What You Need

Before you can start using Aori, you’ll need a few things. Aori is designed to be lightweight and user-controlled, which means you supply the intelligence it uses. Here’s a quick guide to what’s required and what’s optional.

Mandatory: An LLM Provider API Key

Aori is not a subscription service; it’s an agent that runs on your hardware. It connects to an AI provider of your choice to process your requests. You pay the provider directly for exactly what you use. Many of these providers have generous free tiers or offer sign-up credits.

Provider Comparison

Provider	Free tier	Best for	Setup guide
Groq	Yes — generous	Getting started, fast responses	/providers/groq
Anthropic	$5 credit	Claude models, high quality	/providers/anthropic
OpenAI	$5 credit	GPT-5.x family, widely supported	/providers/openai
DeepSeek	Yes	Cost-efficient, reasoning models	/providers/deepseek
Ollama	Free local runtime	Desktop local models	/providers/ollama
OpenRouter	Pay-as-you-go	Access to many models via one key	/providers/openrouter

Optional: Enhancements

While you can use Aori with just an LLM key, these extras significantly expand what it can do:

Brave Search API key: This allows Aori to search the web to find current information. Their free tier offers up to 2,000 queries per month. Learn more →
Telegram or WhatsApp account: If you want to talk to Aori through your favorite messaging app instead of using the Aori app interface, you can connect it as a “channel.” Learn more →
Google Account: Connect your Google account to enable Gmail and Calendar help.
Local Folder, Obsidian, or Notion: Add knowledge sources when you want Aori to use your files, notes, or workspace context. Learn more →
Ollama: If you’re on desktop and already want to run local models, install Ollama and connect Aori to its local server. Learn more →

Next: Quick Start