> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gloo.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Direct Completions

> POST /ai/v2/direct/chat/completions — OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions straight to the model you name, with no guardrails, moderation, values-alignment, or routing in between.

**Direct Completions** is the OpenAI-compatible Chat Completions format on a [direct endpoint](/api-guides/endpoint-types): your request goes straight to the `model` you name, and Gloo adds nothing between your prompt and the provider.

Use it when you already have tooling built on the Chat Completions request shape and your application owns its own safety and prompting. If you are starting fresh, prefer [Direct Responses](/api-guides/direct-responses) — same directness, a more capable request shape, and vision and image generation as first-class citizens.

If you want Gloo's governance layer — guardrails, output moderation, values-alignment (`tradition`), `model_family` selection, intelligent routing — use [Completions](/api-guides/completions-v2) instead. The two share a request shape; they differ in what runs around it.

## Quick start

**URL:** `https://platform.ai.gloo.com/ai/v2/direct/chat/completions`

```bash theme={null}
curl -X POST 'https://platform.ai.gloo.com/ai/v2/direct/chat/completions' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer ${GLOO_API_KEY}' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "model": "gloo-anthropic-claude-sonnet-4.6",
    "messages": [
      { "role": "user", "content": "Explain prompt caching in two sentences." }
    ]
  }'
```

The request and response shapes mirror the OpenAI Chat Completions API, so existing SDKs and tooling work by pointing the base URL at Gloo.

## What runs, and what doesn't

Identical to every direct endpoint — see [Endpoint Types](/api-guides/endpoint-types#what-runs-and-what-does-not) for the full list. In short: authentication, entitlement, metering, the model catalog, provider resiliency and rate limits all still apply; guardrails, output moderation, values-alignment and routing deliberately do not.

## Choosing between the direct formats

Use this page when you have existing OpenAI Chat Completions tooling that should keep its request shape. For new integrations — and for vision or image generation — use [Direct Responses](/api-guides/direct-responses) instead; both are direct, and the only difference is the request shape.

For the full comparison across guarded, direct and grounded endpoints, see [Which endpoint should I use?](/api-guides/endpoint-types#which-endpoint-should-i-use).