Model Connections

Model Connections tell agents which model to use, where it is hosted, and how to authenticate. Each entry is reusable across multiple agents in your workspace.

Adding a model connection

Click Add Model Connection and fill in the form:

Field	Description
Name	A friendly name shown in the agent builder (e.g., “GPT-4o Production”, “Claude Sonnet Production”)
Connection type	Where the model is hosted — OpenAI, Anthropic, Groq, OpenShift AI, Hugging Face, or Custom endpoint
Model ID	The identifier your provider expects (e.g., `gpt-4o`, `claude-sonnet-4-20250514`, `meta-llama/Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct`)
Endpoint	Shown based on connection type — custom URL for OpenShift or self-hosted servers; optional for Hugging Face dedicated endpoints
Credentials	API key stored as a secret in the vault

Studio configures the technical connection for you. You choose where the model lives; agents reference the connection by name.

Connection types

Connection type	When to use	Example Model IDs
OpenAI	OpenAI or OpenAI-compatible cloud APIs	`gpt-4o`, `gpt-4o-mini`
Anthropic	Claude models	`claude-sonnet-4-20250514`, `claude-3-5-haiku-20241022`
Groq	Groq-hosted models	`llama-3.3-70b-versatile`, `mixtral-8x7b-32768`
OpenShift AI	Models served in your OpenShift cluster	`llama-3-8b-instruct`, `mistral-7b-instruct`
Hugging Face	Dedicated Inference Endpoints or Hub repo IDs	`meta-llama/Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct`
Custom endpoint	vLLM, TGI, LM Studio, or other self-hosted servers	`llama-3`, `mistral-7b`

For local or self-hosted OpenAI-compatible servers (Ollama, vLLM, TGI), choose Custom endpoint and set the full base URL (e.g., http://localhost:11434/v1).

Credentials become secrets

When you save a model connection with a new API key, Studio:

Stores the key in the Registry secrets store with a suggested name (e.g., OPENAI_API_KEY, OPENSHIFT_AI_API_KEY)
References the secret in the connection config — the raw key is never stored in plain text

See Secrets for how this works. To rotate a key: Edit the connection and enter a new secret value. All agents using that connection pick up the new key automatically.

Endpoint guidance

Connection type	Endpoint behavior
OpenAI	Default endpoint works for api.openai.com; use custom URL only for proxies or gateways
Anthropic	Endpoint is configured automatically
Groq	Default Groq endpoint is used automatically
OpenShift AI	Base URL of your model’s inference route in the cluster (usually ending in `/v1`)
Hugging Face	Required for dedicated Inference Endpoints; leave empty for serverless Hub models using `org/model` IDs
Custom endpoint	Full base URL of your server (e.g., `http://localhost:11434/v1`)

Using connections in agents

When creating or editing an agent, select an existing model connection from the inference tab. You do not re-enter credentials — agents inherit authentication from the connection.

Next steps

Creating an Agent

Once you have a model connection, you are ready to create your first agent.

Welcome

Getting Started

Platform

Core Concepts

Ecosystem

Reference

Adding a model connection

Connection types

Credentials become secrets

Endpoint guidance

Using connections in agents

Next steps

Creating an Agent

​Adding a model connection

​Connection types

​Credentials become secrets

​Endpoint guidance

​Using connections in agents

​Next steps

Creating an Agent

Adding a model connection

Connection types

Credentials become secrets

Endpoint guidance

Using connections in agents

Next steps