diff --git a/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json b/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 65e5dd09..00000000
--- a/.devcontainer/devcontainer.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,33 +0,0 @@
-{
-  "name": "Python 3",
-  // Or use a Dockerfile or Docker Compose file. More info: https://containers.dev/guide/dockerfile
-  "image": "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/python:1-3.11-bullseye",
-  "customizations": {
-    "codespaces": {
-      "openFiles": [
-        "README.md",
-        "examples/chat-pdf/app.py"
-      ]
-    },
-    "vscode": {
-      "settings": {},
-      "extensions": [
-        "ms-python.python",
-        "ms-python.vscode-pylance"
-      ]
-    }
-  },
-  "updateContentCommand": "[ -f packages.txt ] && sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y && sudo xargs apt install -y <packages.txt; [ -f requirements.txt ] && pip3 install --user -r requirements.txt; pip3 install --user streamlit; echo '✅ Packages installed and Requirements met'",
-  "postAttachCommand": {
-    "server": "streamlit run examples/chat-pdf/app.py --server.enableCORS false --server.enableXsrfProtection false"
-  },
-  "portsAttributes": {
-    "8501": {
-      "label": "Application",
-      "onAutoForward": "openPreview"
-    }
-  },
-  "forwardPorts": [
-    8501
-  ]
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docs/api-reference/advanced/configuration.mdx b/docs/api-reference/advanced/configuration.mdx
index 2dfdc309..c1faf4d7 100644
--- a/docs/api-reference/advanced/configuration.mdx
+++ b/docs/api-reference/advanced/configuration.mdx
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ llm:
     max_tokens: 1000
     top_p: 1
     stream: false
+    api_key: sk-xxx
     template: |
       Use the following pieces of context to answer the query at the end.
       If you don't know the answer, just say that you don't know, don't try to make up an answer.
@@ -48,6 +49,7 @@ embedder:
   provider: openai
   config:
     model: 'text-embedding-ada-002'
+    api_key: sk-xxx
 
 chunker:
   chunk_size: 2000
@@ -72,7 +74,8 @@ chunker:
       "top_p": 1,
       "stream": false,
       "template": "Use the following pieces of context to answer the query at the end.\nIf you don't know the answer, just say that you don't know, don't try to make up an answer.\n$context\n\nQuery: $query\n\nHelpful Answer:",
-      "system_prompt": "Act as William Shakespeare. Answer the following questions in the style of William Shakespeare."
+      "system_prompt": "Act as William Shakespeare. Answer the following questions in the style of William Shakespeare.",
+      "api_key": "sk-xxx"
     }
   },
   "vectordb": {
@@ -86,7 +89,8 @@ chunker:
   "embedder": {
     "provider": "openai",
     "config": {
-      "model": "text-embedding-ada-002"
+      "model": "text-embedding-ada-002",
+      "api_key": "sk-xxx"
     }
   },
   "chunker": {
@@ -120,7 +124,8 @@ config = {
             ),
             'system_prompt': (
                 "Act as William Shakespeare. Answer the following questions in the style of William Shakespeare."
-            )
+            ),
+            'api_key': 'sk-xxx'
         }
     },
     'vectordb': {
@@ -134,7 +139,8 @@ config = {
     'embedder': {
         'provider': 'openai',
         'config': {
-            'model': 'text-embedding-ada-002'
+            'model': 'text-embedding-ada-002',
+            'api_key': 'sk-xxx'
         }
     },
     'chunker': {
@@ -168,6 +174,7 @@ Alright, let's dive into what each key means in the yaml config above:
         - `system_prompt` (String): A system prompt for the model to follow when generating responses, in this case, it's set to the style of William Shakespeare.
         -  `stream` (Boolean): Controls if the response is streamed back to the user (set to false).
         - `number_documents` (Integer): Number of documents to pull from the vectordb as context, defaults to 1
+        - `api_key` (String): The API key for the language model.
 3. `vectordb` Section:
     - `provider` (String): The provider for the vector database, set to 'chroma'. You can find the full list of vector database providers in [our docs](/components/vector-databases).
     - `config`:
@@ -179,6 +186,7 @@ Alright, let's dive into what each key means in the yaml config above:
     - `provider` (String): The provider for the embedder, set to 'openai'. You can find the full list of embedding model providers in [our docs](/components/embedding-models).
     - `config`:
         - `model` (String): The specific model used for text embedding, 'text-embedding-ada-002'.
+        - `api_key` (String): The API key for the embedding model.
 5. `chunker` Section:
     - `chunk_size` (Integer): The size of each chunk of text that is sent to the language model.
     - `chunk_overlap` (Integer): The amount of overlap between each chunk of text.
diff --git a/embedchain/config/embedder/base.py b/embedchain/config/embedder/base.py
index 9227e079..78bb8b30 100644
--- a/embedchain/config/embedder/base.py
+++ b/embedchain/config/embedder/base.py
@@ -5,7 +5,9 @@ from embedchain.helpers.json_serializable import register_deserializable
 
 @register_deserializable
 class BaseEmbedderConfig:
-    def __init__(self, model: Optional[str] = None, deployment_name: Optional[str] = None):
+    def __init__(
+        self, model: Optional[str] = None, deployment_name: Optional[str] = None, api_key: Optional[str] = None
+    ):
         """
         Initialize a new instance of an embedder config class.
 
