Bring Your Own Key

Supported AI providers

Connect a key from one of these providers. You choose the model; the picker lists the provider's recommended model first.

Connect a key

1. Step 1: Create an API key in your provider's console. Your provider may require billing on its side before the key can answer.
2. Step 2: In Rivul AI, open Settings → AI provider. Connectors → AI provider shows the same connection.
3. Step 3: Choose the provider and a model, paste the key, and click Connect. Rivul AI checks the key with the provider first; if the check fails, the panel says so and nothing is saved.
4. Step 4: When the panel shows Connected, every AI feature uses that key.

What needs your key

Only AI features call your provider: Ask Rivul answers, Research briefs, agent runs, PDF chat and Explain, the editor's AI actions, autocomplete, and the Related Work draft.

Everything else runs on the Rivul Index or on Rivul AI's own servers and needs no key: Search papers, the Library, Document OCR, Transcribe, Listen, Rivul MCP and REST search, skills, citations, claim and consistency checks, and export. Research still searches and lists papers without a key; only its written brief needs one.

• The full table: what needs your own AI key

Where Rivul AI asks for your key

Until a key is connected, Ask Rivul, Research and Agents each show the same card at the top: Connect your AI key to use that feature, with a Connect AI key button and a Learn more link to this article. Research still finds and lists sources without a key; the card says so.

Connect AI key opens the key form in place, over the page you are on, so you can connect without leaving it. When the key is saved the card disappears. If an AI request is refused because no key is connected, the error note links to the same form.

The welcome tour has the same form on its third step, and you can reopen the tour from the account menu.

• The welcome tour

How the key is stored

The key is encrypted with AES-256-GCM before it is stored, used only for your requests, and never shown again. It is sent only to the provider you chose, at that provider's fixed API address.

One key is stored at a time. Saving a key for another provider replaces the previous key and deletes it. Remove deletes the key.

• Privacy and AI use

Costs and limits

Rivul AI is free and adds no charge to AI use. Your provider bills you for the tokens each feature uses; its dashboard shows your spending. Rivul AI also applies fair-use rate limits per minute, hour and day to AI actions.

• Limits and quotas

If AI features stop working

Your AI provider rejected this API key means the key was revoked or mistyped: paste a new one in Settings → AI provider.

Your AI provider reports no remaining credit or quota on this key means the provider account needs attention, not Rivul AI.

Your AI provider is rate-limiting this key means the provider's own limit was reached: wait a few seconds and try again.

• Troubleshooting