Bring your own key · runner-local
Your keys never leave your machine.
Aria Code is BYOK, and we mean it literally: your Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, or xAI key stays on your computer. We don't receive it, we don't store it, and there's no key vault on our servers to breach. A small local helper — aria-runner — uses your key right there on your machine to run your models.
Set it up
Connect your plan or key from the workspace — it walks you through installing aria-runner and starting it, with every command generated and copied for you. Nothing to paste blindly.
Connect Claude Pro/Max →
Connect ChatGPT →
How it actually works
- Your key stays where it is — in your own environment variables / provider config on your machine. Aria never reads it over the network.
- aria-runner runs locally and calls your provider directly with your key. Aria's cloud hands the runner work to do; it never sees your token.
- Nothing is uploaded or stored. There is no server-side key database — so there's nothing for anyone to leak or breach.
- You stay in control — stop the runner and the connection is gone; your key never left your computer.
What we never do
- Never receive your API key over the network
- Never store your key on our servers — there is no key vault to breach
- Never bill your provider — your usage is billed to you, directly, by them
- Never lock your key to us — it's yours, usable anywhere, anytime
No keys yet?
No problem — create one at console.anthropic.com/settings/keys (or your provider of choice) and keep it on your machine. Prefer not to manage a key at all? Bring a Claude Pro/Max or ChatGPT subscription instead and connect that above.