Configure AI provider

Guided Review calls your LLM account. There is no Guided Review cloud that holds your key or rewrites diffs for you. That design is spelled out in Privacy & data.

A provider unlocks AI clustering and unit summaries on both the Chrome extension and the CLI. You can still open a review without a key (file-by-file walk). GitHub auth is separate and only required to submit a review from the extension — see Connect GitHub.

Supported providers

OpenAI and Grok share the same client shape; Anthropic uses its own streaming endpoint. Structured output for the review plan is enforced with a shared JSON schema so behavior stays consistent across backends — see How a review plan works.

We’ll keep adding more providers — request one on the repo, or open a PR that adds yours. Also covered in the FAQ.

Chrome extension

1. Open the extension Options page (after you install the extension).
2. In the AI Provider card, choose a provider and model.
3. Paste an API key from that provider’s console.
4. Click Save, then Test Connection if you want a cheap health check before a real review.

The same Options page also has GitHub (optional, for submit) and Review → Automatically Open on Files Changed. Full Options map: Chrome Extension → Options.

Keys are stored in chrome.storage.local and are only used from the background service worker when annotating a review or testing the connection. Content scripts never hold the key for outbound LLM calls. To remove a key later: Privacy & data → Clear data.

CLI

Same providers. Keys resolve in order for each run:

1. --provider / --model / --agent and env (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY / OPENAI_API_KEY / XAI_API_KEY or GROK_API_KEY)
2. A key saved in ~/.config/guided-review/config.json (or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME / GUIDED_REVIEW_CONFIG_DIR)
3. A coding agent already on this machine (Claude Code, Codex, or Grok)

In the local UI, open Settings (⌘/Ctrl + ,, or Connect AI Provider when no key is set). Paste an API key, or turn on Use My Subscription to borrow an agent already logged in on the machine. A saved API key always wins for that machine; flags and env still win for the current run. Subscription reuse is unofficial and can break — a console key is the better option.

When the CLI borrows an agent key, it reads that agent’s store at review time and does not copy the secret into Guided Review config. Details and scopes: CLI → API keys.

Pick a model

Select a model available on your account. Prefer a model that handles long contexts well if you review large diffs — Guided Review chunks oversized diffs by file (~60k characters per chunk) so no single call is expected to swallow an entire monorepo change set, but each chunk still benefits from a capable model.

Models currently listed in the extension Options (ids can change as providers ship or retire models):

If a stored model disappears from the catalog, Options falls back to that provider’s default. The CLI accepts --model <id> for any model id your account can call.

Test Connection

Use Test Connection on the extension options page. That runs the same provider path as a lightweight health check and surfaces user-safe error messages if the key, model, or network path fails.

In the CLI, structuring the walkthrough with Structure With AI (or fixing Settings and retrying) is the practical check — there is no separate Test button in the local UI.

If the test fails, step through Troubleshooting → Provider and API key.

Cost and usage

• Annotate / Structure With AI — one provider call per diff chunk. Small diffs usually cost one call; large ones cost one call per chunk. On the CLI this only runs when you opt in.
• Not billed to the model — stepping units, searching, drafting comments / notes, submitting to GitHub, or Generate Prompt.
• Test Connection — a cheap health-check request when you run it from extension Options.

Token usage and cost are entirely between you and your provider. Guided Review does not meter or resell LLM usage. Short version: FAQ → Will this run up my API bill?.

Where settings live

Extension session resume: Your first review → Resume later and Troubleshooting.

Next. Your first review · CLI · Chrome Extension → Options · Privacy & data