BYOAIK (Bring Your Own AI Key) is a directory of AI tools that run on your own API key.
TensorRT-LLM
NVIDIA's inference engine for squeezing the most out of GPUs you already own.
- Category:
- Self-Hosted AI Platforms
- Maintenance:
- Actively developed (last commit today)
- Pricing:
- Open Source
- Open source:
- Yes (Apache-2.0)
- Self-hostable:
- Yes
- Local-first:
- Yes
- Platforms:
- Self-hosted, Docker, CLI
- AI providers (bring your own key):
- Ollama, Custom / OpenAI-compatible
- API key storage:
- Configured by environment variable
- Key risk level:
- LOW
- Trust score:
- 84/100
TensorRT-LLM compiles language models into optimised TensorRT engines and serves them with in-flight batching and quantisation, aimed at getting maximum throughput from NVIDIA hardware. It runs where your GPUs are, so requests and keys never leave your infrastructure. Licensed Apache 2.0: GitHub reports the repository as unlicensed, but the LICENSE file states plainly that the project is under Apache 2.0 and then reproduces it. Expect a real engineering investment; this is the most demanding option in the category.
How this tool was scored
Key handling 88/100 (where your key rests and who sees it, comparable across any licence) and verifiability 70/100 (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.
- 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 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.
- [CONFIRMED · SOURCE_SCAN] Most recent commit 2026-09-29, 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.