LLM Configuration
Flash Translate uses a Bring-Your-Own-Key (BYOK) model: you connect your own API key from an LLM provider, and translation requests go straight from your browser to that provider. There’s no markup and no middleman — you pay the provider directly at their published rates.
Quick-start presets
Section titled “Quick-start presets”Four providers have ready-to-use presets — just paste your API key and you’re translating:
| Provider | Default model | Also offers |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | gpt-5.4-nano |
gpt-5-mini, gpt-4.1-mini, gpt-4o-mini |
| Google Gemini | gemini-2.5-flash-lite |
gemini-3.1-flash-lite |
| Anthropic Claude | claude-haiku-4-5 |
— |
| OpenRouter | openai/gpt-5.4-nano |
google/gemini-2.5-flash-lite, anthropic/claude-3-haiku |
You can also type in any other model ID your chosen provider supports — the dropdown of recommended models is a shortcut, not a restriction.
Getting an API key
Section titled “Getting an API key”- OpenAI — platform.openai.com → API keys
- Google Gemini — aistudio.google.com → Get API key
- Anthropic — console.anthropic.com → API Keys
- OpenRouter — openrouter.ai → Keys
Provider dashboards change their layout from time to time — if the path above has moved, search “API key” in the provider’s own docs or dashboard.
Custom provider
Section titled “Custom provider”If your provider isn’t in the preset list, or you’re using a self-hosted or proxied OpenAI-compatible endpoint, choose Custom and enter your own API URL and model ID. You only need to point at the base endpoint (e.g. .../v1) — Flash Translate automatically appends /chat/completions if it’s missing, and validates that you entered a well-formed http(s) URL.
The first time you test or save a configuration for a domain outside the preset list, your browser shows a one-time permission prompt asking you to allow Flash Translate to connect to that domain — this is a normal browser security check, not an error.
Testing and saving
Section titled “Testing and saving”The last step of the configuration wizard sends a small test request using your key before saving, so a typo’d key or unreachable URL is caught immediately instead of failing silently later. Give each configuration a memorable alias — you can save multiple configurations (2 on the free tier, unlimited for subscribers) and assign a different one to each feature, or switch between them per translation from the selection panel’s model dropdown.