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User Account, API Keys & SePay Integration

EcoLab provides an intuitive administrative dashboard under Cài đặt (Settings) to help you manage your personal profile, configure large language model (LLM) API keys, monitor resource utilization, and purchase premium upgrades via the automated SePay gateway.

1. Profile Management & Usage Analytics​

In the Hồ sơ (Profile) tab:

  • Update your name, contact email, and account password.
  • View your active subscription tier (Free, Premium, Academic Partner) and expiration date.

In the Sử dụng Token (Token Usage) tab, the platform provides clear metrics on your AI consumption:

  • Token Consumption: Total input and output tokens consumed.
  • Estimated Cost: Token usage converted to USD/VND value based on real-time pricing from LLM providers.
  • API Calls: Total successful connections to LLM backends.
  • Daily consumption bar charts help you analyze usage trends and optimize prompts.

2. Configuring LLM API Keys​

To activate AI Agents throughout the research pipeline, you need to configure at least one valid API key from an LLM provider.

Setup Guide​

  1. Navigate to Settings → API Keys.
  2. Select your provider:
    • DeepSeek: The primary reasoning engine, optimized for mathematical structures and econometrics logic.
    • OpenAI: GPT-4 models, offering high stability and general-purpose capabilities.
    • Gemini (Google): Flash models, offering quick response times for general Q&A.
    • Perplexity: Search-augmented models, excellent for locating academic papers.
    • OpenRouter: A model aggregator allowing you to access 400+ models from a single API endpoint.
  3. Paste your API key and click Thêm (Add).
  4. Click Kiểm tra (Test Connection). The system will send a small test prompt to verify. A green checkmark confirms a successful connection.

[!IMPORTANT] API Key Encryption: All user-provided API keys are encrypted at rest using asymmetric encryption in the database. Keys are only decrypted in-memory during API calls and are never exposed.

3. Upgrading via the SePay Payment Gateway​

EcoLab integrates the SePay payment gateway to support instant premium upgrades or token purchases via Vietnamese bank transfers.

Select Plan → System generates QR & Transaction Code → 
Bank Transfer → SePay webhook notification → Instant Account Activation

Steps to Upgrade​

  1. Navigate to the Upgrade page or the Billing tab.
  2. Select your desired plan (e.g., Academic Monthly, Professional Yearly, or Token Credit Top-up).
  3. The system will generate a checkout window showing:
    • A VietQR Code (for fast scanning using any Vietnamese Mobile Banking application).
    • Transfer Details: Account Number, Recipient Bank, exact Amount, and the Transfer Message (containing a unique transaction ID in the format ECOLABXXXXX).
  4. Initiate the transfer from your banking app.

    • [!WARNING]

    • If transferring manually (not scanning the QR code), you must input the Transfer Message exactly as displayed. This message is the only way the system matches transaction records.
  5. As soon as the bank processes the transaction (usually within 3 to 10 seconds), SePay will send a webhook confirmation to the EcoLab backend. The system will automatically upgrade your account to Premium without requiring a page reload.