Set up an AI provider

AI analysis on the AI analysis page needs a model. Loggerhead can use two types of model:

• Apple Intelligence runs on your Mac. It needs no key, and your telemetry does not leave the Mac. It is the default on a Mac that supports it.
• A cloud model is stronger. You supply the API key, and you pay the provider for the use. Before a cloud model gets your telemetry, Loggerhead masks the values in it. See What it checks.

AI analysis is a Pro feature.

The two cloud API types

Loggerhead does not have a list of companies. It speaks two API formats, and you tell it the URL:

Provider in Settings	API format	Services that use it
Anthropic-compatible API	The Anthropic Messages API	Anthropic
OpenAI-compatible API	The OpenAI Chat Completions API	OpenAI, OpenRouter, Ollama, and most gateways

Loggerhead adds the path of the API to the base URL. The Anthropic type adds /messages, and the OpenAI type adds /chat/completions. If you paste a URL that already ends with that path, Loggerhead uses it as it is.

Set up a cloud provider

1. Open Settings › AI.
2. In Provider, select Anthropic-compatible API or OpenAI-compatible API.
3. In Base URL, enter the base URL of the API. Leave it blank to use the default URL of the type.
4. In Model, enter the model name.
5. In API key, paste your key.
6. Click Save.
7. Click Test connection. Loggerhead sends one short prompt and shows the result.

The provider, the base URL, the model, and the key apply to the whole Mac. Every workspace and every environment uses them, and a switch to another environment does not change them.

The Base URL must start with https://. Plain http:// is permitted only for localhost, for example for a local Ollama server.

The defaults

Type	Base URL when the field is blank	Model when the field is blank
Anthropic-compatible API	https://api.anthropic.com/v1	claude-sonnet-4-6
OpenAI-compatible API	https://api.openai.com/v1	None. You must enter a model name.

The OpenAI-compatible services do not use the same model names. For this reason, that type has no default model.

Example: OpenRouter

OpenRouter gives access to many models with one key.

1. Get a key on the OpenRouter site.
2. In Provider, select OpenAI-compatible API.
3. In Base URL, enter the API base URL from the OpenRouter docs. At the time of this page, it is https://openrouter.ai/api/v1.
4. In Model, enter a model name as OpenRouter shows it on its models page, for example openai/gpt-4o-mini.
5. Paste the key, click Save, and click Test connection.

A provider can change its URLs and its model names. If the test fails, compare the base URL and the model name with the docs of your provider.

Example: Ollama on your Mac

1. In Provider, select OpenAI-compatible API.
2. In Base URL, enter http://localhost:11434/v1.
3. In Model, enter the name of a model that you pulled, for example llama3.1.
4. Ollama does not check the key, but Loggerhead needs one. Enter any text, for example ollama.

A small local model can miss the JSON format that Loggerhead asks for. Then the analysis gives no findings.

When the test fails

Message	What to do
The provider refused the API key	Paste the key again. Make sure that the key belongs to the service at the base URL.
HTTP 404	Check the base URL and the model name.
HTTP 400 or 422	Check the model name.
Loggerhead could not reach the provider	Check the base URL and your network.
Loggerhead cannot read the reply	The API type does not match the service. Select the other type.

Where the key goes

Loggerhead keeps the key in the macOS Keychain. The key does not go into the database, a settings file, or a log line. Loggerhead sends the key only to the base URL, in the request header. To remove the key, click Remove key.