Setting Up AI Providers

Before you can use WhoDB's AI Chat Assistant, you need to configure at least one AI provider. This guide walks you through setting up each supported provider and choosing the right model for your needs.

Accessing the AI Configuration

Navigate to the Chat page in WhoDB to access AI provider settings:

The provider configuration is located at the top of the Chat interface with two dropdowns:

1. AI Provider: Select your provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Ollama, LM Studio, etc.)
2. AI Model: Choose the specific model to use

Choosing Your AI Provider

Different providers offer different trade-offs between accuracy, speed, cost, and privacy:

Setting Up OpenAI

OpenAI provides GPT models that offer excellent SQL generation capabilities with fast response times.

Prerequisites

Before configuring OpenAI:

1. Create an OpenAI account at https://platform.openai.com/
2. Add payment method to your account
3. Generate an API key from https://platform.openai.com/api-keys

Configuration Steps

Cost Considerations

OpenAI charges based on tokens used. Costs vary by model, schema size, and conversation length. See OpenAI's pricing page for current rates and monitor usage in your OpenAI dashboard.

Setting Up Anthropic (Claude)

Anthropic's Claude models excel at complex reasoning and handle large database schemas exceptionally well.

Prerequisites

1. Create an Anthropic account at https://console.anthropic.com/
2. Add payment method
3. Generate an API key from the console

Configuration Steps

When to Use Claude

Claude excels in these scenarios:

• Large Schemas: Handles databases with hundreds of tables
• Complex Joins: Better at understanding multi-table relationships
• Contextual Queries: Superior at maintaining long conversation contexts
• Ambiguous Requests: Better at asking clarifying questions

Setting Up Google Gemini

Gemini models offer strong SQL generation with competitive pricing.

Prerequisites

1. Create a Google AI Studio account at https://aistudio.google.com/
2. Generate an API key from the AI Studio console

Configuration Steps

Setting Up Ollama (Local Models)

Ollama allows you to run AI models locally on your machine, providing complete privacy with zero API costs.

Prerequisites

Configuring Ollama in WhoDB

Recommended Ollama Models for SQL

Ollama Performance Optimization

Ollama Privacy Benefits

Setting Up LM Studio (Local Models)

LM Studio is another local option with a desktop app for downloading and managing models.

Advanced Configuration

Multiple Providers

You can configure multiple AI providers and switch between them:

Removing Providers

Built-In Providers via Environment Variables

You can preconfigure the built-in providers on the server so users don't need to enter API keys in the UI:

Custom Providers via Environment Variables

You can connect any OpenAI-compatible AI provider (LM Studio, OpenRouter, vLLM, etc.) using WHODB_AI_GENERIC_<ID>_* environment variables. This is useful for Docker deployments, self-hosted models, or providers not built into the UI.

Each provider needs a unique <ID> (e.g., LMSTUDIO, OPENROUTER) and up to six variables:

export WHODB_AI_GENERIC_LMSTUDIO_NAME="LM Studio"
export WHODB_AI_GENERIC_LMSTUDIO_BASE_URL="http://localhost:1234/v1"
export WHODB_AI_GENERIC_LMSTUDIO_MODELS="mistral-7b,llama-3-8b"

Provider Comparison

Choose the right provider for your needs:

Troubleshooting

Security Best Practices

Next Steps