ModelRefs / Helicone — AI Glossary
Helicone — AI Glossary
An LLM observability proxy that logs all API requests with one-line integration, providing cost tracking and latency analytics.
Overview
Helicone (2023) routes LLM API calls through a proxy endpoint, logging request/response pairs for analytics: cost per user, latency distributions, error rates, token usage. One-line integration (change base URL). Supports caching, rate limiting, and request replay. Lighter-weight than LangSmith for apps not using LangChain.
Reference details
| Topic | infrastructure |
|---|---|
| Last reviewed | 2026-06-24 |
Related terms
Commonly confused with
A proxy rather than an SDK integration: requests route through it and are logged, so adoption is a base-URL change instead of instrumentation. That is its whole trade — near-zero integration cost, at the price of putting a hop in the request path and a third party in front of every prompt. Tracing-first tools sit beside your code instead of in front of it.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Helicone?
An LLM observability proxy that logs all API requests with one-line integration, providing cost tracking and latency analytics.
What concepts are related to Helicone?
Closely related concepts include langsmith, gateway, tracing.