Skip to content

Add a provider key

Perfica holds no key of its own. You add keys for the providers you already use, and they are stored on your device.

Provider Needs a key Notes
Anthropic Yes
OpenAI Yes
Google Yes A Gemini API key. Has a free tier.
OpenRouter Yes Many models behind one key, including free ones. Type any model name.
NVIDIA Yes Type any model name.
Ollama No Runs on your machine.
LM Studio No Runs on your machine.
  1. Open the APIs page.
  2. Add a key and choose which provider it belongs to.
  3. Mark a favourite with the star if you have more than one key for a provider. When a bubble does not name a key, Perfica uses the favourite, then the most recently used, then the most recently added.

Then open the Models page and set the default model. Every bubble you place starts on it. You can change the model of any single bubble in its inspector.

  • Keys are encrypted (AES-256-GCM) in a key file on this machine.
  • The app’s pages never hold a key. A bubble carries only a reference to one.
  • A key saved for one provider is never sent to another. If a bubble points at the wrong provider’s key, the pass stops with a clear error instead of a confusing “unauthorised”.
  • With a Cloud account, you can also keep keys in the encrypted vault and move them between devices. Cloud is not on sale yet.

Next: Loops and bubbles.