AI provider configuration

arcodash’s AI features — “Ask with AI” text-to-SQL, Auto Visualize, and Suggest checks — are backed by an AI provider your organization configures: Gemini, OpenAI, or Anthropic. Everything is off until a key is configured, and configuring or changing it requires admin access.

[!NOTE] Only schema-level metadata is ever sent to a provider — never row data. See Data handling & privacy for exactly what each feature sends.

Where the keys come from

You supply your own API key per provider — for Gemini, create one in Google AI Studio; for OpenAI and Anthropic, in each provider’s own console. Add it under AI Settings — this requires admin access. Each provider has its own key, and the AI features are unavailable until at least one is set. Generation is billed to your own provider account, not to arcodash.

Until a key is configured, the features stay hidden rather than showing buttons that can’t work. For each provider, AI Settings reports whether a key is in effect and where it came from (key_source): org for a key your organization set, env for a deployment-level key configured by the operator, or none.

Setting a key

Paste a provider’s API key into its card in AI Settings and save. It’s validated for a plausible shape client-side, then encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM before it’s stored — the same encryption mechanism used for connector credentials. Nobody can read a configured key back out through the API; you can only replace it or clear it.

Clear the field and save to remove that provider’s key. With no keys left, the AI features turn off again until a new key is set.

Choosing a model

Each provider’s card has a Model selector: a curated list of models arcodash knows work well, plus a custom option for entering any model id the provider accepts. Leaving it alone uses the provider’s default. The model is set per provider, per organization.

For OpenAI only, the card also accepts a base URL override — useful for pointing at an OpenAI-compatible endpoint instead of OpenAI itself.

Provider priority and fallback

With more than one provider keyed, the Provider priority list controls which one is used: the first entry is the primary provider, and every AI request goes to it. Reorder the list to switch primary.

The providers below the primary matter only if Enable fallback is switched on: then a request that fails at the primary is retried against the next keyed provider in order. With fallback off, the rest of the list is ignored.

[!NOTE] When a fallback runs, that request is billed to the fallback provider’s own API key — worth knowing if your providers have very different pricing.

Testing a key

Use Test connection on a provider’s card to confirm a key actually works before relying on it — it validates the key without spending any generation quota. You can test a key you’re about to save, or re-test whatever’s currently configured. The result distinguishes:

• Valid — the key works.
• Invalid — the provider rejected it; it’s likely mistyped or revoked.
• Quota exceeded — the key is valid but its quota is used up; generation will fail until quota resets.
• Network error — arcodash couldn’t reach the provider at all; try again.

Rate limiting

All AI features share one rate limit, counted per user, per minute. The platform default is 10 requests per minute; an organization can override it under Usage limit in AI Settings. Clearing the override falls back to the platform default. Hitting the limit fails the AI call with a rate-limited error — it never blocks the rest of the product.

Where to go next

• AI-assisted SQL generation — the “Ask with AI” feature these keys power.
• Organization settings — how the ai configuration fits into the broader organization settings object.
• Data handling & privacy — what each AI feature sends to the provider, and how keys are stored.