Custom LLM Providers

Use any OpenAI-compatible AI provider for chat completions.

How do I add a custom provider?

Via Desktop UI

1. Open Settings → Providers (in “Additional” section)
2. Click Add & Activate
3. Select a preset (Z.AI, MiniMax, DeepSeek, Ollama, etc.) or choose “Custom…”
4. Enter your API key
5. Click Add — the provider is tested automatically and activated if successful

Via CLI

# List all configured providers
cmdop provider list
 
# Add a provider interactively
cmdop provider add
 
# Set as active provider
cmdop provider set <id>
 
# Reset to the cmdop default provider
cmdop provider default

Which providers are supported?

Any OpenAI-compatible endpoint works. Built-in presets (19 total):

How does it work?

CMDOP uses a two-key architecture:

This means:

• Chat goes straight to your custom provider (z.ai, Groq, etc.)
• Vision / OCR is gateway-only — with a custom provider active it returns a clear error, not a silent fallback
• Switch providers without affecting core CMDOP features

A custom provider is the bring-your-own-key escape hatch from the default router path. For the full picture — how the default path supplies provider keys, what the router brokers, and the two-credential model — see How model access works.

How do I switch providers?

Desktop

1. Settings → Providers
2. Click the radio button next to the provider you want
3. The badge under the chat input updates immediately

CLI

cmdop provider set <id>    # switch to custom
cmdop provider default     # back to the cmdop default provider

What about model aliases (@code, @balanced)?

Model aliases (@code, @balanced, @smart) are resolved server-side by the cmdop model gateway on the default path. When a custom provider is active, CMDOP automatically substitutes these aliases with the provider’s default model (e.g., @code → glm-5).

In the chat UI, the model selector is replaced by a provider badge showing the active provider and actual model:

┌──────────────┐     ┌─────────┐
│ Z.AI • glm-5 │     │ @code ▼ │  ← cmdop default
└──────────────┘     └─────────┘

How are API keys protected?

Custom provider API keys are never stored in config.yaml. They go to a dedicated file:

~/.config/cmdop/provider_keys.json   (file permissions: 0600, owner read/write only)

{
  "providers": {
    "uuid-here": "your-api-key"
  }
}

How do I test a provider?

Desktop

Click the flask icon (🧪) next to a provider in Settings → Providers. It sends a “Hi” request and shows success/error.

CLI

cmdop provider test <id>

How do I delete a provider?

Desktop

Click the trash icon next to the provider in Settings → Providers.

CLI

cmdop provider delete <id>