Connect a cloud provider with your own API key

Paste one key in Settings, Intelligence, API keys and NeuralVault checks it with the provider before it keeps it; nine providers are built in and any other OpenAI-compatible service goes in the Direct providers form.

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Steps

  1. Create a key in the provider’s own dashboard. NeuralVault cannot create one for you, and the provider bills you for what it answers, not NeuralVault.
  2. Open Settings, then Intelligence, then API keys, press "Add a key" and paste the key. The built-in providers are Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, xAI, Mistral, Groq, DeepSeek, OpenRouter and NVIDIA.
  3. Read the "Detected:" line under the box. The app works the provider out from the start of the key: sk-ant- is Anthropic, sk-or- is OpenRouter, AIza is Google, gsk_ is Groq, nvapi- is NVIDIA, xai- is xAI and a plain sk- is OpenAI. Mistral and DeepSeek keys have no start the app will guess, so with several providers still waiting for a key they are not saved. If only one provider still has no key, that one is taken as the answer.
  4. For Mistral or DeepSeek, or any service that is not in the list, use "Direct providers" lower on the same screen. Fill in Label, Base URL, Model and the key. The built-in addresses are https://api.mistral.ai/v1 for Mistral and https://api.deepseek.com/v1 for DeepSeek. For Azure OpenAI and Z.ai see the guide on direct endpoints.
  5. Press "Save". The app asks the provider whether the key works before it stores it, so a mistyped key is refused with a message instead of being saved and failing later.
  6. Open the model button in Chat. That provider’s models are now selectable. Choose one and send a message to finish the test.

How to tell it worked

The provider appears under "Your keys" with a tick meaning stored and working, and a message sent on one of its models is answered.

If it does not work

The key is rejected when you press Save.
The provider did not accept it. Paste it again without spaces or line breaks, check it was made for the provider you are adding, and see the guide on a key being rejected.
A note says "Saved, but not checked".
The key was stored but the provider could not be reached to confirm it, so it is not proven bad. Send one message before you replace it.
The app says it could not tell which provider the key belongs to, so it was not saved.
Use the Direct providers form for it, or add keys for the other providers first so only one is left.
You want the key back.
The screen shows only whether a key exists, never the key. Keys are kept on this device and sent only to the provider they belong to. Paste a new one to replace it.