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Cloud Providers

Local AI is private and free, and runs fastest on a dedicated graphics card; on computers without one it runs on the CPU and is much slower. To get fast answers on any machine — including laptops with integrated Intel/AMD graphics or lower-memory cards — you can connect a cloud provider using your own API key.

Cloud providers run the AI on the provider's servers, so they work on any machine and require an internet connection. You pay the provider for usage through your own key.

What is sent to a cloud provider

A cloud provider receives the text of your question and the documentation snippets used to answer it. Your images, volumes, meshes, and files are never sent. For fully offline, fully private use, use Local AI. See Privacy & Knowledge Retrieval.

Anthropic (Claude)​

  1. Create an API key in your Anthropic account.
  2. In the assistant's Settings, set the provider to Anthropic (Claude).
  3. Paste your API key and enter a model name (for example, a current Claude model id).
  4. Save. The assistant connects over the internet; there is no local model to download.

OpenAI / OpenAI-compatible​

  1. Create an API key with OpenAI, or a compatible service such as a hosted gateway.
  2. Set the provider to OpenAI / OpenAI-compatible.
  3. Paste your API key and enter the model name.
  4. Optional: if you use an OpenAI-compatible service rather than OpenAI itself, set the Base URL to that service's endpoint.
  5. Save.

About your API key​

  • You set your API key once in Settings. It is stored in your user profile on your machine and is never shown in the conversation.
  • Cloud usage is billed by the provider according to their pricing. The assistant does not add any charge.
Mixing local and cloud

You can use a cloud AI provider while keeping documentation search local, so your searches stay on your machine, or any other combination. The two settings are independent. See Privacy & Knowledge Retrieval.