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

LiteLLM

One OpenAI-compatible endpoint in front of a hundred providers, running on keys you hold.

Category:: Self-Hosted AI Platforms
Pricing:: Open Source
Open source:: Yes (MIT (enterprise/ directory separately licensed))
Self-hostable:: Yes
Local-first:: Yes
Platforms:: Self-hosted, Docker, CLI
AI providers (bring your own key):: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock, Mistral, DeepSeek, Groq, OpenRouter, Together AI, Cohere, Ollama, Custom / OpenAI-compatible
API key storage:: Configured by environment variable
Key risk level:: LOW
Trust score:: 92/100

LiteLLM is a gateway that exposes a single OpenAI-compatible interface over more than a hundred model providers, available as a Python SDK and as a self-hosted proxy server with virtual keys, spend tracking, fallbacks and an admin UI. Because you run the proxy, the upstream provider keys stay in your own deployment and never sit with a third party; the virtual keys it issues let you hand scoped access to your own applications without sharing the real secret. Licensing is mixed: everything outside the enterprise/ directory is MIT, and that directory carries its own commercial licence.

Why this trust score (92/100)

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

Key Safety 24/25: The key is supplied by an environment variable or local config file you control. Observed using the operating system keychain rather than a file.
Request Routing 20/20: Requests go straight from you to the AI provider. The provider endpoint is configurable, so you can point it at the provider or your own gateway.
Transparency 20/20: Source is public under MIT (enterprise/ directory separately licensed), so anyone can check how the key is handled. Key handling was located in the published source.
Privacy 11/15: Local-first: it works without sending your data anywhere. Can be self-hosted, so the data path stays inside infrastructure you control. Analytics or error-reporting libraries are present; what they send was not established.
Maintenance 10/10: Actively developed, with 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] Supports a local model backend, so it can run with no cloud provider key at all. source
[STRONG · SOURCE_SCAN] The provider endpoint is configurable, so requests can be pointed straight at the provider or at your own gateway. source
[STRONG · SOURCE_SCAN] The user supplies their own Cohere key: the project references its API key variable. source
[CONFIRMED · SOURCE_SCAN] Ships a container definition, so it can be self-hosted on your own infrastructure. source
[STRONG · SOURCE_SCAN] Uses the operating system keychain / credential store to hold the key. source
[REPORTED · SOURCE_SCAN] References Sentry, so some analytics or error reporting is present. This scan cannot tell whether it is opt-in or what it sends. source
[CONFIRMED · SOURCE_SCAN] Most recent commit 2026-08-22, 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.