AI providers and API keys

What is an AI provider?

An AI provider is a company or a service that gives you the ability to send requests to and receive responses from an artificial intelligence. At date of writing, the most capable AI systems are based on Large Language Model (LLM) architectures.

Here is the list of AI providers currently supported by JabRef:

  • OpenAI

  • Mistral AI

  • Google

  • Hugging Face.

  • GPT4All

  • Ollama

You can find more information about providers in the langchain4j documentation. This is the framework that we use in JabRef. This page lists available integrations. It should be noted that JabRef is compatible with any provider that itself is compatible with the OpenAI API.

Which AI provider should I use?

We cannot give a clear recommendation. Providers change their service and their prices regularly and our documentation page is too static to keep up with daily changes. It is recommended to look up LLM benchmarks on the internet or to use the trial and error method. To date, remote AI providers like OpenAI, Google, Mistral and others offer state of the art quality.

If you want to run a model locally, choose GPT4All or Ollama. In comparison to remote AI providers, open weight local models that are compatible with average consumer devices offer less capabilities. There are state of the art local models available, but they are very large (in terms of number of parameters) and the higher the number of parameters, the more memory is needed. To run the largest models, very expensive and capable hardware (preferably VRAM in GPU's or ASICs) is required. That said, even small models can be sufficient for the add entry using refrence text workflow. Hugging Face is a special case. One the one hand, it serves as a free hosting platform from where you can download numerous models to host them yourself locally. On the other hand Huggingface also is a remote AI provider that offers running numerous large and small open weight models for you.

Why do I need an API key?

In order to use any of the (proprietary) remote services and to receive a response, you always need an API key to authenticate and manage billing. The following sections down below teach you how to receive a key and where to enter it in the preferences.

What is an API key?

An API key or API token is like a password that lets an app or program access information or services from another app or website, such as an LLM service. It ensures that only authorized users or applications can use the service. For example, when an app uses an LLM service to generate text or answer questions, it includes its unique API key in the request. The LLM service checks this key to make sure the request is legitimate before providing the response. This process keeps the data secure and helps track how the service is being used.

How to get an API key?

How to get an OpenAI API key?

To get an OpenAI API key, follow these steps:

  1. Log in or create an account on the OpenAI website

  2. Go to the "API" section

  3. Go to the "Dashboard" (upper-right corner)

  4. Go to the "API keys" (left menu)

  5. Click "Create new secret key"

  6. Click "Create secret key"

  7. OpenAI will display the key

How to get a Mistral AI API key?

  1. Login or create an account on the Mistral AI website

  2. Go to the dashboard -> API keys

  3. There you will find a button "Create new key". Click on it

  4. You can optionally set up a name for the API key and its expiration date

  5. After the creation, you will see "Your key is:" with a string of random characters after that

How to get a Hugging Face API key?

Hugging Face refers to an "API key" as an "Access Token". It does not make much difference, you can interchangeably use either "API key", or "API token", or "access token".

  1. Login or create account on Hugging Face

  2. Go to create access token

  3. Set "Token Type" to "Read"

  4. Name a token

  5. After you click "Create token", a popup will be shown with the API key

What should I do with the API key and how can I enter it in JabRef?

Do not share the key with anyone, it is a secret that was created only for your account. Do not enter this key into unknown or unverified services.

Now you need to copy and paste it into JabRef preferences. To do this:

  1. Launch JabRef

  2. Go "File" -> "Preferences" -> "AI"

  3. Check "Enable AI functionality"

  4. Paste the key into the "API key" field

  5. Click "Save"

If you have some money on your credit balance, you can chat with your library!

How to increase the money balance for an API key?

OpenAI

To increase your credit balance on OpenAI, follow these steps:

  1. Add payment method here.

  2. Add credit balance on this page.

Mistral AI

Make the subscription on their website.

Hugging Face

You do not have to pay anything for Hugging Face in order to send requests to LLMs. Though, the speed is very slow by default. It may take a long time to allocate free compute resources to your instance, resulting in longer response times. You can switch to faster inference by upgrading your user account or by running a space on GPU.

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