# Connecting the model assistant to a real AI provider

> Source: <https://www.konjugate.com/2026/08/connecting-model-assistant-to-real-ai.html>
> Published: 2026-08-26 22:19:02+00:00

"[The model assistant](https://www.konjugate.com/2026/08/the-model-assistant.html)" ran entirely on the bundled Local demonstration configuration: no API key, no setup, but no real language understanding either. Everything about that page (proposals, diffs, the apply/discard flow) works identically with a real model behind it. This page covers the part the other one skipped: actually connecting one.

The gear button beside the assistant's configuration selector opens the full manager.

Local demonstration stays in this list permanently as a no-setup fallback. Every other entry here is one you add yourself, backed by either a local model server or a hosted API.

**+ New configuration**, then choosing **Ollama** as the provider, fills in Konjugate's default local endpoint automatically.

That message is exactly what it says: this machine doesn't have Ollama running. The real setup is [installing Ollama](https://ollama.com/), downloading at least one model through it and making sure the service is running, after which **Discover** lists the models actually installed and **Test connection** confirms the endpoint works before **Save configuration** persists it. Small local models can struggle to follow the assistant's proposal format for anything beyond a simple change; a larger instruction-following model is generally worth the extra memory and latency.

Switching **Provider** to a hosted option, OpenAI, NVIDIA NIM, Hugging Face Inference Providers or Google Gemini, changes the form: an **API key** field appears, since none of these accept unauthenticated requests the way a local Ollama instance does. Each provider issues its own keys through its own account settings, not through Konjugate:

Every one of these requires its own account with that provider, and billing terms, rate limits and free-tier availability are set by the provider, not by Konjugate.

A key created through that provider's own dashboard goes in this field. Followed through with a real Google Gemini key rather than an empty form, **Discover** reaches Gemini's own API and comes back with its actual current model list, not a placeholder:

Every model that call returned is a real, current entry from Gemini itself:

From there, **Test connection** confirms it explicitly and **Save configuration** persists it, still without the interface itself ever reading the key back.

Konjugate's main process owns every credential; the interface that builds and displays proposals never receives one back. A saved key is encrypted through the operating system's own secure-storage facility, and a key typed in while discovering models or testing a draft configuration stays transient, never written to disk until **Save configuration** is actually clicked. Leaving the API key field blank while editing an already-saved configuration keeps reusing its existing key rather than clearing it.

Remote endpoints are required to use HTTPS; plain HTTP is only accepted for loopback addresses like `127.0.0.1`

, which is what keeps a local Ollama instance local. Selecting a hosted provider means the request text, a summary of the active model and recent conversation history are sent to that provider, worth remembering before describing a model you'd rather not share outside Konjugate.

Every saved configuration shows up both in this manager's list and in the selector below the assistant's prompt. Picking a different one there doesn't just change which model answers the next request, it also starts a fresh conversation, the same as clicking **New conversation** does, since a different model has no memory of what was said to the last one. Selecting a saved entry back in the manager reopens the same form for editing, and **Delete configuration** removes it entirely. Local demonstration is the only entry that button won't touch.

"[The model assistant](https://www.konjugate.com/2026/08/the-model-assistant.html)" covers everything that happens after a configuration is chosen: describing a change, reviewing the proposal and applying it as one undoable transaction. Nothing about that flow changes based on which configuration answered it.