Supported Providers
Provider | Description | Example Models |
---|---|---|
OpenAI | GPT Models | gpt-4.1 , gpt-4.1-mini , gpt-4o , gpt-4o-mini … |
Anthropic | Claude Models | claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022 , claude-3-5-haiku-20241022 , claude-4-sonnet-20250514 , claude-4-opus … |
OpenRouter | 200+ Models | openai/gpt-4o , anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet , google/gemini-pro-1.5 , meta-llama/llama-3.1-8b-instruct … |
Ollama | Local Models | llama3.1:8b , llama3.1:70b , qwen3:8b , mistral:latest , phi4-mini:3.8b … |
LM Studio | Local + OpenAI-compatible | mistral-7b-instruct , llama3.1:8b , qwen3:8b (via local server) |
AWS Bedrock | Enterprise Models | amazon.nova-pro-v1:0 , anthropic.claude-3-7-sonnet-20250219-v1:0 , meta.llama3-3-70b-instruct-v1:0 … |
Azure OpenAI | Microsoft Cloud | gpt-4o , gpt-4o-mini , gpt-4.1 , gpt-4.1-mini , o3 , o4-mini … |
Gemini | Google AI Studio | gemini-2.5-flash-lite , gemini-2.5-pro , gemini-1.5-pro … |
Qwen | Alibaba Cloud | qwen3-coder-plus , qwen3-coder-480b-a35b-instruct , qwen3:8b , qwen3-235b-a22b-instruct-2507 … |
Advanced Features
Dual LLM Configuration
Cipher supports separate evaluation LLMs for enhanced performance:LM Studio (Local) Configuration
- No API key required (uses an OpenAI-compatible local server)
- Set
LMSTUDIO_BASE_URL
if you changed the default port or host - Tool calling is supported via OpenAI-compatible schema
evalLlm
is for reflection memory evaluation. If you want to learn more, see the Reflection Memory documentation.
Provider-Specific Features
Tool Calling Support All providers support cipher’s advanced tool calling:- OpenAI: Native function calling with JSON schema
- Anthropic: Tool use with structured inputs
- OpenRouter: Provider-dependent tool support
- Ollama: OpenAI-compatible tool calling
- AWS Bedrock: Tool calling (provider-dependent, varies by model)
- Azure OpenAI: OpenAI-compatible function/tool calling
- Gemini: Function calling, structured output, code execution
- Qwen: Hermes-style and OpenAI-compatible tool/function calling
- Context Management: Intelligent conversation history
- Image Support: Vision capabilities where available
- Error Handling: Robust retry logic and error recovery
Configuration Validation
Cipher validates all LLM configurations at startup: Schema validation ensures:provider
: Must be ‘openai’, ‘anthropic’, ‘openrouter’, or ‘ollama’model
: Must be non-empty stringapiKey
: Required for cloud providers (not Ollama)maxIterations
: Must be positive integer (default: 50)baseURL
: Must be valid URL if provided
- Startup Validation: Catch configuration errors early
- Runtime Retry: Automatic retry with exponential backoff
- Graceful Fallback: Continue operation when possible
Best Practices
Provider Selection
Provider | When to Choose |
---|---|
OpenAI | Latest GPT models, reliability, speed, Azure OpenAI support |
Anthropic | Advanced reasoning, safety, long context windows |
OpenRouter | Access to many models, cost optimization, model diversity, flexibility |
Ollama | Privacy, no API costs, offline use, local hardware available |
AWS Bedrock | Unified API for many top models, enterprise security, AWS ecosystem integration |
Azure OpenAI | Enterprise security, regional compliance, OpenAI + 3rd party models, Microsoft ecosystem |
Gemini | Multimodal, long context, Google Cloud integration, advanced reasoning, open API |
Qwen | Multilingual, SOTA reasoning, open-source and commercial, Alibaba Cloud integration, agentic use |
Performance Optimization
maxIterations Configuration:- Development: Use faster, cheaper models (
gpt-4.1-mini
,claude-3-haiku
) - Production: Use more capable models (
gpt-4.1
,claude-4-sonnet
) - Local Development: Use Ollama for cost-free iteration