BYOAIK (Bring Your Own AI Key) is a directory of AI tools that run on your own API key.

gptel

Simple, extensible LLM client for Emacs that works in any buffer

Website Source code

Category:
Coding Assistants
Maintenance:
Actively developed (last commit 3 days ago)
Pricing:
Open Source
Open source:
Yes (GPL-3.0)
Self-hostable:
Yes
Local-first:
Yes
Platforms:
Library/SDK, Self-hosted, Docker
AI providers (bring your own key):
OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Azure OpenAI, OpenRouter, Groq, Mistral, Perplexity, DeepSeek, xAI Grok, Ollama, Together AI, Custom / OpenAI-compatible
API key storage:
User controls deployment
Key risk level:
LOW
Trust score:
89/100

gptel is an open-source LLM client for Emacs that lets you chat with and use models from any buffer, with rewrite/refactor commands, dedicated chat buffers, multimodal context (files/images), tool-use, and MCP support. It is bring-your-own-key: users supply their own provider API key by setting gptel-api-key directly, pointing it at a function, or reading it from ~/.authinfo or environment variables. It talks to most major providers and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint via gptel-make-openai with custom host/endpoint, and supports fully local runners (Ollama, Llama.cpp, GPT4All). Actively maintained, GPL-3.0, ~3.4k GitHub stars.

Why this trust score (89/100)

Trust measures how the tool treats your API key and how much of that has been verified. It contains no popularity signal.

  • Key Safety 21/25: The key lives in a deployment you run yourself.
  • Request Routing 17/20: Requests go straight from you to the AI provider.
  • Transparency 20/20: Source is public under GPL-3.0, so anyone can check how the key is handled. Key handling was located in the published source.
  • 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 7/10: Key handling was found in the published source by BYOAIK's scanner.

What was checked

Verification tier SOURCE_VERIFIED, 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] The user supplies their own OpenAI key: the project references its API key variable. source
  • [STRONG · SOURCE_SCAN] The user supplies their own Anthropic key: the project references its API key variable. source
  • [STRONG · SOURCE_SCAN] The user supplies their own Google Gemini key: the project references its API key variable. source
  • [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 2026-08-13, about 0 month(s) ago. source

How your API key is handled

You self-host the app, so your API key lives in your own deployment. 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

Deploy it (Docker/compose), add your provider API key in the admin or environment config, then select models.