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

smolagents

Hugging Face's deliberately small agent library, model-agnostic and local-friendly.

Website Source code

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:
CLI, Self-hosted, Local-only, Docker
AI providers (bring your own key):
OpenAI, Anthropic, Hugging Face, Ollama, Custom / OpenAI-compatible
API key storage:
Configured by environment variable
Key risk level:
LOW
Trust score:
90/100

smolagents is Hugging Face's minimal agent library, built around agents that write and run code rather than emit rigid tool calls, with the whole abstraction kept small enough to read in an afternoon. It is model-agnostic across hosted providers, Hugging Face inference and local models, so the credential and the endpoint are the caller's throughout. The small surface is the point: less framework between you and what actually gets sent. Apache-2.0.

How this tool was scored

Key handling 88/100 (where your key rests and who sees it, comparable across any licence) and verifiability 90/100 (how much of that BYOAIK could confirm, lower for closed source). Neither contains a 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. 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, 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 Anthropic key: the project references its API key variable. source
  • [STRONG · SOURCE_SCAN] The user supplies their own OpenRouter key: the project references its API key variable. source
  • [STRONG · SOURCE_SCAN] The user supplies their own Azure OpenAI key: the project references its API key variable. source
  • [STRONG · SOURCE_SCAN] The user supplies their own Together AI key: the project references its API key variable. source
  • [STRONG · SOURCE_SCAN] Reads the API key from an environment variable at runtime. 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 2026-09-23, 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.