BYOK Setup

BYOK stands for Bring Your Own Key. Instead of bundling AI costs into your subscription, Baulit lets you connect your own Anthropic API key. You pay Anthropic directly at their published rates with no markup from Baulit.

Why BYOK?

The BYOK model gives you three advantages that matter on a construction project.

Privacy. Your project data is sent directly to Anthropic under your own account. Baulit never routes your data through a third-party aggregator or reseller.
No markup. You pay exactly what Anthropic charges. Baulit does not add a per-call fee or percentage on top.
You control the spend. You set your own usage limits in the Anthropic console. If you want a hard cap at $20/month, you configure that directly with Anthropic.

Getting Your Anthropic API Key

If you do not have an Anthropic account yet, follow these steps to create one and generate an API key.

Visit the Anthropic Console. Go to console.anthropic.com in your browser. Sign up for an account if you do not already have one. You will need a valid email address and a payment method.

Navigate to API Keys. Once logged in, open the API Keys section from the left sidebar. Click Create Key and give it a descriptive name like "Baulit Production."

Copy the key. Anthropic displays your key only once. Copy it immediately and store it somewhere safe. If you lose it, you will need to create a new one.

Important: Treat your API key like a password. Do not share it in emails, chat messages, or screenshots. Anyone with your key can make API calls billed to your Anthropic account.

Entering Your Key in Baulit

Open Settings. Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the Baulit dashboard, or press Cmd+S to open the keyboard shortcut menu and navigate from there.

Go to AI Configuration. Select the AI Configuration tab in Settings. You will see a field labeled "Anthropic API Key."

Paste your key. Paste the API key you copied from the Anthropic console. The field masks the key after entry so it is not visible on screen.

Click Save. Baulit encrypts your key using AES-256-GCM and stores the encrypted version in the database. The plaintext key is never written to disk or logged.

How Encryption Works

When you save your API key, Baulit encrypts it immediately using AES-256-GCM, a widely trusted encryption standard used in banking and government systems. The encrypted key is stored in Supabase. When an AI feature needs to call Anthropic, the key is decrypted in memory inside a secure Edge Function, used for the API call, and then discarded.

At no point is your plaintext key stored in the database, written to server logs, or exposed in network responses.

Testing Your Key

After saving your key, use the Test & Validate button in the AI Configuration panel. This sends a small test request to Anthropic to confirm that your key is valid and has sufficient permissions.

If the test succeeds, you will see a green confirmation message. If it fails, check the following:

Key is expired or revoked. Go back to the Anthropic console and verify the key is still active.
Insufficient funds. Anthropic requires a payment method on file. Make sure your billing is set up in the Anthropic console.
Typo in the key. Delete the key in Baulit and re-paste it from your source.

Rotating Your Key

You should rotate your API key periodically or any time you suspect it may have been compromised. To rotate:

Generate a new key in the Anthropic console. Keep the old key active until the new one is saved in Baulit.

Update Baulit. Go to Settings → AI Configuration, clear the existing key, paste the new one, and click Save.

Revoke the old key in the Anthropic console. This ensures the old key cannot be used even if it was intercepted.

Removing Your Key

To disconnect AI features entirely, go to Settings → AI Configuration and click Remove Key. This deletes the encrypted key from the database. AI features will become unavailable until you enter a new key.

Removing your key does not affect your Anthropic account or billing. It only disconnects Baulit from using that key.

What Happens When Things Go Wrong

If your key becomes invalid (expired, revoked, or quota exceeded), Baulit handles it gracefully. AI buttons will show a clear error message explaining the issue and linking you to the AI Configuration settings. No data is lost, and no partial AI operations are applied to your project.

Tip: Set up usage alerts in the Anthropic console so you get an email before you hit your spending limit. This prevents unexpected interruptions to your AI workflow mid-project.