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Authentication

Connect Dial Code to your preferred LLM provider.

The easiest way to start - free with generous quotas.

dial
# Browser opens automatically for authentication

Free Tier:

  • 2,000 requests per day
  • 60 requests per minute
  • Automatic credential refresh
  • No API key needed

OpenAI-Compatible APIs

Use environment variables or a .env file:

export OPENAI_API_KEY="your_api_key"
export OPENAI_BASE_URL="https://api.openai.com/v1"
export OPENAI_MODEL="gpt-4"

    dial
    ```

=== ".env File"
Create `.env` in your project root:
`env
    OPENAI_API_KEY=your_api_key
    OPENAI_BASE_URL=https://api.openai.com/v1
    OPENAI_MODEL=gpt-4
    `

---

## Provider-Specific Setup

### OpenAI

```bash
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."
export OPENAI_MODEL="gpt-4"

Anthropic

export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."
export OPENAI_BASE_URL="https://api.anthropic.com/v1"
export OPENAI_MODEL="claude-3-opus-20240229"

Ollama (Local)

export OPENAI_BASE_URL="http://localhost:11434/v1"
export OPENAI_MODEL="llama3"
# No API key needed for local Ollama

Alibaba Cloud (China)

export OPENAI_API_KEY="your_key"
export OPENAI_BASE_URL="https://dashscope.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1"
export OPENAI_MODEL="qwen3-coder-plus"

OpenRouter

export OPENAI_API_KEY="your_key"
export OPENAI_BASE_URL="https://openrouter.ai/api/v1"
export OPENAI_MODEL="qwen/qwen3-coder:free"

Switching Providers

Change provider during a session:

/auth

Or specify in settings (.dial/settings.json):

{
  "authType": "openai-compatible"
}

Verify Connection

Check your current authentication status:

/stats

Troubleshooting

"Invalid API Key"

  • Verify the key is correct
  • Check the base URL matches the provider
  • Ensure no extra whitespace in the key

"Rate Limited"

  • Qwen free tier: 60 requests/minute
  • Wait briefly and retry
  • Consider upgrading or using a different provider

"Model Not Found"

  • Check the model name is correct for your provider
  • Some providers require specific model identifiers

Next Steps