Set up models and providers

DataMind Oda reaches its models through providers. Settings > Models is where you manage those providers: add and edit them, store their keys, read the model lists they serve, and control which models appear in pickers. Each entry on the page is a route, and Provider route settings reference is the reference for the settings a route carries.

Add or edit a provider

Open Settings > Models to see the provider directory: every provider Oda knows, more than 30 of them, and each one can be set up before you ever use it. To set one up:

1. Choose the provider in the directory, or add your own entry for a service the directory does not describe.
2. Fill in what Oda asks for: the provider's name and address, and its key if it needs one.
3. Save the change. It reaches the next request; Oda does not need a restart.

• A key is not required to save. A provider can be saved before its key is stored. Its models still list, and a request fails with a message that names the key it needs; the message never prints the key.
• Stored keys are not shown back. The key is kept for you on this computer. To replace it, enter a new one.
• Changes land from the next request. A request that is already running keeps the settings it started with.

Read a provider's model list

Oda can read the models a provider serves, directly from the provider's address. To fill the list in, fetch or refresh it from the provider's entry on the page.

• It worked. Oda shows the list it read, and those models appear in pickers.
• It did not work. The list you had stays, and Oda explains what went wrong, for example that it could not reach the address, that the address answered an error and the key should be checked, or that the answer was not JSON. When the answer holds no model list that Oda can read, it suggests entering the models yourself.
• An empty answer. If the read finds no models, Oda keeps the models that were already in place.

Reading a list needs the provider's address and the style of API it speaks. A provider either reads its models from its address or has them entered by hand, not both.

Control what pickers offer

• Nothing is hidden by default. All the providers and models Oda serves appear in pickers.
• Hiding affects pickers only. You can hide a whole provider, or individual models. A hidden model or provider is no longer offered, but it is not blocked: a chat that already uses it keeps working.
• Clearing restores the default. An empty list means nothing is hidden, not everything.

To choose a model for a chat, see Chat with Oda.

Sign in to a provider

Some providers need you to sign in before their models can answer. Oda offers the methods your provider supports, with browser sign-in first when there is one; an API key is the other way.

A browser sign-in runs in your browser, and the dialog tells you what to do at each step, for example Read this first, Nothing to open, Approve in the tab, Open this page to continue signing in., Enter this code on the verification page to finish signing in. or Signing in…. Steps can also ask you for an answer, such as a workspace name, a secret or one choice from a list.

Signing out removes the saved sign-in from this computer. If nothing was saved for that provider, signing out changes nothing.

Effort choices and image budgets

• Effort. An effort control appears only where the model declares reasoning levels, and its choices come from the model. A model that does not reason shows no effort control at all.
• Image budgets. Every route sets limits for the images in a request, and the route defaults are in Provider route settings reference.

When a provider has a problem

• A refused change. Oda checks a change before it saves it. When something cannot work, nothing is written and the previous setup stays.
• An unreadable model list. Oda keeps the provider with a note that explains the problem, so you can fix the address or the key. Until it is fixed, requests that use that provider fail.

Other problems you see in Oda are listed in Updates and troubleshooting.

Questions, answered

Where do I store a provider's key?

On Settings > Models. Oda keeps the saved key on this computer and never shows it back; to replace a key, enter a new one. If a provider has no key yet, its models still list, and a request fails with a message that names the key it needs, never the key itself.

Why does a provider show no models yet?

Oda has not read that provider's model list. Read it from the provider's address on the page; if the read fails, Oda explains why and you can enter the models yourself.

The model list will not refresh. Why?

The read did not succeed, so Oda keeps the list you had and shows what went wrong: it could not reach the address, the address answered an error and the key should be checked, or the answer was not JSON. Fix the address or the key, then read the list again.

Can I hide a provider without removing it?

Yes. Hiding keeps the provider in the directory and stops pickers offering it; chats that already use its models keep working.

If I clear the list of visible providers, do they all disappear?

No. Clearing the list returns to the default, where nothing is hidden.

What happens when I sign out of a provider?

The saved sign-in is removed from this computer. You sign in again the next time you need that provider. If nothing was saved for it, signing out changes nothing.

Which way does Oda sign in to my provider?

With the methods your provider supports: browser sign-in first when there is one, otherwise an API key.

Why does a model show no effort control?

Effort choices come from the model itself. Oda offers an effort control only for models that declare reasoning levels, and a model that does not reason shows no control at all.

What are the image limits for a request?

Every route carries its own image budgets, so check the route's settings. The defaults are on Provider route settings reference.

Can I add a provider that Oda does not list?

Yes. Besides the providers Oda knows, you can add your own entry for a service it does not list, and give it the address it should call.