Bring your own model (BYOK)
How credentials and model connections differ between Cordy clients and a self-hosted gateway.
With BYOK, you choose a provider and supply the credentials needed to use it. Cloud requests still send their content to that provider. Local inference is a separate choice and depends on the selected runtime and model.
Who authenticates the request?
| Product | Connection and credential ownership |
|---|---|
| Chrome | Configure cloud providers or local models in the extension. Provider credentials are kept in extension-local storage; see its privacy guide for the exact storage and permission boundaries. |
| Desktop | Configure and authenticate the CLI agent you launch. Its supported providers, credentials, subscriptions, and network requests belong to that agent. |
| Mobile | Configure OpenAI-compatible or Anthropic connections. API keys use Android Keystore-backed storage or the iOS Keychain implementation; iOS runtime verification is still open. |
| Gateway | The operator stores upstream channel credentials on the server, encrypted with configured Fernet keys. Clients use gateway-issued API keys, and members can use the instance's account and billing system. |
Chrome and Mobile do not require a central Cordy account. A Gateway deployment has its own accounts and policies; CLI agents may require their own login or subscription. Direct provider billing and gateway member balances are different payment paths.
Custom endpoints
An OpenAI-compatible endpoint generally provides Chat Completions and model discovery through a base URL. Compatibility must cover the actual operations you use: streaming, model IDs, tools, images, reasoning parameters, and authentication can differ.
Use the connection instructions for your product rather than assuming any endpoint supports every feature. Desktop compatibility depends on the selected CLI. Mobile supports two provider families; adding an OpenAI-compatible URL does not add a new native protocol adapter.
Connecting through Gateway
A compatible client can use a Cordy Gateway endpoint and a gateway key such as wnx_…. The operator then controls the available public model IDs, permissions, quotas, and member credit balance. The upstream provider's credentials remain on the gateway server; requests pass through that server before reaching the provider.
The current Gateway API supports text-oriented requests and does not accept image/audio inputs. This means a working text-chat connection is not evidence that Chrome or Mobile multimodal features work through Gateway. Check the API reference for the supported contract.