FAQ

Kudos are essentially a point tracking system implemented within the backend of AI Horde in order to determine queue priority and prevent general abuse of the service. Those who are logged in with a AI Horde API key will get higher priority than anonymous users. Those who are logged in and have more kudos will get even higher priority in the queue.

** They are not a currency and cannot be bought. **

They are awarded to users for contributing GPU power to the distributed cluster. Other ways to get kudos are to rate images for aesthetics training , participate in the AI Horde Discord channel -- by being a helpful member of the community or sharing neat art that you've generated.

Some image generation parameters (e.g., those determined to be more computationaly expensive operations, such as higher resolution images or more steps) require an upfront kudos balance. However, most operations can be completed without needing the required amount of kudos upfront. (Most requests that are less than ~17 kudos can be completed without issue.)

More information about how kudos are used and the philosophy behind them can be found here.

An API key allows you to interact with the AI Horde through the numerous tools that have been created in order to interact with the service (web apps, mobile apps, CLI utilities, Discord bots, Mastodon bots, etc).

Another benefit of an API key is that it allows you to skip ahead of anonymous users in the queue, allowing you to significantly speed up your image generations without have to do anything else.

You can register for an API key on the official AI Horde website.