How does BYOK work?

Bring your own key (BYOK) means you connect your own AI provider account to dodi. Conversations, thinking, and images then go straight from your device to that provider. We never see your API key in plain text, and we never sit in the middle of the model call.

You can use BYOK on its own, or mix it with dodi AI. When you add a key for a provider, that provider's usage is billed by them, not from your dodi credits.

What BYOK is for

The companion needs a model for a few jobs:

• Voice. Talking with the child in real time.
• Thinking. Reasoning, memory, and the "brain" behind the companion.
• Images. Drawings and pictures in games.
• Games. Creating and editing learning games.

One key can cover several of those jobs if the provider supports them. You pick the provider and model for each job in parent settings.

Who we recommend

xAI (Grok) and Google (Gemini) are the two we recommend first. Both have strong voice, thinking, and image models, so one key can power the whole companion.

If you mainly care about thinking, Claude (Anthropic) and OpenAI are also excellent. They do not cover live voice in dodi the way Grok and Gemini do.

A ChatGPT Plus, Grok, Gemini, or Claude app subscription is not an API key. You need a developer key from that company's API console. Usage is billed there, usually prepaid or pay as you go. Set a spend limit in their dashboard if they offer one.

How to get an xAI (Grok) key

Grok is xAI's model family. One key can drive voice (Grok Voice), thinking, images (Grok Imagine), and game creation.

1. Open the xAI console and create an account. This is separate from an X (Twitter) account and from Grok inside the X app.
2. Add credits or a payment method under billing. Prepaid credit is the simplest way to cap spend.
3. Go to API keys and create a key. Give it a name such as "dodi".
4. Copy the key immediately. xAI shows the full secret only once.
5. In dodi, open parent settings, choose Your own keys, add xAI Grok, and paste the key. dodi checks it before saving.

xAI API quickstart

How to get a Google Gemini key

Gemini covers live voice, thinking, and images, so it is the other all-round choice.

1. Open Google AI Studio and sign in with a Google account.
2. Accept the terms if asked. New accounts usually get a default project and a key right away.
3. Click Create API key if you do not already have one, then copy it.
4. If Google asks you to enable billing for the project, do that in Google Cloud. Heavier use (especially live voice) often needs billing, even when a free allowance exists.
5. In dodi, open Your own keys, add Google Gemini, and paste the key.

Gemini API keys

Thinking: Anthropic Claude

Claude is a strong thinking model, and it is also a good fit for game creation in dodi. It does not provide the live voice companion.

1. Create an account in the Anthropic Console.
2. Open API keys and create a key. Name it something you will recognize.
3. Copy the secret (it starts with sk-ant-). It is shown only once.
4. Add a payment method or prepaid credits under billing so the key can actually run.
5. In dodi, add Anthropic Claude under Your own keys, then set Claude as the thinking model (and the game model, if you want).

Get a Claude API key

Thinking: OpenAI

OpenAI's GPT models are another strong thinking option. A ChatGPT Plus plan does not include an API key.

1. Open the OpenAI platform and create an API account. This is separate from chatgpt.com.
2. Add a payment method and, if you want a hard cap, set a usage limit in billing.
3. Go to API keys and click Create new secret key. Name it "dodi".
4. Copy the key immediately. OpenAI will not show it again.
5. In dodi, add OpenAI under Your own keys and choose it for thinking.

OpenAI API keys

Paste the key in dodi

1. Unlock parent settings.
2. Open the AI section and switch to Your own keys.
3. Choose Add provider, pick the company, paste the key, and confirm. dodi validates the key from your browser. It is never sent to our servers in plain text.
4. Under each job (Voice, Thinking, Games, Images), pick the provider and model you want.

The key is encrypted on your device before it is stored. You can remove it in dodi at any time, and you can revoke it in the provider's console too.

Mix BYOK with dodi AI

You do not have to choose only one mode. Turn on dodi AI for the jobs you do not want to manage, and attach your own key for the rest. Usage on a provider you supplied a key for does not draw dodi credits.

Self-hosting is always BYOK: there is no dodi AI rail on a private instance.

If a key stops working, check billing and spend limits at the provider first, then remove and re-add the key in dodi.