Actovia

Getting API keys

Where to get each key Actovia uses, and where it goes in Settings.

Actovia has no account and no server of its own. Every model and every online tool is reached with your own key, so you pay each provider directly and nothing passes through us. You need one model provider to chat. Everything else is optional and adds a tool.

KeyUnlocksGoes in
A model provider (one is enough)Chat, memory, Deep Research, GroupsSettings → AI Providers
Brave Search APIWeb Search, Deep Research, the Discover feedSettings → Built-in Tools → Web Search
Google API key (Maps + Places)Map ItinerarySettings → Built-in Tools → Map Itinerary
OpenAIImage Generation, read-aloud and dictationSettings → AI Providers → OpenAI
LightRAGThe knowledge baseSettings → Knowledge Base
AWS S3Sending large attachments as linksSettings → AWS S3

Weather (Open-Meteo) and models running on Ollama need no key.

Keys stay on your computer

A key is encrypted with your system keychain before it is saved, and Actovia only ever shows it back as •••• abcd. See Your data.

Model providers

Pick one or several. After you paste a key under Provider keys, Retrieve model list asks the provider which models the key can use, which also tells you the key works before you chat. More on choosing models in Models & providers.

OpenAI

  1. Sign in at platform.openai.com and add a payment method under Billing. The API is billed separately from a ChatGPT subscription.
  2. Open API keys and choose Create new secret key. Copy it now: it is shown only once.
  3. In Actovia, open Settings → AI Providers, choose OpenAI and paste it.

The same key powers Image Generation. OpenAI's GPT Image models also need your organization to be verified: if image requests fail with "you may need to complete the API Organization Verification", open Settings → Organization → General in the OpenAI dashboard and choose Verify Organization. It can take a few minutes to apply after it passes.

Anthropic (Claude)

  1. Sign in to the Claude Console and buy credits under Billing. The API is billed separately from a Claude.ai subscription.
  2. Open API keys and choose Create Key. Copy it now: it is shown only once.
  3. In Actovia, choose Anthropic under Settings → AI Providers and paste it.

Google Gemini

  1. Open Google AI Studio and sign in with a Google account.
  2. Choose Create API key and copy it.
  3. In Actovia, choose Google Gemini and paste it.

AI Studio has a free tier with low rate limits. For heavier use, turn on billing for the key's Google Cloud project.

xAI (Grok)

  1. Sign in to the xAI Console and add credits.
  2. Open API Keys, create a key and copy it.
  3. In Actovia, choose xAI and paste it.

Azure OpenAI

Azure needs a deployed model rather than a single key:

  1. In the Azure portal, create an Azure OpenAI resource, then deploy a model to it in Azure AI Foundry.
  2. On the resource's Keys and Endpoint page, copy a key and the Endpoint.
  3. In Actovia, choose Azure OpenAI and fill in the key, the endpoint, the API version and your deployment's name.

Ollama

Ollama runs models on your own computer, with no key and no cost per message. Install it, pull a model (ollama pull llama3.2), and choose Ollama under Settings → AI Providers. Actovia finds it at http://localhost:11434 unless you set another address.

Brave Search API

Web Search, Deep Research and the Discover feed all search through Brave with one key.

  1. Go to the Brave Search API dashboard and sign up. Brave asks for a card even on its free allowance.
  2. Under Subscriptions, choose the Search plan. It covers everything Actovia asks for: web results, news, images, videos and page extracts for the model.
  3. Under API Keys, create a key and copy it.
  4. In Actovia, open Settings → Built-in Tools → Web Search and paste it into Brave Search API Key.

Deep Research makes many searches per report. If you use it a lot, set a monthly spending limit in the Brave dashboard.

Google Maps and Places

Map Itinerary uses two Google APIs: the Maps JavaScript API draws the map, and Places API (New) finds the places, their photos, hours and reviews. One key covers both.

  1. Open the Google Cloud console and create a project (or pick one).
  2. Link a billing account to it. Google Maps does not work without one, even inside its free monthly usage.
  3. Under APIs & Services → Library, enable Maps JavaScript API and Places API (New).
  4. Under Keys & Credentials, choose Create credentials → API key and copy it.
  5. In Actovia, open Settings → Built-in Tools → Map Itinerary and paste it into Google API Key.

Restrict the key by API: under the key's API restrictions, allow only the two APIs above. Do not add an HTTP referrer (website) restriction. Actovia is a desktop app, not a website, and Places requests are made from the app itself, so a referrer rule makes them fail.

If the map shows "This page can't load Google Maps correctly", see When the map won't load.

LightRAG

The knowledge base talks to a LightRAG server you run yourself. Its key is whatever you set as LIGHTRAG_API_KEY when you started that server, and it is optional when the server has none.

AWS S3

S3 is only for sending large or many attachments as links. The bucket, the IAM user and the access keys it needs are listed in Attachments.

On this page

Model providersOpenAIAnthropic (Claude)Google GeminixAI (Grok)Azure OpenAIOllamaBrave Search APIGoogle Maps and PlacesLightRAGAWS S3