Models

Kortix runs each session on a model. This page explains managed models vs. your own provider key (BYOK), how Kortix picks a model automatically, and two billing gotchas to know.

This page applies to projects with the LLM Gateway on. LLM Gateway is an experimental setting, and it is on by default for cloud projects. Check or toggle it in Customize → Experimental.

Managed models and BYOK

A model id has one of three shapes:

• Managed — a bare id, like claude-opus-4.8 or glm-5.2. Kortix supplies the credentials. Cloud accounts pay with Kortix credits.
• BYOK — a provider/model id, like anthropic/claude-opus-4-8. You supply the key. Your provider account pays.
• ChatGPT — a codex/<id> id. You connect your ChatGPT plan once through OAuth, and it pays.

Connect a BYOK key on the project's Model settings page, or set the provider's env var directly as a secret.

How auto picks a model

Set no model, and Kortix resolves one through five layers, in order. (The id auto covers this same behavior, but it is not yet a selectable option in the model picker.)

1. An explicit pin — a session, channel, or trigger's own model: field.
2. The agent's default for this project.
3. The project's default.
4. The account's default.
5. The platform default.

Kortix uses the first layer that has a value it can still serve. A saved default that stops working — a disconnected key, a retired model — is skipped automatically. A session never dies from a stale default. See the manifest reference for the trigger model: field.

Shared, not private, keys

A connected provider key applies to the whole project. There is no private, per-user key — setting a personal override for a provider key fails with a llm_credentials_project_wide error. Update the shared key on the secrets page instead.