If you've watched a web development tutorial in the last year, chances are you've seen someone build an "AI-powered" app. The instructor pastes their OpenAI API key into an environment file, writes a simple fetch request, and within 10 minutes, the app is magically generating text.
It looks incredibly easy. So, you build your own version. It works perfectly on localhost:3000. You're ready to deploy and share it with the world.
Then, the panic sets in.
What happens if someone shares your link on Reddit? What if a user absentmindedly clicks the "Generate" button 50 times? What if a malicious bot finds your open endpoint?
Because AI APIs charge by the "token" (the amount of text processed), an unprotected endpoint isn't just a bug—it's a financial liability.
