BYOAIK (Bring Your Own AI Key) is a directory of AI tools that run on your own API key.
BeeAI Framework
Open-source framework for building production-ready multi-agent systems in Python and TypeScript with a unified, bring-your-own-key LLM backend.
- Category:
- Agent Frameworks
- Maintenance:
- Actively developed (last commit 6 days ago)
- Pricing:
- Open Source
- Open source:
- Yes (Apache-2.0)
- Self-hostable:
- Yes
- Local-first:
- Yes
- Platforms:
- Library/SDK, Self-hosted, CLI, Docker
- AI providers (bring your own key):
- OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Azure OpenAI, Groq, Mistral, xAI Grok, Ollama, Hugging Face, Custom / OpenAI-compatible
- API key storage:
- Configured by environment variable
- Key risk level:
- LOW
- Trust score:
- 84/100
BeeAI Framework is an open-source (Apache-2.0) toolkit from IBM Research's i-am-bee project for building autonomous agents and multi-agent systems in both Python and TypeScript. Its unified "Backend" module abstracts over 13+ LLM providers (Ollama, OpenAI, Anthropic, watsonx.ai, Groq, Amazon Bedrock, Google Vertex, Azure OpenAI, xAI, Google Gemini, MistralAI, MiniMax, plus a LangChain adapter for anything else) behind a single ChatModel interface. It provides agents, tools, RAG, memory, workflows, and "requirement agents" for predictable behavior across models. Developers supply their own provider credentials via environment variables (OPENAI_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, GROQ_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY, etc.); the framework has no built-in key management or hosted gateway, so it is strictly bring-your-own-key. As a developer library/SDK it is consumed via pip/npm rather than as an end-user app. Actively maintained: latest Python release python_v0.1.81 (May 2026), commits through June 18 2026 including security dependency remediation, ~3.3k stars, 43 open issues, not archived.
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 Apache-2.0, 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 2026-08-06, 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.