEY },
  },
});

Models​

ModelContextVision$/M in · outNotes
mercury-2 ⭐125Kno$0.25 / $0.75Mercury 2, Inception's enterprise diffusion LLM (dLLM); reasoning, tool use, structured output; 128K context, 1000+ tok/s

Fallback order when the default is unavailable: mercury-2.

Verification status​

Tier-2 onboarding requires evidence before a provider is accepted, and pnpm run verify:provider-onboarding gates it in CI. This is what the catalog records for Inception Labs:

ProbeResult
Rosterauthenticated GET /v1/models, HTTP 200, 2026-09-03
Auth rejectionHTTP 401 invalid_api_key, 2026-09-03
Live capability sweep2026-09-03 — Full capability sweep on mercury-2: chat, stream, system_role, content_text_parts, sampling_params, tools, tools_stream, tools_roundtrip_null, tool_choice_without_tools, json_object, json_schema and tools_plus_schema all

Troubleshooting​

SymptomCauseFix
Invalid Inception Labs API keyINCEPTION_LABS_API_KEY unset or wrongCheck the key at https://platform.inceptionlabs.ai/dashboard/api-keys
Model not foundThe roster changed since 2026-09-03Pick a current id; catalog providers retire models without notice

See also​