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Genkit supports multiple AI model providers, giving you flexibility to choose the best models for your use case. Each provider offers different models, features, and pricing.

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Supported Providers

Genkit includes official support for the following model providers:

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Google AI Providers

  • Google AI (Gemini Developer API) - Quick access to Gemini models with API key authentication. Ideal for prototyping and smaller projects.
  • Vertex AI - Enterprise-grade Google Cloud AI platform with advanced features, IAM integration, and broader model access including Imagen, Lyria, and Model Garden.

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Third-Party Providers

  • Anthropic - Access to Claude models (Haiku, Sonnet, Opus) with advanced reasoning capabilities.
  • OpenAI-Compatible APIs - Support for OpenAI, xAI (Grok), DeepSeek, and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint.
  • Ollama - Run open-source models locally for privacy and offline usage.

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Custom Providers

  • Custom Providers - Build your own model provider plugin to integrate any AI service.

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Provider Comparison

ProviderBest ForAuthenticationKey Features
Google AIRapid prototyping, small projectsAPI KeyGemini models, image/video generation, simple setup
Vertex AIProduction apps, enterpriseGCP IAM / API Key (Express Mode)Model Garden, Vector Search, fine-tuning, governance
AnthropicAdvanced reasoning tasksAPI KeyClaude models, extended thinking, document citations
OpenAIGPT models, wide adoptionAPI KeyGPT-4o, o1, DALL-E, Whisper, multi-modal
OllamaLocal development, privacyNone (local)Open-source models, offline, no API costs

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How to Choose a Provider

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For Prototyping

Use Google AI if you want to get started quickly with powerful multimodal models: 
import { genkit } from 'genkit';
import { googleAI } from '@genkit-ai/google-genai';

const ai = genkit({
  plugins: [googleAI()],
});

const { text } = await ai.generate({
  model: googleAI.model('gemini-2.5-flash'),
  prompt: 'Explain quantum computing',
});

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For Production

Use Vertex AI for enterprise applications with advanced features:
  • IAM-based access control
  • Integration with other Google Cloud services
  • Model versioning and governance
  • Access to Model Garden (Anthropic, Meta, and more)
  • Vector Search for RAG applications

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For Advanced Reasoning

Use Anthropic when you need:
  • Extended thinking for complex problem-solving
  • Document citations for factual accuracy
  • Long context windows (200K+ tokens)
  • Prompt caching for efficiency

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For Local Development

Use Ollama when you need:
  • Privacy (data never leaves your machine)
  • Offline capabilities
  • No API costs
  • Experimentation with open-source models

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For OpenAI Compatibility

Use OpenAI-Compatible plugin to connect to:
  • OpenAI (GPT-4o, o1, etc.)
  • xAI (Grok models)
  • DeepSeek
  • Any service with an OpenAI-compatible API

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Installation

Install the provider plugin you need: 
# Google AI
npm install @genkit-ai/google-genai

# Anthropic
npm install @genkit-ai/anthropic

# OpenAI-compatible
npm install @genkit-ai/compat-oai

# Ollama
npm install genkitx-ollama

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Using Multiple Providers

You can configure multiple providers in a single Genkit application: 
import { genkit } from 'genkit';
import { googleAI } from '@genkit-ai/google-genai';
import { anthropic } from '@genkit-ai/anthropic';
import { ollama } from 'genkitx-ollama';

const ai = genkit({
  plugins: [
    googleAI(),
    anthropic({ apiKey: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }),
    ollama({
      models: [{ name: 'llama3' }],
      serverAddress: 'http://localhost:11434',
    }),
  ],
});

// Use different models for different tasks
const summary = await ai.generate({
  model: googleAI.model('gemini-2.5-flash'),
  prompt: 'Summarize this text...',
});

const analysis = await ai.generate({
  model: anthropic.model('claude-sonnet-4-5'),
  prompt: 'Analyze this data...',
});

const local = await ai.generate({
  model: ollama.model('llama3'),
  prompt: 'Generate a response...',
});

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Next Steps

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