Configure OpenAI Models as Cynative's LLM Provider

Set up Cynative with OpenAI’s GPT and o-series models. Configure API key, model selection, custom base URL for proxies, and advanced network options.

Cynative supports OpenAI’s chat models through the Bifrost openai provider. This covers the standard OpenAI API as well as any OpenAI-compatible proxy or self-hosted endpoint (LiteLLM, a custom gateway, etc.) that speaks the Chat Completions API. Set three environment variables and you’re running.

Quick start

export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
export CYNATIVE_LLM_PROVIDER=openai
export CYNATIVE_LLM_MODEL=gpt-5
cynative -p "list IAM users in my AWS account that have console access"

No ~/.cynative/config.yaml file is required.

YAML configuration

Use YAML when you need fields the environment-variable surface doesn’t cover, such as extra_headers, openai_config, or keys[] for multi-key load balancing.

llm:
  provider: openai
  model: gpt-5
  api_key: env.OPENAI_API_KEY       # optional — falls back to OPENAI_API_KEY env var
  network_config:
    base_url: https://api.openai.com  # optional; override for proxies or custom endpoints
    default_request_timeout_in_seconds: 60
    max_retries: 3
  openai_config:
    disable_store: true              # opt out of OpenAI's persistent conversation storage

openai_config fields

openai_config mirrors Bifrost’s schemas.OpenAIConfig directly. The most commonly used field:

Field	Type	Description
disable_store	boolean	Opts out of OpenAI’s persistent conversation storage by sending store=false on every request.

For the complete set of openai_config fields, see Bifrost’s schemas.OpenAIConfig.

Authentication

Cynative resolves the API key in this order:

1. llm.api_key in YAML (or the CYNATIVE_LLM_API_KEY env var) — recommended for the simple case.
2. llm.keys[] in YAML — for explicit Bifrost-shaped key configuration (multi-key load balancing, model filters, per-key weights, etc.).
3. OPENAI_API_KEY — the canonical fallback, used when neither llm.api_key nor llm.keys[] is set.

Setting both llm.api_key and llm.keys[] is rejected at startup with a clear error — pick one form.

Get an API key from platform.openai.com/api-keys.

Environment variable reference

Environment variable	YAML equivalent	Description
OPENAI_API_KEY	llm.api_key	OpenAI API key.
CYNATIVE_LLM_PROVIDER	llm.provider	Must be openai.
CYNATIVE_LLM_MODEL	llm.model	Model id (e.g. gpt-5, gpt-4o).
CYNATIVE_LLM_API_KEY	llm.api_key	Generic key override (takes priority over OPENAI_API_KEY).
CYNATIVE_LLM_NETWORK_CONFIG_BASE_URL	llm.network_config.base_url	API endpoint override (see proxy section below).
CYNATIVE_LLM_NETWORK_CONFIG_DEFAULT_REQUEST_TIMEOUT_IN_SECONDS	llm.network_config.default_request_timeout_in_seconds	Per-request timeout in seconds. Cynative default: 300.
CYNATIVE_LLM_NETWORK_CONFIG_MAX_RETRIES	llm.network_config.max_retries	Retry attempts on 429/5xx errors. Cynative default: 3.
CYNATIVE_LLM_OPENAI_CONFIG_DISABLE_STORE	llm.openai_config.disable_store	Set true to send store=false on every request.
CYNATIVE_LLM_REASONING_EFFORT	llm.reasoning_effort	Reasoning effort level for o-series models: none, minimal, low, medium, high.
CYNATIVE_LLM_REASONING_MAX_TOKENS	llm.reasoning_max_tokens	Explicit reasoning token budget (converted to an estimated effort level for OpenAI).

o-series reasoning models

Cynative’s reasoning_effort and reasoning_max_tokens fields work with OpenAI’s o-series models (o1, o3, o4-mini, etc.). Set reasoning_effort to the desired level; Cynative maps it to OpenAI’s native effort knob:

llm:
  provider: openai
  model: o3
  api_key: env.OPENAI_API_KEY
  reasoning_effort: high

reasoning_max_tokens is converted to an estimated effort level for OpenAI-style providers (it is not forwarded as a raw token count).

OpenAI-compatible endpoints and proxies

Many proxies and gateways speak the OpenAI Chat Completions API: LiteLLM, OpenRouter, vLLM with --api-key, custom gateways, etc. Point Cynative at them by overriding network_config.base_url:

llm:
  provider: openai
  model: my-deployment-name
  api_key: env.MY_PROXY_KEY
  network_config:
    base_url: https://my-proxy.example.com

Leave the /v1 path segment off the base URL. The Bifrost provider appends /v1/chat/completions automatically, so a base URL that already ends in /v1 produces a double-path request (/v1/v1/chat/completions) and returns a 404.

Server-side caching

OpenAI applies automatic prompt caching server-side for eligible models. Cynative does not need to configure anything — caching happens transparently and is reflected in your OpenAI usage dashboard.

Links

• OpenAI API reference
• Bifrost OpenAI provider source