Configure providers

Every LLM provider Caramelo talks to is a row in the Providers sidebar. Add as many as you like — they coexist under distinct aliases — and switch the active one by clicking its dot.

Presets

Provider	Type	Endpoint	Auth
Claude	anthropic	https://api.anthropic.com	API key (x-api-key)
OpenAI	openai-compatible	https://api.openai.com/v1	Bearer token
Gemini	openai-compatible	https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/openai	API key
Groq	openai-compatible	https://api.groq.com/openai/v1	Bearer token
Ollama	openai-compatible	http://localhost:11434/v1	none
LM Studio	openai-compatible	http://localhost:1234/v1	none
Copilot	copilot	(via vscode.lm)	GitHub auth

You can also add a custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint — useful for corporate proxies (Azure API Management, Databricks, etc.). Override the auth header name and prefix at the bottom of the Add Provider form.

Capability-driven dispatch

Caramelo doesn't branch on provider type at runtime. Each provider declares a capabilities() set:

Capability	Meaning
streaming	Yields chat output as it arrives. Every provider above supports this.
tool-calling	Drives the agent loop in /start-task, /plan, and /tasks. Available on Claude (always), OpenAI-compatible (with auth), Copilot (after authenticate()).

When the active provider lacks tool-calling, the agent loop falls back to the legacy SEARCH/REPLACE protocol with an explicit notification — no silent drift. You can force the legacy path globally with caramelo.useAgentLoop = false.

Health states

The dot beside each provider:

• gray — inactive.
• amber steady — active, never tested.
• amber pulsing — healthcheck in flight (one-token streaming ping with a 15 s timeout).
• green — active, last ping returned tokens.
• red — active, last ping failed (auth, model not found, network). Hover for the cause.

A green dot means the model exists, your credentials reach it, and the streaming endpoint accepts a request — the same code path a real generation will exercise.

Secrets

API keys are stored in VS Code's SecretStorage, never in settings.json, spec markdown, or .caramelo-meta.json. The redacting logger strips bearer/basic tokens, authorisation headers, and URL-embedded credentials before any log line reaches the OutputChannel — including tool-call arguments and results in the agent loop.

Verbose debug logging is gated behind CARAMELO_DEBUG=1 and disabled by default.

Multiple instances

Add several providers of the same type — each gets a distinct alias. Common patterns:

• Claude (Opus) for /plan, Claude-fast (Haiku) for /start-task.
• OpenAI for hosted, Ollama-local (llama3 family) for offline iteration.
• Corporate-proxy with a custom Authorization prefix for Azure API Management.

Switching the active provider mid-session takes effect on the next phase or task — no reload needed.