AI Providers
Provider Overview
| Provider | Cost | API Key | Local | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distill Cloud | 1 credit/file (100 free) | No | No | Default. 100 credits free, then from €1.99 for 100 filenames |
| Claude | Billed at Anthropic | Yes | No | Anthropic's Claude models, high analysis quality — no Distill credits |
| OpenAI | Billed at OpenAI | Yes | No | GPT-4o and other models — no Distill credits |
| Gemini | Billed at Google | Yes | No | Google's Gemini models — no Distill credits |
| Ollama | Free | No | Yes | Local LLMs (Llama, Mistral, etc.) — fully offline |
Pricing & Credits
Distill Cloud is the default provider. On first launch you get 100 credits free — 1 credit = 1 AI-generated filename. You can top up at any time:
- €1.99 — 100 credits
- €4.99 — 400 credits
- €8.99 — 1,000 credits
No subscription, no sign-up. If you provide your own API key from Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google, no Distill credits are spent — you are billed directly at the AI provider. Ollama is always completely free.
Payment channel: the App Store edition uses Apple In-App Purchases (StoreKit2). The DMG edition opens a Stripe checkout page in the browser; the balance updates automatically once the purchase completes. Promo codes can only be redeemed in the DMG edition (Settings → AI → “Redeem code”).
You can check the current balance any time:
- In the status bar via a sparkles icon with counter (orange when under 5 credits)
- Under Settings → AI with “Buy more” and “Redeem code” buttons
- When the balance hits zero, a banner with a direct buy button appears in the drop zone
Setup
Open Settings → AI. Select the desired provider from the list. For your own cloud keys, enter the API key — keys are stored securely in the macOS Keychain.
For Ollama, Ollama must be installed locally with a loaded model. Configure the endpoint (default: http://localhost:11434) and the desired model.
Distill Cloud requires no configuration — credits are debited automatically.
Switching Providers
You can switch providers at any time. API keys remain in the Keychain, so switching does not require re-entering them. The provider can also be switched programmatically via the REST API.