Bring Your Own Keys

Set up your LLM key (OpenRouter recommended) and your EPO OPS and USPTO ODP patent-data keys, step by step, with links to each provider.

FlowLeap runs on keys you own. There are two kinds:

1. An LLM key powers the AI. During the 7-day trial you don't need one — free AI models with a daily limit are included (FlowLeap pays for them through OpenRouter). They are small, tested models — fine for trying FlowLeap, below the big frontier models in quality; bring your own key when the work matters. Your own key unlocks your choice of model anytime, and is required after the trial. Your key runs your work and your provider bills you directly; FlowLeap never marks up or meters your usage. Two product features are the exception and run on FlowLeap's own model accounts, at no extra cost to you: document OCR (Mistral) and the analyst narration on FlowLeap's patent-analytics pages (Anthropic); the public home-page Try Agent also runs on a FlowLeap-managed model, separate from the product. That is the whole list — what leaves your machine sets it out feature by feature.
2. Patent-data keys (EPO OPS and USPTO ODP) power patent search and analysis. Your 7-day trial starts on FlowLeap's shared credentials — zero setup, with a daily allowance that covers a normal evaluation. Your own keys are free, take about 5 minutes to get, and remove every limit; add them anytime during the trial, and before it ends to keep the data sources.

This guide walks through getting each key and where to put it.

The whole setup, in four steps

Click through the tour: the three keys you add, then your first research task.

01

Add your AI key

02

Connect the EPO

03

Connect the USPTO

04

Ask your first task

FlowLeap runs on your own AI provider key — Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter. Paste it once; it stays on your machine.

FlowLeap Settings

FlowLeap Settings

AI Model

Chat runs on your own AI provider key (Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter, …).

Add AI Model

EPO OPS (European Patent Office)

USPTO ODP (US Patent Office)

Both patent-office keys are free. During your trial FlowLeap's own server keys cover patent data; on a paid plan the offices are reached with your keys.

Keys stay on this machine in secure storage and are only sent to reach the AI provider or the patent offices.

Trial · 5 days left

Next

LLM keys

Pick one provider. You can add more, or switch, at any time.

OpenRouter (recommended)

One key unlocks every major model, including all open-source models, so you can pick the model that fits each task without juggling accounts.

1. Create an account at openrouter.ai.
2. Add credits under Credits (pay as you go).
3. Create a key at openrouter.ai/settings/keys.
4. Copy the key. It is shown once.

Anthropic

1. Create an account at console.anthropic.com.
2. Add billing under Plans & billing.
3. Create a key at console.anthropic.com/settings/keys.

OpenAI

1. Create an account at platform.openai.com.
2. Add billing under Settings → Billing.
3. Create a key at platform.openai.com/api-keys.

Google Gemini

1. Sign in at aistudio.google.com with a Google account.
2. Create a key at aistudio.google.com/apikey. A free tier is available.

Add the key to FlowLeap

In the app, open the chat and choose Add your AI model, or open Settings and manage AI models from there. Paste the key, pick a default model, and start working. Keys are stored in your machine's secret storage and never leave it except to call your provider.

Patent-data keys

Patent search, citations, claims, and family data come from the EPO and the USPTO. During your trial these start on FlowLeap's shared credentials, so you can begin immediately — the shared keys carry a daily allowance that resets each day and covers a normal evaluation. Getting both of your own keys takes about 5 minutes total and removes every limit. Once added (anytime, trial included), your own keys reach FlowLeap in one of two ways. A client on your machine (the CLI, the VS Code extension, or an MCP client with a header field) can send them with each request; FlowLeap forwards them to the office and does not store them. Or, at your choice, you can store them on the "Patent-data keys" page of your dashboard; FlowLeap keeps them encrypted, never shows them again, and deletes them when you delete them there. Keys are never logged.

EPO OPS (Open Patent Services)

EPO OPS covers European patent data and worldwide bibliographic data. Registration is free and includes a weekly usage quota that comfortably covers individual professional use.

1. Register at developers.epo.org and confirm your email.
2. Sign in and open My apps.
3. Create an app. Accept the OPS terms of use.
4. Copy the app's Consumer key and Consumer secret. You need both.

USPTO ODP (Open Data Portal)

USPTO ODP covers US applications, grants, prosecution history, and citation data. The key is free.

1. Create a MyUSPTO account.
2. Request an API key at data.uspto.gov/apis/getting-started.
3. Copy the key from your profile.

Add the keys to FlowLeap

In the app, open Settings → Patent Data Keys, paste the EPO pair and the USPTO key, and use Test connection to validate them against the live services. A rejected key is reported immediately with the provider named, so you know exactly which one to fix.

Prefer the terminal? The FlowLeap CLI manages the same keys with flowleap keys, or interactively with flowleap setup.

Questions

• Which key do I need first? None, during the trial: it includes free AI models with a daily limit, and patent data runs on FlowLeap's shared credentials with a daily allowance. Your own LLM key unlocks your choice of model (and is required after the trial); your own free patent-data keys lift the allowance whenever you add them.
• What does each key cost? EPO OPS and USPTO ODP are free. LLM usage is billed by your provider at their rates; typical patent research sessions cost cents.
• Are my keys safe? Your LLM key lives in your machine's secret storage. Patent-data keys are either sent per request and not stored, or, at your choice, stored encrypted on the "Patent-data keys" page of your dashboard and deleted when you delete them there. FlowLeap never logs them.
• Does anything run on FlowLeap's models? Three features run on FlowLeap's own AI accounts: document OCR (Mistral), the analyst narration on the patent-analytics pages (Anthropic), and the public home-page Try Agent (DeepSeek through Vercel AI Gateway). In addition, during the 7-day trial and until you add your own key, the desktop app uses trial models through OpenRouter on FlowLeap's account; your prompts go directly from the app to OpenRouter, not through FlowLeap's servers. Everything else runs on your key. What leaves your machine gives the per-feature detail, including retention.