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No — ByteRover CLI is local-first and works entirely on your machine without an account when using a third-party LLM provider.An account is required in two cases:
  • ByteRover built-in provider — Selecting or using the built-in LLM requires a logged-in ByteRover account.
  • Cloud sync — /vc push and /vc pull require authentication to sync your context tree across machines and share with teammates.
Third-party providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter, etc.) work with just an API key — no ByteRover account needed.To log in:
brv login -k <your-api-key>
Get your API key from app.byterover.dev/settings/keys.Run brv status at any time to check your account state.
Local mode (no account needed) covers the core workflow:
  • /curate — add context to your knowledge tree
  • /query — query your context tree
  • /providers — connect and switch LLM providers (ByteRover built-in requires login)
  • /connectors — manage agent connectors
  • /hub — browse and install skills & bundles
Cloud mode (requires login) adds:
  • /vc push and /vc pull — sync context to/from the cloud
  • /vc remote — manage remote space connections
  • /vc clone — clone a remote space
  • Team collaboration and multi-machine access
See the Local vs Cloud page for the full command-by-command breakdown.
ByteRover supports nearly 20 LLM providers. The default provider is ByteRover (built-in, requires a logged-in ByteRover account for limited free usage).In the REPL:
/providers              # manage providers
/providers list         # list all available providers
/providers connect      # connect a new provider
/providers switch       # switch active provider
From the CLI:
brv providers list
brv providers connect <provider-id> -k <api-key>
brv providers switch <provider-id>
Some providers (e.g., OpenAI) support OAuth — authenticate via your browser instead of entering an API key:
brv providers connect openai --oauth
In the REPL, choose “Sign in with OAuth” when prompted by /providers.To change the model within your active provider:
/model                  # select a model (REPL)
brv model list          # list available models (CLI)
brv model switch <id>   # switch model (CLI)
See the LLM Providers page for the full list of supported providers.
OAuth and /login require a browser, so they won’t work directly on headless machines without a desktop environment.However, when connecting via SSH through VSCode-based IDEs such as Cursor, VSCode, or Antigravity, OAuth becomes feasible. These IDEs can forward ports from the remote machine to your local environment, allowing the authentication flow to open in a local browser and complete successfully.This applies to both:
  • Provider OAuth — e.g., brv providers connect openai --oauth or selecting “Sign in with OAuth” in /providers
  • Account login — /login in the TUI
For fully headless environments (CI/CD, scripts) where no IDE is involved, use API key authentication instead:
# Provider connection
brv providers connect openai -k <api-key>

# Account login
brv login -k <api-key>