Provider connections
Connect local and remote execution paths, understand OpenAI connection methods, and keep provider setup separate from routing strategy.
Provider setup is where the runtime learns which local and remote execution paths are available.
This is separate from role assignment, benchmarking, and routing strategy. A provider connection makes an execution path possible; it does not mean every model from that provider should automatically compete for every role.
Local and remote surfaces
The runtime UI separates setup into:
- Local for local backends, local model inventory, and local endpoint state
- Remote for provider accounts, remote connection methods, and remote execution posture
- Models for active models, role activation, and benchmark context
Configure the provider or local backend first, then activate only the models or endpoints that should be eligible for routing.
OpenAI connection methods
The runtime presents one OpenAI provider with multiple connection methods when available:
API KeyCodex Subscription
The API-key path preserves ordinary OpenAI-compatible provider behavior.
The Codex Subscription path is transport-aware. It uses the supported subscription model matrix and the runtime's OpenAI transport handling for the current GPT 5.3+ subscription path.
Hosted tools are transport-specific
Hosted-tool support is not one universal flag across every provider.
For example, OpenAI Responses hosted web_search support is different from provider-native hosted search on
other transports, and different again from ordinary runtime-executed function tools.
When a request asks for a hosted tool, the runtime narrows eligibility to endpoints that support the exact requested transport contract. Ordinary chat or generic function-tool requests can still keep a broader multi-provider candidate pool.
Current alias family
Use the current runtime routing modes and execution modes described in Routing modes, locality, and execution.
The legacy craft-ask alias family is no longer part of the supported runtime alias surface.