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Use this when the provider is not in the catalog. The Cloud dashboard accepts a models.dev-style JSON definition, stores the shared credential once, and then lets desktop workspaces import it.
Custom LLM provider detail in OpenWork Cloud

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Create the custom provider

  1. Open LLM Providers.
  2. Click Add Provider.
  3. Switch to Custom provider.
  4. Paste the Custom provider JSON.
  5. Paste the shared API key / credential.
  6. Choose People access and/or Team access.
  7. Click Create Provider.
The JSON must include id, name, npm, env, doc, and models. api is optional, but most OpenAI-compatible providers use it. The editor also requires valid JSON, at least one environment variable, and at least one model. 
{
  "id": "custom-provider",
  "name": "Custom Provider",
  "npm": "@ai-sdk/openai-compatible",
  "env": [
    "CUSTOM_PROVIDER_API_KEY"
  ],
  "doc": "https://example.com/docs/models",
  "api": "https://api.example.com/v1",
  "models": [
    {
      "id": "custom-provider/example-model",
      "name": "Example Model",
      "attachment": false,
      "reasoning": false,
      "tool_call": true,
      "structured_output": true,
      "temperature": true,
      "release_date": "2026-01-01",
      "last_updated": "2026-01-01",
      "open_weights": false,
      "limit": {
        "context": 128000,
        "input": 128000,
        "output": 8192
      },
      "modalities": {
        "input": [
          "text"
        ],
        "output": [
          "text"
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}

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Import it into the desktop app

  1. Open Settings -> Cloud.
  2. Choose the correct Active org.
  3. Under Cloud providers, click Import.
  4. Reload the workspace when OpenWork asks.

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Functional example: Ollama (Qwen3 8B)

This setup a local Ollama instance running qwen3:8b. Ollama’s OpenAI-compatible endpoint requires an API key but ignores the value, so paste anything (for example ollama) into the API key / credential field when creating the provider.
Config to add Ollama as a custom provider
{
  "id": "ollama",
  "name": "Ollama",
  "npm": "@ai-sdk/openai-compatible",
  "env": [
    "OLLAMA_API_KEY"
  ],
  "doc": "https://docs.ollama.com/api/openai-compatibility",
  "api": "http://localhost:11434/v1",
  "models": [
    {
      "id": "qwen3:8b",
      "name": "Qwen3 8B",
      "attachment": false,
      "reasoning": true,
      "tool_call": true,
      "structured_output": true,
      "temperature": true,
      "release_date": "2025-04-28",
      "last_updated": "2025-04-28",
      "open_weights": true,
      "limit": {
        "context": 32768,
        "input": 32768,
        "output": 8192
      },
      "modalities": {
        "input": [
          "text"
        ],
        "output": [
          "text"
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}
Ollama added as a provider
Pull the model first with ollama pull qwen3:8b, then make sure the Ollama server is reachable at http://localhost:11434 with ollama serve Import it in your desktop, change the provider name and voila! You have an fully local LLM running in your machine.

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When to use a cloud provider

We recommend using Cloud-bsaed provider when the setup is meant to be shared across an org or team. Otherwise, doing it directly in desktop is easier.