BYOAIK (Bring Your Own AI Key) is a directory of AI tools that run on your own API key.
assistant-ui
TypeScript/React component library for building production AI chat UIs wired to your own provider keys and backend.
- Category:
- Agent Frameworks
- Maintenance:
- Actively developed (last commit today)
- Pricing:
- Open Source
- Open source:
- Yes (MIT)
- Self-hostable:
- Yes
- Local-first:
- Yes
- Platforms:
- Web, Mobile, CLI, Self-hosted, Library/SDK, Docker
- AI providers (bring your own key):
- OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Azure OpenAI, OpenRouter, Mistral, Perplexity, Ollama, Fireworks, Custom / OpenAI-compatible
- API key storage:
- Configured by environment variable
- Key risk level:
- LOW
- Trust score:
- 84/100
assistant-ui is an open-source (MIT) TypeScript/React library of composable primitives and prebuilt components for building ChatGPT-style chat interfaces, copilots, and agent UIs. It is backend-agnostic: developers wire it to their own server and supply their own provider API keys. Broad model support comes via the Vercel AI SDK (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Mistral, Perplexity, AWS Bedrock, Azure, Fireworks, Ollama), plus LangChain/LangGraph, custom HTTP transports, and OpenAI-compatible gateways (OpenRouter, LiteLLM, Portkey). Features include streaming, message editing/branching, attachments, markdown/LaTeX rendering, auto-scroll, and speech-to-text, built on shadcn/ui and Tailwind. It spans Web (React 18+), React Native (Expo), and React Ink (CLI). The library is free; an optional managed "assistant-cloud" backend adds thread persistence and chat history (Free / Pro $50/mo / Enterprise, billed by MAU) and offers encrypted per-provider credential storage. Y Combinator-backed; used by Mastra, LangChain, and Helicone. Note: it is a developer library, not a turnkey end-user app, so the party bringing the key is the developer integrating it.
Why this trust score (84/100)
Trust measures how the tool treats your API key and how much of that has been verified. It contains no popularity signal.
- Key Safety 22/25: The key is supplied by an environment variable or local config file you control.
- Request Routing 17/20: Requests go straight from you to the AI provider.
- Transparency 20/20: Source is public under MIT, so anyone can check how the key is handled.
- Privacy 14/15: Local-first: it works without sending your data anywhere. Can be self-hosted, so the data path stays inside infrastructure you control.
- Maintenance 10/10: Actively developed: commits within the last three months.
- Verification Confidence 1/10: Compiled from public documentation by an AI-assisted pass, not independently confirmed.
What was checked
Verification tier RESEARCH_ASSISTED, derived from the evidence below and not set by hand.
- [REPORTED · RESEARCH] This listing was compiled by an AI-assisted research pass over the tool's public website, README and documentation. No person independently confirmed it.
- [STRONG · SOURCE_SCAN] Supports a local model backend, so it can run with no cloud provider key at all. source
- [CONFIRMED · SOURCE_SCAN] Most recent commit 2026-08-15, about 0 month(s) ago. source
How your API key is handled
Your API key is supplied via an environment variable or local config file. Requests are sent directly to the AI provider. Because it can be self-hosted, your key never has to touch a third-party backend.
Setup
Install the tool, set your provider API key as an environment variable (or in its config file), and pick a model.