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Perplexica supports multiple LLM providers for both chat and embedding models. You can configure providers through the settings UI or environment variables.

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Supported providers

Perplexica supports the following LLM providers:
  • Ollama - Local LLM server for running models on your own hardware
  • OpenAI - GPT models including GPT-4, GPT-4o, and GPT-3.5 Turbo
  • Anthropic - Claude models from Anthropic
  • Gemini - Google’s Gemini models
  • Groq - Fast LLM inference service
  • LM Studio - Local LLM server with OpenAI-compatible API
  • Lemonade - Self-hosted LLM server
  • Transformers - Browser-based embedding models (no chat support)

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Configuring providers

Providers are configured during the initial setup screen when you first launch Perplexica. You can also add or modify providers later through the settings UI.
Each provider requires different configuration parameters:

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Ollama

Run local LLM models on your own hardware using Ollama.
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baseURL
string
required
The base URL for your Ollama serverDocker users:
  • Windows/Mac: http://host.docker.internal:11434
  • Linux: http://<your-host-ip>:11434
Non-Docker users:
  • http://localhost:11434
If you’re encountering connection errors:
  1. Verify the API URL is correct in settings
  2. Use the correct URL format for your operating system (see above)
  3. Linux users: Expose Ollama to the network by adding Environment="OLLAMA_HOST=0.0.0.0:11434" to /etc/systemd/system/ollama.service, then run: 
    systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl restart ollama
  4. Ensure port 11434 is not blocked by your firewall
Environment variable: OLLAMA_BASE_URL

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OpenAI

Use OpenAI’s GPT models or OpenAI-compatible APIs.
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apiKey
string
required
Your OpenAI API key
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baseURL
string
required
The base URL for the OpenAI APIDefault: https://api.openai.com/v1For OpenAI-compatible servers, use your custom URL.
Environment variables:
  • OPENAI_API_KEY
  • OPENAI_BASE_URL
Available models:
  • GPT-3.5 Turbo
  • GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-4o, GPT-4o Mini
  • GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 Mini, GPT-4.1 Nano
  • GPT-5 series (Nano, Mini, Pro, 5.1, 5.2, 5.2 Pro)
  • o1, o3, o3 Mini, o4 Mini
  • Text Embedding 3 Small/Large (embeddings)
For local OpenAI-compatible servers:
  1. Ensure your server runs on 0.0.0.0 (not 127.0.0.1)
  2. Specify the correct model name loaded by your server
  3. Provide an API key (use any non-empty value if not required)

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Anthropic

Use Claude models from Anthropic.
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apiKey
string
required
Your Anthropic API key
Environment variable: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
Anthropic models are fetched dynamically from the API. The provider automatically retrieves available Claude models when configured.

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Gemini

Use Google’s Gemini models.
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apiKey
string
required
Your Google AI API key for Gemini
Environment variable: GEMINI_API_KEY
Gemini supports both chat and embedding models. Available models are fetched automatically from the Gemini API.

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Groq

Fast LLM inference with Groq.
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apiKey
string
required
Your Groq API key
Environment variable: GROQ_API_KEY
Groq only supports chat models, not embeddings. Available models are fetched from the Groq API.

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LM Studio

Local LLM server with OpenAI-compatible API.
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baseURL
string
required
The base URL for your LM Studio serverDefault: http://localhost:1234The /v1 suffix is added automatically if not present.
Environment variable: LM_STUDIO_BASE_URL
LM Studio provides both chat and embedding model support. Models are automatically detected from your running LM Studio server.

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Lemonade

Self-hosted LLM server.
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baseURL
string
required
The base URL for your Lemonade serverExample: https://api.lemonade.ai/v1
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apiKey
string
Your Lemonade API key (optional)
Environment variables:
  • LEMONADE_BASE_URL
  • LEMONADE_API_KEY (optional)
If you’re encountering connection errors:
  1. Verify the API URL in settings
  2. Use the correct URL format for your OS:
    • Windows/Mac (Docker): http://host.docker.internal:8000
    • Linux (Docker): http://<your-host-ip>:8000
  3. Ensure Lemonade server is running and accessible
  4. Verify Lemonade accepts connections from all interfaces (0.0.0.0)
  5. Check that port 8000 is not blocked by firewall

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Transformers

Browser-based embedding models using Transformers.js.
Transformers requires no configuration and provides embedding models only (no chat support).
Available embedding models:
  • all-MiniLM-L6-v2 (Xenova/all-MiniLM-L6-v2)
  • mxbai-embed-large-v1 (mixedbread-ai/mxbai-embed-large-v1)
  • nomic-embed-text-v1 (Xenova/nomic-embed-text-v1)

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Adding custom models

You can add custom models to any configured provider:
1

Open settings

Navigate to the settings page in Perplexica
2

Select provider

Find the provider you want to add a model to
3

Add model

Click “Add Custom Model” and enter:
  • Model Name: Display name for the model
  • Model Key: The actual model identifier used by the API
  • Type: Chat or Embedding
4

Save

Save your changes. The custom model will be available for selection.

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Managing providers

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Add a new provider

You can add multiple instances of the same provider type (e.g., two different OpenAI configurations):
  1. Open settings and navigate to the providers section
  2. Click “Add Provider”
  3. Select the provider type
  4. Configure the required parameters
  5. Give the provider a descriptive name
  6. Save the configuration

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Update provider settings

To modify an existing provider:
  1. Navigate to settings
  2. Find the provider you want to update
  3. Click “Edit”
  4. Update the configuration parameters
  5. Save your changes

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Remove a provider

Removing a provider will make its models unavailable. Any searches or chats configured to use models from this provider will fail.
To remove a provider:
  1. Navigate to settings
  2. Find the provider you want to remove
  3. Click “Delete” or “Remove”
  4. Confirm the deletion

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Environment variable configuration

Instead of configuring providers through the UI, you can set them using environment variables. When environment variables are detected, providers are automatically configured on startup. 
docker run -d -p 3000:3000 \
  -e OPENAI_API_KEY="your-api-key" \
  -e OPENAI_BASE_URL="https://api.openai.com/v1" \
  -e ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-anthropic-key" \
  -e OLLAMA_BASE_URL="http://host.docker.internal:11434" \
  -v perplexica-data:/home/perplexica/data \
  --name perplexica \
  itzcrazykns1337/perplexica:latest
See the environment variables reference for a complete list of available variables.

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