LLM Provider Configuration Guide

January 2, 2026 · View on GitHub

Complete guide to configuring LLM providers for QWED.

Quick Start

Copy .env.example to .env
Choose your LLM provider
Add your API key
Run QWED backend

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env and add your API key
export ACTIVE_PROVIDER=anthropic
python -m qwed_api

Supported Providers

1. OpenAI (Direct API)

Best for: Simple setup, standard OpenAI models

Get API Key: https://platform.openai.com/api-keys

Configuration:

ACTIVE_PROVIDER=openai
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-proj-...
OPENAI_MODEL=gpt-4  # or gpt-3.5-turbo, gpt-4-turbo

Python Code:

# In your backend code
from qwed_new.config import settings

print(settings.OPENAI_API_KEY)  # Verify it's loaded

2. Anthropic Claude (Direct API)

Best for: Latest Claude models, simple API

Get API Key: https://console.anthropic.com

Configuration:

ACTIVE_PROVIDER=anthropic
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-api03-...
ANTHROPIC_MODEL=claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022  # or claude-3-opus-20240229

Available Models:

claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022 (Recommended)
claude-3-opus-20240229
claude-3-haiku-20240307

3. Azure OpenAI

Best for: Enterprise deployments, compliance requirements

Get Credentials: https://portal.azure.com → Azure OpenAI Service

Configuration:

ACTIVE_PROVIDER=azure_openai
AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT=https://your-resource.openai.azure.com/
AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY=abc123...
AZURE_OPENAI_DEPLOYMENT=gpt-4  # Your deployment name in Azure
AZURE_OPENAI_API_VERSION=2024-02-01

How to Get:

Go to Azure Portal
Navigate to your Azure OpenAI resource
Click "Keys and Endpoint"
Copy KEY 1 and Endpoint

4. AWS Bedrock (Claude via AWS)

Best for: AWS infrastructure, unified billing

Setup AWS Credentials:

Option A: AWS CLI

aws configure
# Enter: Access Key ID, Secret Access Key, Region

Option B: Environment Variables

AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=AKIA...
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=...
AWS_REGION=us-east-1
AWS_BEDROCK_MODEL=anthropic.claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022-v2:0

Prerequisites:

AWS account with Bedrock access
Request model access in AWS Console
Install boto3: pip install boto3

5. Google Gemini

Best for: Google Cloud integration, Gemini models

Get API Key: https://makersuite.google.com/app/apikey

Configuration:

ACTIVE_PROVIDER=gemini
GOOGLE_API_KEY=AIzaSy...
GEMINI_MODEL=gemini-1.5-pro  # or gemini-1.5-flash

Available Models:

gemini-1.5-pro (Best quality)
gemini-1.5-flash (Fastest)
gemini-1.0-pro (Legacy)

Testing Your Configuration

Step 1: Verify Environment Variables

# Load .env and check
python -c "from qwed_new.config import settings; print(f'Provider: {settings.ACTIVE_PROVIDER}')"

Step 2: Run Backend Server

python -m qwed_api

# Should see:
# INFO: Started server process
# INFO: Uvicorn running on http://0.0.0.0:8000

Step 3: Test with SDK

from qwed import QWEDClient

client = QWEDClient(
    api_key="qwed_local",  # Local auth key
    base_url="http://localhost:8000"
)

result = client.verify("Is 2+2 equal to 4?")
print(result.verified)  # Should be True

Common Issues

Issue 1: "API key not found"

Problem:

Error: OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable not set

Solution:

# Check .env file exists
ls -la .env

# Verify it's loaded
python -c "from dotenv import load_dotenv; load_dotenv(); import os; print(os.getenv('OPENAI_API_KEY'))"

Issue 2: "Provider not recognized"

Problem:

Error: Invalid provider: opnai

Solution: Check spelling in ACTIVE_PROVIDER:

✅ openai (correct)
❌ opnai (typo)
❌ OpenAI (case-sensitive)

Issue 3: Azure API version mismatch

Problem:

Error: The API version is not supported

Solution: Update AZURE_OPENAI_API_VERSION:

AZURE_OPENAI_API_VERSION=2024-02-01  # Latest stable

Security Best Practices

✅ DO:

Use .env files

# .env file (gitignored)
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...

Add .env to .gitignore
```
echo ".env" >> .gitignore
```
Rotate keys regularly
- Generate new keys every 90 days
- Revoke old keys immediately

Use different keys per environment

# Development
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-dev-...

# Production
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-prod-...

❌ DON'T:

Hardcode keys in code

# ❌ NEVER DO THIS!
api_key = "sk-proj-abc123..."

Commit .env to Git
```
git add .env  # ❌ WRONG!
```
Share keys via email/Slack Use secure secret managers instead
Use same key across all environments Production keys should be separate

Provider Comparison

Provider	Pros	Cons	Best For
OpenAI	✅ Simple, Latest GPT	❌ Rate limits	Quick start
Anthropic	✅ Long context, Safe	❌ Newer	Production
Azure OpenAI	✅ Enterprise SLAs	❌ Complex setup	Enterprise
AWS Bedrock	✅ Unified billing	❌ Requires AWS	AWS users
Google Gemini	✅ Fast, Free tier	❌ Limited models	Testing

Multiple Providers (Advanced)

You can configure multiple providers and switch between them:

Setup:

# Configure all providers in .env
OPEN AI_API_KEY=sk-proj-...
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
AZURE_OPENAI_ENDPOINT=https://...

Switch dynamically:

import os

# Switch to Anthropic for this request
os.environ['ACTIVE_PROVIDER'] = 'anthropic'
result = client.verify("complex query")

# Switch to OpenAI for speed
os.environ['ACTIVE_PROVIDER'] = 'openai'
result = client.verify("simple query")

Getting Help

Provider-specific issues:

OpenAI: https://platform.openai.com/docs
Anthropic: https://docs.anthropic.com
Azure: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/ai-services/openai/
AWS: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/
Gemini: https://ai.google.dev/docs

QWED issues:

GitHub: https://github.com/QWED-AI/qwed-verification/issues
Discussions: https://github.com/QWED-AI/qwed-verification/discussions

Next: Running the Backend Server