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Bruno AI is available from v4.0.0 and higher. Turn it on under Preferences → AI → Configuration before configuring a provider.
Bruno can connect to any provider that exposes an OpenAI-compatible API. This includes third-party hosted providers, company gateways and proxies, self-hosted inference servers, and local model applications such as Ollama or LM Studio.
Bruno never stores your API keys.The keys stay on your machine and are not written to collections or Git. Bruno saves them locally in the same application-data folder as preferences.json, and they never leave your machine except when Bruno talks to the provider you configured.
  • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/bruno/
  • Windows: %APPDATA%\bruno\
  • Linux: ~/.config/bruno/

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What OpenAI-compatible means

An OpenAI-compatible provider implements API routes and request formats based on the OpenAI API. Bruno needs:
  • A Base URL for the compatible API
  • An optional API Key
  • At least one exact Model ID accepted by the endpoint
Compatibility refers to the API format. The model itself does not need to be made by OpenAI.

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Before you begin

Start the provider or local model server and find its Base URL and model ID in its documentation or interface. Common local examples: The exact values depend on your provider and configuration.

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Add an endpoint

  1. Open Preferences from the bottom-left corner of Bruno.
  2. Go to AI → Configuration.
  3. Turn on AI Features if it is not already enabled.
  4. Under OpenAI-Compatible Endpoints, click + Add endpoint.
  5. Enter a Name that identifies the provider, such as Ollama local or Company AI gateway.
  6. Enter the provider’s Base URL, including any required API prefix such as /v1.
  7. Add an API Key if the endpoint requires authentication.
The API key is optional. Local endpoints commonly do not require one, while hosted providers and company gateways usually do.

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Add models

Under Models:
  1. Enter the Model ID expected by the provider.
  2. Optionally enter a friendlier display Label.
  3. Click Add.
  4. Enable the model using its checkbox.
  5. Toggle the custom provider on.
Model IDs must match the provider exactly, including punctuation, versions, or tags. For example, Ollama may require llama3.1:8b, not only llama3.1. You can add multiple model IDs to one endpoint and configure multiple custom endpoints.

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Test the connection

After setting the Base URL and enabling the provider, click Test connection (the bolt icon).
  • Connection successful means Bruno can reach the endpoint and use its configuration.
  • If the test fails, review the error and check the endpoint, authentication, and model configuration.

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Edit or remove an endpoint

Expand the endpoint to:
  • Change its Name or Base URL
  • Add, replace, or remove its API key
  • Add, rename, disable, or remove models
  • Select Remove endpoint to delete the endpoint from Bruno

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Local provider examples

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Ollama

  1. Install and start Ollama.
  2. Pull a model:
  1. Confirm the OpenAI-compatible API is running:
  1. In Bruno, use:
    • Base URL: http://localhost:11434/v1
    • API Key: leave empty
    • Model ID: the exact name shown by ollama list

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LM Studio

  1. Download and load a model in LM Studio.
  2. Open Developer (called Local Server in some versions).
  3. Start the local server.
  4. Confirm the API is running:
  1. In Bruno, use:
    • Base URL: http://localhost:1234/v1
    • API Key: leave empty unless authentication is enabled
    • Model ID: the identifier shown by LM Studio
Bruno cannot connect to a local endpoint unless its server is running. Starting or loading a model in the provider application may be a separate step from starting its API server.

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Troubleshooting

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Connection refused

The endpoint is not running, the port is incorrect, or Bruno cannot reach the host. Test the provider’s models endpoint from the same machine before testing it in Bruno.

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404 Not Found

Check the Base URL. Many compatible providers require an API prefix such as /v1.

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Unauthorized or forbidden

Confirm that the endpoint requires an API key and that the key has the necessary permissions. Replace the saved key if it has expired or been revoked.

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Model not found

Copy the model ID exactly from the provider. Include required tags or versions.

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Models do not appear in Bruno

Make sure:
  1. The endpoint has a Base URL.
  2. The custom provider is enabled.
  3. At least one model has been added and selected.
  4. The main AI Features toggle is enabled.

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Security considerations

A custom endpoint receives the AI context that Bruno sends to it. Review the endpoint owner’s data-handling policy before connecting a hosted provider. Bruno’s AI security protections redact sensitive headers, body fields, response values, and secret variables by default. Review them under Preferences → AI → Security.

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Next steps