Picking a Model
Nyquest provides a live catalog of models across multiple providers. Compare their capabilities, input/output prices, and availability for your task.
Where the model picker lives
The model picker is in the header, showing the currently active model name or Auto. Click it to open. On phones, it stays visible; routing and optimization controls open from the adjacent Chat controls button. You can:
- Type to search by name or provider
- See the advertised context size and input price per million tokens, when available
- Look for Tools and Vision capability badges
- See Free labels and Go Pro prompts for models outside free access
Your selection applies to the current conversation. New chats and conversation switches start back on Auto — the router — so a one-off experiment never silently becomes your default. Prefer a specific model? Pick it at the start of each chat.
Choosing for your task
Start with Auto or use the live catalog to compare currently available models. Check tool support for Agent Mode, image-input support for vision, and the published context window for long documents. Availability, context sizes, and provider prices can change.
Cost in practice
The picker shows input pricing when available; compare input and output rates in the pricing catalog. A tier name is not a fixed price. Cost depends on context sent, generated tokens, the model, and eligible compression credits. Agent Mode can make several calls; Studio media is billed at provider cost. Open Workspace navigation → More → Usage for recorded charges.
BYOK vs platform-hosted
| BYOK (your key) | Platform-hosted (our keys) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Your provider charges you directly; Nyquest is free | Wallet settlement at catalog rates, with eligible compression credits |
| Setup | Open Workspace navigation → More → Providers; add and activate the key, then enable BYOK | Nothing — just pick a model |
| Best for | Heavy users, those with provider credits | Trying things, light usage |
Only one configured provider is Active at a time. Use the header's Nyquest / BYOK control to choose routing; on phones, open Chat controls for BYOK On/Off. Saving a key alone does not enable BYOK.
How to compare models for your use case
Send the same prompt to different models and compare the answers. You can change the selected model within a chat; remember that a new chat or conversation switch returns the picker to Auto.
If you want a more rigorous comparison: open Agent Mode, give it a goal, then re-run with a different model. Agent runs are reproducible enough for casual benchmarking.
Where to next
- BYOK Setup — bring your own keys
- Streaming — about token-by-token streaming