The Vercel AI Gateway provides a unified API to access hundreds of models through a single endpoint.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Provider | vercel-ai-gateway |
| Auth | AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY |
| API | Anthropic Messages compatible |
| Model catalog | Auto-discovered via /v1/models |
Genesis auto-discovers the Gateway `/v1/models` catalog, so
`/models vercel-ai-gateway` includes current model refs such as
`vercel-ai-gateway/openai/gpt-5.5` and
`vercel-ai-gateway/moonshotai/kimi-k2.6`.
Getting started
Set the API key
Run onboarding and choose the AI Gateway auth option:
```bash
genesis onboard --auth-choice ai-gateway-api-key
```
Set a default model
Add the model to your Genesis config:
```json5
{
agents: {
defaults: {
model: { primary: "vercel-ai-gateway/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6" },
},
},
}
```
Verify the model is available
```bash
genesis models list --provider vercel-ai-gateway
```
Non-interactive example
For scripted or CI setups, pass all values on the command line:
genesis onboard --non-interactive \
--mode local \
--auth-choice ai-gateway-api-key \
--ai-gateway-api-key "$AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY"
Model ID shorthand
Genesis accepts Vercel Claude shorthand model refs and normalizes them at runtime:
| Shorthand input | Normalized model ref |
|---|---|
vercel-ai-gateway/claude-opus-4.6 |
vercel-ai-gateway/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6 |
vercel-ai-gateway/opus-4.6 |
vercel-ai-gateway/anthropic/claude-opus-4-6 |
You can use either the shorthand or the fully qualified model ref in your
configuration. Genesis resolves the canonical form automatically.
Advanced configuration
Environment variable for daemon processes
If the Genesis Gateway runs as a daemon (launchd/systemd), make sure
`AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY` is available to that process.
<div class="callout warning">
A key set only in `~/.profile` will not be visible to a launchd/systemd
daemon unless that environment is explicitly imported. Set the key in
`~/.genesis/.env` or via `env.shellEnv` to ensure the gateway process can
read it.
</div>
Provider routing
Vercel AI Gateway routes requests to the upstream provider based on the model
ref prefix. For example, `vercel-ai-gateway/anthropic/claude-opus-4.6` routes
through Anthropic, while `vercel-ai-gateway/openai/gpt-5.5` routes through
OpenAI and `vercel-ai-gateway/moonshotai/kimi-k2.6` routes through
MoonshotAI. Your single `AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY` handles authentication for all
upstream providers.
Related
-
Model selection Choosing providers, model refs, and failover behavior.
-
Troubleshooting General troubleshooting and FAQ.