AI-API: Self-Hosted Bifrost Gateway

A unified AI gateway that consolidates multiple AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, and Vertex) behind a single API endpoint with centralized authentication and governance.

Overview

As AI capabilities became central to my HomeStack projects, managing multiple API keys and provider-specific request formats became unwieldy. AI-API solves this by exposing a single OpenAI-compatible interface, backed by a Bifrost config that maps providers and virtual keys in one place.

Key Features

Provider Unification

• Multi-Provider Support: OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, and others
• Standardized Interface: Single OpenAI-compatible API for all providers

Technical Architecture

Bifrost Integration

{
  "providers": {
    "openai": {
      "keys": [{ "name": "openai-primary", "value": "env.OPENAI_API_KEY" }]
    },
    "anthropic": {
      "keys": [{ "name": "anthropic-primary", "value": "env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" }]
    },
    "gemini": {
      "keys": [{ "name": "gemini-primary", "value": "env.GEMINI_API_KEY" }]
    }
  },
  "governance": {
    "virtual_keys": [{ "name": "master", "value": "env.AI_API_MK" }]
  }
}

Integration Benefits

Simplified Client Code

Instead of managing multiple SDKs and authentication methods:

// Before: Multiple provider implementations
const openai = new OpenAI({ apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_KEY });
const anthropic = new Anthropic({ apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_KEY });

// After: Single unified interface
const ai = new OpenAI({
  apiKey: process.env.AI_API_MK,
  baseURL: "https://www.nickhedberg.com/ai-api/v1",
});