---
url: https://lettuceai.app/docs/providers
title: "Providers — LettuceAI"
description: "Understand what AI providers are and why using multiple providers gives you flexibility, better uptime, and more model choices."
---

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# Providers

Providers are the services that actually run the AI models. LettuceAI connects to them. It does not lock you into one.

## What is a provider?

A provider is a company or service that hosts AI models and responds to your messages. When you send a message in LettuceAI, it is forwarded to the selected provider using your API key.

LettuceAI acts as the interface, memory system, and character layer. The provider handles the heavy AI computation.

## Why use multiple providers?

Each provider is a separate service with its own pricing, limits, models, and availability. Using more than one gives you flexibility instead of depending on a single company.

-   Providers have different prices and rate limits
-   One provider might be down or throttled while another works fine
-   Some providers offer models that others don’t
-   You can avoid being locked into one ecosystem

LettuceAI lets you add multiple providers at the same time and switch between them instantly without losing chats or memory.

Using more than one means you always have a backup and more choice.

## Supported providers

LettuceAI ships with built-in support for these providers. You can also add a custom OpenAI-format or Anthropic-format endpoint if your provider is not in this list.

### Cloud providers

-   OpenAI
-   Anthropic (Claude)
-   Google (Gemini)
-   DeepSeek
-   Mistral AI
-   Groq
-   xAI (Grok)
-   OpenRouter
-   Moonshot AI (Kimi)
-   Qwen (Alibaba DashScope)
-   zAI (GLM)
-   NVIDIA NIM
-   Anannas AI
-   Featherless AI
-   NanoGPT
-   Chutes
-   Stability AI (image generation)

### Local providers

-   Local (llama.cpp), the built-in engine. See the Model Browser doc.
-   Ollama (Local)
-   LM Studio (Local)
-   AUTOMATIC1111 (Local, image generation)
-   IntenseRP Next (Local)

### Custom endpoints

-   Custom (OpenAI-format) for any OpenAI-compatible server
-   Custom (Anthropic-format) for any Anthropic-compatible server

Verifying a provider

When you save a provider, LettuceAI can verify the API key against the provider's models endpoint. If verification fails, double-check the key, base URL, and any required headers.

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