BYOK Providers¶

Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) mode connects to cloud AI providers using your API keys.

Overview¶

BYOK is the primary mode for production use:

Full control: Use your own API keys and quotas
Cost management: Pay directly to providers
Model selection: Choose specific models for your tasks
Privacy: Data goes directly to your chosen provider

Quick Setup¶

# 1. Set API key
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

# 2. Verify configuration
superqode providers test anthropic

# 3. Connect
superqode connect byok anthropic claude-opus-4-6

Supported Providers¶

Tier 1 (First-Class Support)¶

Full optimization and testing:

Anthropic (Claude)¶

export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
superqode connect byok anthropic claude-sonnet-4

Model	Best For
`claude-opus-4-6`	Complex analysis (latest/new)
`claude-sonnet-4-5`	Balanced performance
`claude-sonnet-4`	General use
`claude-haiku-4-5`	Fast, cost-effective

Documentation: docs.anthropic.com

OpenAI (GPT)¶

export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
superqode connect byok openai gpt-4o-mini

Model	Best For
`gpt-4o`	General use
`gpt-4o-mini`	Cost-effective
`o1`	Complex reasoning
`o1-mini`	Fast reasoning

Documentation: platform.openai.com

Google AI (Gemini)¶

export GOOGLE_API_KEY=AIza...
superqode connect byok google gemini-3.1-pro-preview

Model	Best For
`gemini-3.1-pro-preview`	Latest Pro model from models.dev
`gemini-flash-latest`	Latest Flash model from models.dev

Documentation: ai.google.dev

Tier 1 (First-Class Support) continued¶

Deepseek¶

export DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=sk-...
superqode connect byok deepseek deepseek-v3

Model	Best For
`deepseek-v3`	General use
`deepseek-r1`	Reasoning

Cost: Very competitive pricing

Mistral¶

export MISTRAL_API_KEY=...
superqode connect byok mistral mistral-large

xAI (Grok)¶

export XAI_API_KEY=...
superqode connect byok xai grok

Model Hosts¶

Access multiple models through a single API:

OpenRouter¶

export OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-...
superqode connect byok openrouter anthropic/claude-sonnet-4

95+ models from various providers
Use format: provider/model-name

Documentation: openrouter.ai

Together AI¶

export TOGETHER_API_KEY=...
superqode connect byok together meta-llama/Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct

Groq¶

export GROQ_API_KEY=gsk-...
superqode connect byok groq llama-3.3-70b-versatile

Very fast inference
Free tier available

Fireworks¶

export FIREWORKS_API_KEY=...
superqode connect byok fireworks accounts/fireworks/models/llama-v3p3-70b-instruct

Configuration¶

Environment Variables¶

Provider	Variable	Notes
Anthropic	`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Required
OpenAI	`OPENAI_API_KEY`	Required
Google	`GOOGLE_API_KEY`	Required
Deepseek	`DEEPSEEK_API_KEY`	Required
OpenRouter	`OPENROUTER_API_KEY`	Required
Together	`TOGETHER_API_KEY`	Required
Groq	`GROQ_API_KEY`	Required
Mistral	`MISTRAL_API_KEY`	Required
xAI	`XAI_API_KEY`	Required

Configuration File¶

providers:
  anthropic:
    api_key_env: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
    recommended_models:
      - claude-opus-4-5
      - claude-opus-4-6
      - claude-sonnet-4-5
      - claude-sonnet-4
      - claude-haiku-4-5

  openai:
    api_key_env: OPENAI_API_KEY
    recommended_models:
      - gpt-4o
      - gpt-4o-mini
      - o1
      - o1-mini

  deepseek:
    api_key_env: DEEPSEEK_API_KEY
    recommended_models:
      - deepseek-v3
      - deepseek-r1

Cost Management¶

Tracking Costs¶

superqode:
  cost_tracking:
    enabled: true
    show_after_task: true

After each task, you'll see:

Cost Summary:
  Provider: anthropic
  Model: claude-sonnet-4
  Input tokens: 15,234
  Output tokens: 2,456
  Estimated cost: $0.12

Cost-Effective Strategies¶

Use appropriate models: Haiku/mini for simple tasks
Use quick mode: Shorter sessions, less tokens
Local fallback: Use local models for high-volume tasks

Security Best Practices¶

API Key Management¶

# Don't commit API keys
echo "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-..." >> .env
echo ".env" >> .gitignore

Rotate Keys Regularly¶

Anthropic: console.anthropic.com
OpenAI: platform.openai.com/api-keys

Use Project Keys¶

Where available, use project-specific API keys with limited scope.

Troubleshooting¶

"Not Configured" Error¶

[INCORRECT] Provider 'anthropic' is not configured

Solution: Set the API key environment variable.

"Invalid API Key"¶

[INCORRECT] Connection failed: Invalid API key

Solution: Verify your API key is correct and has appropriate permissions.

Rate Limiting¶

[INCORRECT] Rate limit exceeded

Solutions: - Wait and retry - Use a different provider temporarily - Upgrade your API tier

Model Not Found¶

[INCORRECT] Model 'claude-5' not found

Solution: Check available models:

superqode providers show anthropic

Provider Comparison¶

Provider	Speed	Cost	Models	Best For
Anthropic	Fast	Medium	4	Security, reasoning
OpenAI	Fast	Medium	4	General, reasoning
Google	Fast	Low	2	General, vision
Deepseek	Medium	Low	2	Cost-effective
Groq	Very Fast	Low	3	Speed-critical

Next Steps¶

Local Providers - Self-hosted alternatives
ACP Agents - Coding agent integration
Provider Commands - CLI reference