Model Connections

Connect a local model or store a hosted-provider API key, define the exact model route, and verify its privacy, capability, and cost boundary.

App path

System & Jobs -> AI Models -> AI Provider Keys
System & Jobs -> AI Models -> AI Models
Global navigation -> AI Companion -> model selector

What Model Connections is for

Arizmic lets you choose which model powers AI Companion. You can connect a model running on your computer or use an API key for a supported hosted provider. The connection changes where a request is processed; it does not give the model additional access or permission inside the workstation.

Open System & Jobs → AI Models to manage provider keys and model routes. Keep provider credentials out of prompts, Strategy code, screenshots, support messages, and exported conversation records.

Choose local or hosted processing

Use a local model when you want prompts and supplied context to remain on a machine or network endpoint you control. The model server must already be installed, running, and reachable. Arizmic does not download or start a model server for you.

Use a hosted model when you prefer a provider's managed models or need capabilities your local setup does not offer. Prompt content and the context shown in AI Companion's disclosure are then sent directly to that provider. The provider's pricing, retention, regional processing, and acceptable-use terms apply.

Provider choice does not change the Companion's safety boundary. Both local and hosted models start with read-and-propose access. Saving a draft or performing another action must still pass through the workstation feature that owns it.

Connect a local model

Start an OpenAI-compatible model server such as a local inference service.
Confirm the server exposes the model you intend to use and note its exact model ID.
In System & Jobs → AI Models, choose the local OpenAI-compatible provider.
Under AI Models, enter the exact Model ID reported by the server.
Give it a recognizable Display Name.
Enter the server's loopback Base URL, normally an address beginning with http://127.0.0.1, http://localhost, or http://[::1].
Leave Enabled selected and choose Add Model.
Open AI Companion, select the new model, and send a short non-sensitive test question.

Use the address and model ID shown by your model server. They are not universal values: ports, API prefixes, and model names vary by application and model. If the server requires a key, store that key through AI Provider Keys; do not paste it into the Base URL.

A route is local only while its Base URL points to an endpoint you control. A custom URL that forwards requests elsewhere has the privacy and security boundary of that destination.

Connect a hosted model

Arizmic's intended v1 provider families are OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and approved OpenAI-compatible services. Availability depends on the current model catalog and adapter certification.

Create an API key in the provider's own account console. Use a project or key with the minimum permissions and budget you need.
In System & Jobs → AI Models → AI Provider Keys, select the provider.
Paste the key into Key and choose Store Key.
Under AI Models, select the same provider.
Enter the provider's exact Model ID, a clear Display Name, and the approved Base URL when the provider requires one.
Leave Enabled selected and choose Add Model.
Open AI Companion, choose that exact provider and model, and send a bounded first question that contains no private data.

Arizmic stores the secret through the operating system's secret store and shows only a reference in the interface. Removing a model route does not remove its provider key. Use Remove key separately when you want to revoke the local credential reference, then revoke or rotate the key in the provider console as well.

Understand each field

Field	Meaning
Provider	The adapter and destination used for the request.
Key	A write-only provider secret stored by the operating system. It is not part of the model route.
Model ID	The provider or local server's exact machine-readable model name.
Display Name	The friendly name shown in Arizmic's model selector.
Base URL	The API endpoint. Changing it changes where prompts and context are sent.
Enabled	Whether the route may be selected. It does not prove the endpoint is responding.
Status	Whether required configuration is present and allowed. It is not a live capability test.

Use the model ID from the provider's model list or your local server's model screen. Use the provider's official API documentation for a hosted Base URL and the local server's connection screen for a local Base URL. Do not copy an endpoint from an untrusted forum, prompt, or generated answer.

Check model capability before important work

The intended Companion records a capability snapshot for each tested route, including streaming, structured output, tool support, context limits, and the tested adapter version. An operation that needs an unsupported capability must remain blocked rather than silently switching models or lowering the safety contract.

Configured means the required settings exist. It does not mean the key is valid, the model is available to your account, the local server is running, or the provider can complete a request. A successful bounded call is the current end-to-end check; the fuller capability test remains part of the intended v1 connection workflow.

Arizmic does not silently fail over to another provider. A switch can change cost, data destination, model behavior, and available capabilities, so you must choose it deliberately.

Control privacy and cost

Inspect the Companion's context disclosure before every sensitive request.
Send only the fields needed to answer the question, not entire datasets, account records, credentials, or unrestricted logs.
Review provider usage and price estimates as estimates, then use the provider's billing console as the billing authority.
Set provider-side budgets or alerts where available.
Treat a local endpoint as private only after confirming it does not proxy to a hosted service.
Rotate exposed keys immediately and review the provider's access log.

Troubleshoot a connection

Missing key: store the key for the same provider used by the model route.
Missing endpoint: enter the official hosted API URL or the running local server's loopback URL.
Local model does not answer: confirm the server is running, the port and API prefix match, and the model ID is loaded.
Unauthorized or unavailable model: check the key, account entitlement, model ID, and provider region in the provider console.
Configured but the first call fails: treat the route as unverified. Do not assume the model supports tools or structured output because text generation worked elsewhere.
Unexpected charge or destination: stop using the route, remove it from Arizmic, revoke the provider key, and inspect the exact Base URL and provider account.

Use Companion Chat for everyday help from any workstation page. Use Companion Workspace for the intended dedicated surface for durable conversations and reviewed proposals.