AI setup (BYOK)
mdai’s AI features are bring your own key: you use your own account with an AI provider, pay them directly for what you use, and mdai talks to them straight from your machine. There is no mdai server in between and no AI subscription on top.
Your key is stored in the operating system keychain (macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Manager, Linux Secret Service) — never in a plain config file.
Get a key
Section titled “Get a key”| Provider | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic (Claude) | console.anthropic.com → API keys | Prepaid credits |
| Google Gemini | aistudio.google.com → Get API key | Free tier available |
| DeepSeek | platform.deepseek.com | Cheapest per token |
| OpenAI | platform.openai.com → API keys | Prepaid credits |
Typical cost for personal note-editing use is cents per day — you can set spending limits in every provider’s dashboard.
Connect it in mdai
Section titled “Connect it in mdai”- Open Settings → pick your provider.
- Paste the API key → Save. mdai stores it in the keychain and verifies it works.
- Open the AI panel with ⌘4 / Ctrl+4 (View → Toggle Ask AI).
Using it
Section titled “Using it”Select some text, open Ask AI, and pick an action — or ignore the presets and write your own question.
| Preset | What it does |
|---|---|
| Summarize | A short version of what you selected |
| Fix grammar | Corrections, with your wording kept |
| Translate to English | The selection in English |
Two things stay yours:
- Scope — the selected section, or the whole document. You choose which one leaves the machine.
- The final say — every suggestion arrives as a change you accept or reject. Nothing is an edit that already happened, and an accepted change can still be undone with ⌘Z / Ctrl+Z.
What leaves your machine
Section titled “What leaves your machine”Nothing, until you ask. When you do ask, the text you chose goes to the provider whose key you entered, and nowhere else. There is no account here, no telemetry on what you write, and no copy of your notes anywhere but your own disk.
Writing never needs a connection. If you never enter a key, the AI panel stays closed and the rest of mdai works exactly as it did.
Switching providers
Section titled “Switching providers”You can store a key for each provider and switch anytime in Settings. Deleting a key removes it from the keychain immediately.