AI & privacy

Use your own AI API key

Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) lets Um Out send AI planning requests directly from your computer to a provider you choose. Your key is stored in your operating system’s credential vault—not in the Premiere panel or an Um Out account.

A ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini consumer subscription does not automatically include API usage. API access and billing are managed separately by each provider.

What needs an API key?

Basic timeline operations such as silence detection use local rules and do not require a hosted AI provider. A key is used when Um Out needs a language model to interpret a natural-language instruction or make a semantic editorial decision. The model proposes structured settings; it never receives direct control of Premiere Pro.

Um Out currently accepts keys for OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google Gemini. You can also leave the provider set to Offline rules for supported deterministic workflows.

Connect a key

Create an API key in the provider’s developer console and make sure API billing is enabled there.
In Um Out, open Settings and find AI provider.
Select OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini. Paste the key into the password field.
Choose Save provider choice. Um Out sends the key to the local companion engine, which stores it in macOS Keychain or Windows Credential Manager.
Run a short test instruction. If the provider is unavailable, Um Out reports the problem and falls back to local rules where that workflow supports them.

Where the key is stored

The Premiere panel does not persist or display the key after you save it.
The local companion engine stores it under the Um Out service in the operating system credential store.
The key is sent only to the provider endpoint selected in Settings.
Um Out does not log the key or return it through the local API.

If a secure credential store is unavailable, the current development engine holds the key in memory only. It is then lost when the engine restarts. A production build should surface that limitation rather than silently writing a key to an ordinary file.

Costs and usage limits

Your provider charges your developer account according to its current API pricing. Um Out does not control those prices. Start with a provider-side spending cap and test on a short sequence. Long transcripts and repeated analyses can use more tokens than a short command.

Replace or remove a key

To replace a key, paste the new value and save again. To revoke access immediately, delete the key in the provider console. You can also remove the credential from your operating system’s credential manager. A dedicated remove-key control is part of the production settings work and should be present before public release.

Common errors

Invalid or unauthorized key

Confirm that you copied an API key—not a login password or subscription code—and that the key belongs to the provider selected in Um Out. Create a new key if the old one was revoked.

Quota, billing, or rate-limit error

Open the provider dashboard and check billing, credits, spending limits, and rate limits. Um Out cannot override a limit imposed by the provider.

Provider timed out

Try the request once more. If it repeats, switch to Offline rules for supported operations or check the provider’s status page. Your timeline is not changed when planning fails.

For local setup problems, use the troubleshooting checklist. For the core editing workflow, read the silence removal guide.