@@ -16,3 +18,4 @@ class BaseEmbedderConfig:
         """
         self.model = model
         self.deployment_name = deployment_name
+        self.api_key = api_key
diff --git a/embedchain/config/llm/base.py b/embedchain/config/llm/base.py
index 4e4054c2..bba4a20f 100644
--- a/embedchain/config/llm/base.py
+++ b/embedchain/config/llm/base.py
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ class BaseLlmConfig(BaseConfig):
         where: Dict[str, Any] = None,
         query_type: Optional[str] = None,
         callbacks: Optional[List] = None,
+        api_key: Optional[str] = None,
     ):
         """
         Initializes a configuration class instance for the LLM.
@@ -117,6 +118,7 @@ class BaseLlmConfig(BaseConfig):
         self.system_prompt = system_prompt
         self.query_type = query_type
         self.callbacks = callbacks
+        self.api_key = api_key
 
         if type(template) is str:
             template = Template(template)
diff --git a/embedchain/embedder/openai.py b/embedchain/embedder/openai.py
index 3c490333..e71f9c04 100644
--- a/embedchain/embedder/openai.py
+++ b/embedchain/embedder/openai.py
@@ -16,16 +16,18 @@ class OpenAIEmbedder(BaseEmbedder):
         if self.config.model is None:
             self.config.model = "text-embedding-ada-002"
 
+        api_key = self.config.api_key or os.environ["OPENAI_API_KEY"]
+
         if self.config.deployment_name:
             embeddings = AzureOpenAIEmbeddings(deployment=self.config.deployment_name)
             embedding_fn = BaseEmbedder._langchain_default_concept(embeddings)
         else:
-            if os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY") is None and os.getenv("OPENAI_ORGANIZATION") is None:
+            if api_key is None and os.getenv("OPENAI_ORGANIZATION") is None:
                 raise ValueError(
                     "OPENAI_API_KEY or OPENAI_ORGANIZATION environment variables not provided"
                 )  # noqa:E501
             embedding_fn = OpenAIEmbeddingFunction(
-                api_key=os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"),
+                api_key=api_key,
                 organization_id=os.getenv("OPENAI_ORGANIZATION"),
                 model_name=self.config.model,
             )
diff --git a/embedchain/llm/openai.py b/embedchain/llm/openai.py
index 7ac6ccc7..5c38774b 100644
--- a/embedchain/llm/openai.py
+++ b/embedchain/llm/openai.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import json
+import os
 from typing import Any, Dict, Optional
 
 from langchain.chat_models import ChatOpenAI
@@ -30,6 +31,7 @@ class OpenAILlm(BaseLlm):
             "max_tokens": config.max_tokens,
             "model_kwargs": {},
         }
+        api_key = config.api_key or os.environ["OPENAI_API_KEY"]
         if config.top_p:
             kwargs["model_kwargs"]["top_p"] = config.top_p
         if config.stream:
@@ -37,9 +39,9 @@ class OpenAILlm(BaseLlm):
                 StreamingStdOutCallbackHandler
 
             callbacks = config.callbacks if config.callbacks else [StreamingStdOutCallbackHandler()]
-            chat = ChatOpenAI(**kwargs, streaming=config.stream, callbacks=callbacks)
+            chat = ChatOpenAI(**kwargs, streaming=config.stream, callbacks=callbacks, api_key=api_key)
         else:
-            chat = ChatOpenAI(**kwargs)
+            chat = ChatOpenAI(**kwargs, api_key=api_key)
         if self.functions is not None:
             from langchain.chains.openai_functions import \
                 create_openai_fn_runnable
diff --git a/embedchain/utils.py b/embedchain/utils.py
index 8885f76e..622319c0 100644
--- a/embedchain/utils.py
+++ b/embedchain/utils.py
@@ -403,6 +403,7 @@ def validate_config(config_data):
                     Optional("deployment_name"): str,
                     Optional("where"): dict,
                     Optional("query_type"): str,
+                    Optional("api_key"): str,
                 },
             },
             Optional("vectordb"): {
@@ -416,6 +417,7 @@ def validate_config(config_data):
                 Optional("config"): {
                     Optional("model"): Optional(str),
                     Optional("deployment_name"): Optional(str),
+                    Optional("api_key"): str,
                 },
             },
             Optional("embedding_model"): {
@@ -423,6 +425,7 @@ def validate_config(config_data):
                 Optional("config"): {
                     Optional("model"): str,
                     Optional("deployment_name"): str,
+                    Optional("api_key"): str,
                 },
             },
             Optional("chunker"): {
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 64977016..86fc4d53 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [tool.poetry]
 name = "embedchain"
-version = "0.1.41"
+version = "0.1.42"
 description = "Data platform for LLMs - Load, index, retrieve and sync any unstructured data"
 authors = [
     "Taranjeet Singh <taranjeet@embedchain.ai>",
diff --git a/tests/llm/test_openai.py b/tests/llm/test_openai.py
index 370a310a..73a3146a 100644
--- a/tests/llm/test_openai.py
+++ b/tests/llm/test_openai.py
@@ -72,4 +72,5 @@ def test_get_llm_model_answer_without_system_prompt(config, mocker):
         temperature=config.temperature,
         max_tokens=config.max_tokens,
         model_kwargs={"top_p": config.top_p},
+        api_key=os.environ["OPENAI_API_KEY"],
     )