---
title: Bring Your Own Key (BYOK)
description: "Use your own provider API keys in Verdent Desktop and understand where BYOK models are available"
---

## Overview

BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) lets you connect your own provider API keys and use those models directly inside Verdent's built-in agents.

### BYOK vs BYOA

Verdent offers two "bring your own" paths—don't confuse them:

| | BYOK | BYOA |
|---|---|---|
| **What you bring** | A provider API key | An Agent runtime (Codex / Claude Code) |
| **What runs your task** | Verdent's built-in agent, using the provider behind your key | The external CLI agent on your machine |
| **Typical use case** | Access a model under your own billing, or use a provider not bundled by default | Keep your existing Codex / Claude Code workflow while letting Manager dispatch Worker tasks to it |
| **Configure at** | Settings → Models → Configure Models | Settings → Models → CLI Agents |

See [BYOA](/docs/verdent-manager/configuration/byoa) for running Worker tasks on an external Agent runtime.

## Supported Providers

- Anthropic
- OpenAI
- OpenRouter

## Add an API Key

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open model configuration">
    Go to **Settings → Models → Configure Models**.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Start adding a key">
    Click **Add API Key +** in the top-right corner.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Choose provider and models">
    Select a provider and choose the models you want to enable.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Enter credentials">
    Add your API key.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Save and validate">
    Click **Save**. Verdent validates the key automatically.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Validation Results

- If validation succeeds, the key is saved and the selected models become available.
- If validation fails, Verdent shows an error so you can update the key and try again.

## Manage Existing API Keys

Under **Settings → Models → Configure Models**, you can:

- Enable or disable all models for a provider
- Enable or disable individual models
- Edit an existing API key
- Delete an API key

## Where BYOK Models Appear

After you add a valid key, BYOK models appear in:

- The chat model selector
- Preset model configuration
- Subagent settings
- Reviewer settings

BYOK models behave like built-in models once they are enabled.

## Limitations

- Built-in features such as Smart Suggestions do not support BYOK API keys.
- Automatic compression does not support BYOK API keys.