Managing Provider Keys (BYOK)

Where to add, view, rotate, and remove the provider keys behind BYOK. This page is about provider keys — the ones you get from OpenAI, Anthropic, Groq and so on. For Nyquest's own personal access tokens, see Personal API Keys. For the why-and-how of BYOK in general, see BYOK Setup.

Where keys live

More → Providers is the central panel. From there you can:

• See every provider you've connected (provider + masked preview, never the full key)
• Add a provider with + Add Provider
• Click Use to make one Active — this is what turns My Provider Mode on
• Test a key (verifies it works against the provider)
• Remove a provider
• See last-used timestamp

More → API Keys is a different panel. It issues Nyquest personal access tokens for your own account. It can't hold a provider key, and adding one there does nothing for BYOK.

Keys are stored encrypted at rest. The decryption only happens in-memory at request time, and the decrypted key is never written to logs.

Supported providers

OpenRouter is a "meta" provider — one OpenRouter key gives you proxied access to most other models (with their own pricing through OpenRouter). If you only want one key, OpenRouter is the most flexible.

Key precedence rules

When you send a chat message, the platform decides whether to use your provider key or platform-hosted credit:

1. Is My Provider Mode on, with that provider marked Active in More → Providers? → the request goes through your key
2. Otherwise → platform-hosted (charges your wallet)

Saving a key is not enough on its own — nothing changes until you click Use on the card. Only one provider is Active at a time, so there's no mixing two providers' keys in one setup; to switch, click Use on a different card.

Testing a key

Each provider card in More → Providers has a Test button. Clicking it sends a tiny test request to the provider's API:

• Green check: key works, models can be used
• Red X: key invalid, expired, or out of credits
• Yellow warning: key works but some permissions are missing

Test takes 1-3 seconds.

Rotating a key

If you rotate the key at the provider's dashboard (e.g. OpenAI lets you reset), the old key in Nyquest is now invalid. To update:

1. Open More → Providers
2. Remove the provider with the trash icon on its card
3. Click + Add Provider and pick the same provider again
4. Paste the new key and Save
5. Click Use so the card goes back to Active
6. Test it

Don't skip step 5. A freshly added provider is inactive until you click Use, and until then your messages bill your wallet.

Removing a key

Click the trash icon on the provider's card in More → Providers → confirm. Removed instantly. If it was the Active provider, BYOK stops applying and future requests fall back to platform-hosted (your wallet starts taking the charges instead).

Multiple providers

You can save as many providers as you like, but only one is Active at a time — that's the one BYOK uses. Click Use on another card to switch.

One key per provider. If you have multiple OpenAI accounts you want to use, the workaround is:

• Use OpenRouter (one key, multiple underlying providers)
• Or: swap the key on the OpenAI card in More → Providers when you need the other account

Security checklist

• ✅ Add the key with only the minimum permissions the provider allows (chat-completions only, no billing/admin scopes)
• ✅ Set a spending cap at the provider level (most allow you to limit monthly spend)
• ✅ Don't share your Nyquest account credentials — anyone with account access can see masked previews and use the key indirectly via chat
• ❌ Don't paste keys into chat messages or shared documents (compromised keys must be rotated)
• ❌ Don't reuse the same key across many AI tools — easier to identify a leak source

Common issues

Key shows "Invalid" after I just added it.

• Double-check you copied the entire key (often they're 50-200+ chars)
• Verify the key isn't from a different account (e.g. you have two OpenAI accounts)
• Make sure the provider account has chat-completions enabled and at least $5 in credit (some providers reject zero-balance accounts)

Wallet was charged when I expected BYOK to handle it.

• My Provider Mode is off, or that provider isn't the Active one — check the cards under More → Providers
• The key is invalid (test it; might have expired or been rotated)

Can I use a personal key for work usage?

• Technically yes (Nyquest doesn't care). Check your employer's policy. Some employers require corporate API keys to be used for work AI tools.

Where to next

• BYOK Setup — initial setup for a key
• Picking a Model — picking the right model with your key
• Wallet and Funds — what happens when no BYOK key applies