> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dacard.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Bring your own model (BYOM)

> Configure a custom Anthropic API key so all inference runs on your account.

<Note>
  Business and Enterprise plans can wire in their own Anthropic API key. When active, all inference (scoring, coaching, agents, recommendations) runs on your key and plan credits are bypassed entirely.
</Note>

# Bring your own model

Business and Enterprise plans can configure a custom Anthropic API key. When active, all inference (scoring, coaching, agents, recommendation generation) runs on your key, and plan credits are bypassed entirely.

## Setup

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Settings">
    Head to **Settings > LLM Provider** in the app nav.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Drop your API key">
    Paste your Anthropic API key. The key is encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM and is never stored in plaintext.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify">
    Hit **Test connection** to confirm the key works. We send a minimal test request to confirm access.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Activate">
    Toggle **Use custom key** to activate. All subsequent inference runs on your key.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## How it works

| Feature          | With plan credits       | With custom key                                  |
| ---------------- | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| **URL scoring**  | 10 credits per score    | No credit cost; billed to your Anthropic account |
| **DAC coaching** | 1 credit per message    | No credit cost                                   |
| **Agent runs**   | 0.1 credits per call    | No credit cost                                   |
| **Model used**   | Claude (Dacard-managed) | Claude (your key)                                |

## Requirements

* **Plan:** Business or Enterprise
* **Key type:** Anthropic API key with sufficient quota
* **Models:** your key must have access to Claude Sonnet (used for scoring and coaching)

## Security

* Your API key is encrypted with AES-256-GCM before storage
* The key is never logged, displayed after entry, or included in API responses
* You can rotate or remove your key at any time from Settings

<Note>
  When you're on a custom key, we don't throttle or rate-limit your usage. Your Anthropic account's rate limits and billing apply directly.
</Note>

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Plans and billing" icon="credit-card" href="/knowledge-base/plans-billing">
    Compare plan features including BYOM eligibility.
  </Card>

  <Card title="How scoring works" icon="signal-bars" href="/knowledge-base/scoring">
    Understand what inference your key powers.
  </Card>

  <Card title="BYOM API" icon="code" href="/api-reference/byom/byom-settings">
    Manage BYOM settings programmatically.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>