> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.camel-ai.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Setup

> Configure API credentials and select a model provider

CAMEL-AI supports multiple model backends. Choose one below and configure your environment variables.

## 1. OpenAI API

Obtain your `OPENAI_API_KEY` from [OpenAI Dashboard](https://platform.openai.com/account/api-keys).

<Steps>
  <Step title="Unix (macOS/Linux)">
    ```bash theme={"system"}
    echo 'export OPENAI_API_KEY="<YOUR_KEY>"' >> ~/.zshrc
    source ~/.zshrc
    ```

    *Replace `~/.zshrc` with `~/.bashrc` if using bash.*
  </Step>

  <Step title="Windows (Permanent)">
    ```powershell theme={"system"}
    setx OPENAI_API_KEY "<YOUR_KEY>" /M
    ```

    *You may need to restart your terminal for changes to apply.*
  </Step>

  <Step title=".env File (Project-specific)">
    Create a `.env` file in your project root:

    ```dotenv theme={"system"}
    OPENAI_API_KEY=<YOUR_KEY>
    ```

    Load in Python:

    ```python theme={"system"}
    from dotenv import load_dotenv
    load_dotenv()
    import os
    print(os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"))
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  To configure an `API_BASE_URL` (e.g., Azure), also set:

  ```bash theme={"system"}
  export OPENAI_API_BASE_URL="<YOUR_BASE_URL>"
  ```
</Note>

## 2. Other Hosted APIs

For non-OpenAI providers, see [Using Models by API Calling](../key_modules/models).

## 3. Local Models

To run fully on-device with open-source models, refer to [Local Models Guide](../key_modules/models)