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BYOK Setup for AI File Renaming

BYOK means Bring Your Own Key. It lets Zush PRO users connect their own AI provider key for cloud renaming with Gemini, Groq, OpenAI, or Claude.

Use BYOK when you want Zush’s desktop workflow, review screen, Templates, Naming Blocks, Monitor, and undo history, but you prefer to pay your own AI provider directly instead of relying only on the managed Zush provider.

BYOK settings in the Zush AI Setup screen with Gemini selected, an API key saved, and a test button.
BYOK is configured in AI Setup. Choose a provider, paste your key, save it, enable Cloud BYOK, and run a test.

What BYOK changes

Section titled “What BYOK changes”

With BYOK enabled, Zush still handles the file workflow:

  • add files or monitor a folder
  • extract the analysis payload Zush needs for renaming
  • call the selected AI provider through the BYOK flow
  • generate filenames, tags, and metadata
  • show previews before manual batches are applied
  • keep rename history so you can undo later

The main difference is the provider and billing path. Your AI provider bills usage under its own API pricing. Gemini and Groq often have generous free tiers, while OpenAI and Claude are usually pay as you go. Check the provider’s current pricing before running a very large batch.

Supported providers

Section titled “Supported providers”
ProviderDashboardNotes from the setup page
GeminiGoogle AI StudioGood multimodal quality and a free tier that works for many users
GroqGroq ConsoleFast inference and a generous free tier
OpenAIOpenAI PlatformPay-as-you-go; Zush uses GPT-4o mini for fast, affordable analysis
ClaudeAnthropic ConsolePay-as-you-go; Zush uses Claude Haiku for cost-effective file understanding

Set up BYOK

Section titled “Set up BYOK”
  1. Open your provider dashboard: Google AI Studio, Groq Console, OpenAI Platform, or Anthropic Console.
  2. Create a new API key and copy it. Most providers show the full key only once.
  3. Open Zush.
  4. Go to AI Setup.
  5. Turn on Cloud (BYOK) if you want Zush to use your own provider key for cloud renames.
  6. Choose the AI provider.
  7. Paste the API key.
  8. Save the key.
  9. Click Test to confirm the provider connection works.
  10. Run a small batch before using BYOK on a large folder or monitored workflow.

Provider-specific steps

Section titled “Provider-specific steps”

Gemini

Section titled “Gemini”
  1. Open Google AI Studio.
  2. Create an API key.
  3. In Zush, choose Gemini as the AI Provider.
  4. Paste the key, save it, enable Cloud BYOK, and run Test.

Gemini is a good first choice for BYOK because it has strong multimodal capabilities and a free tier suitable for many users.

Groq

Section titled “Groq”
  1. Open Groq Console.
  2. Create an API key.
  3. In Zush, choose Groq as the AI Provider.
  4. Paste the key, save it, enable Cloud BYOK, and run Test.

Groq is useful when you care about fast cloud inference.

OpenAI

Section titled “OpenAI”
  1. Open OpenAI Platform API keys.
  2. Create a new secret key.
  3. In Zush, choose OpenAI as the AI Provider.
  4. Paste the key, save it, enable Cloud BYOK, and run Test.

OpenAI uses pay-as-you-go pricing. Zush uses GPT-4o mini for BYOK file analysis.

Claude

Section titled “Claude”
  1. Open Anthropic Console keys.
  2. Create a key.
  3. In Zush, choose Claude as the AI Provider.
  4. Paste the key, save it, enable Cloud BYOK, and run Test.

Claude uses pay-as-you-go pricing. Zush uses Claude Haiku for BYOK file analysis.

Test before automation

Section titled “Test before automation”

After BYOK is saved, run a small manual batch rename first. Check that filenames are accurate, the provider does not reject requests, and the cost profile makes sense for your files.

Once the test batch looks right, you can use the same AI setup with Templates and folder monitoring.

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”
ProblemWhat to check
Test failsConfirm the key was copied correctly and belongs to the selected provider
Provider rejects requestsCheck provider billing, free-tier limits, rate limits, or account verification
Results differ from Zush CloudDifferent providers and models can describe files differently; test with real files before automating
Costs are higher than expectedReview provider pricing and test with representative batches before monitoring large folders

Security and privacy

Section titled “Security and privacy”

Your API key is stored locally in secure platform storage. In BYOK mode, analysis requests are relayed through Zush backend infrastructure and then forwarded to your selected provider using your API key. Zush does not store file content after processing as part of normal operation.

For local model processing instead of cloud provider processing, use Offline AI with Ollama.

Section titled “Related docs”