Two ways to run iBacalao
Which one is right for you
iBacalao's feedback is produced by a large language model. You can let us run it for you, or you can bring your own key from a model provider and run it yourself. Both work. They ask very different things of you.
The easy way — recommended
Let iBacalao run it
Sign in and upload a draft. That is the whole setup. Nothing to configure, nothing to keep working, nothing that stops working next term.
- A model specialised for Diploma Programme assessment. Maintained examiner prompts, subject logic, and the assessment criteria kept current. A raw provider key gives you a general-purpose model with none of that.
- No per-minute ceiling. Free provider tiers cap you at a handful of requests per minute — that is when Live Examiner gets throttled. Your plan's review count is generous and monthly, not a request-per-minute wall you can hit mid-draft.
- Nothing breaks when a model is retired. Providers deprecate models every few weeks. We track that; on your own key it lands on you.
- Includes what a personal key cannot do. AI-detection and originality checks run through services no model key can reach.
- Cheaper than a paid provider key at real volume — and far cheaper in the time you would otherwise spend maintaining one. It is not cheaper than a free tier, which costs nothing; it is a different trade.
The other way
Bring your own key
You create an account with a model provider, generate an API key, and paste it into iBacalao. iBacalao then costs you nothing — you are dealing with the provider directly instead. It is a genuine free path and it works. It also makes the provider account your responsibility. Read the rest of this page before you start; the setup is the short part.
What you are taking on
- Creating and holding an account with a model provider, separate from your iBacalao account.
- Keeping the key somewhere safe, and re-issuing it if you lose it or it leaks.
- Choosing a model, and choosing a new one when your provider retires the one you picked.
- Living inside that provider's rate limits, which are per minute and per day.
- Watching your own balance if you use a paid provider.
- Working out, when something fails, whether the problem is your key, your quota, your model id, or the provider being down.
None of this is hard. It is simply yours now rather than ours.
Which provider to pick
- Free, no card: Google AI Studio and OpenRouter issue a key without any payment details. Start here. Both limit how many requests you can make per minute and per day — enough for normal drafting, not for hammering it.
- Paid, better feedback: Anthropic and OpenAI need a $5 minimum top-up before the key will work at all. A brand-new account with no credit will fail on the first request.
You set the spending limit in your provider account. iBacalao cannot charge your provider account for anything you did not ask for. For current rates, check your provider's own pricing page — we do not quote their prices here because they change.
Limits on a free key
Free tiers are capped by how often you ask, not by how much you spend. Draft reviews fit comfortably. Live Examiner, which asks for a tip while you type, does not fit as well — on a free key it waits about 18 seconds between tips instead of 3, so it stays inside your provider's per-minute limit rather than locking you out of it.
Provider limits change without notice, and the numbers above are theirs, not ours.
Get your key
Google AI Studio (Gemini)
Recommended — free, no card- Go to Google AI Studio and sign in with a Google account.
- Open "Get API key".
- Create an API key in a new project.
- Copy it. It starts with AIza.
- Paste it into iBacalao and press Test key.
Anthropic (Claude)
Best feedback quality — $5 minimum top-up- Create an account at the Anthropic Console.
- Add $5 of credit under Billing. Nothing works before this — a new account has no credit.
- Open API keys → Create key.
- Copy it immediately. It starts with sk-ant- and is shown once.
- Paste it into iBacalao and press Test key.
OpenAI
$5 minimum top-up- Create an account at platform.openai.com.
- Add credit under Billing.
- Open API keys → Create new secret key.
- Copy it immediately. It starts with sk- and is shown once.
- Paste it into iBacalao and press Test key.
OpenRouter
Free models — no card- Create an account at openrouter.ai.
- Open Keys → Create key. No payment details are needed for the free models.
- Copy it. It starts with sk-or-v1-.
- In iBacalao, pick one of the suggested free models — OpenRouter has no single default, so it needs to be chosen.
- Paste your key into iBacalao and press Test key.
Copy the key the moment it appears. Most providers show it once and will not show it again. If you lose it, delete it and make a new one — that is normal and free.
Where does my key go?
- Your key is stored in your own browser, on this device.
- When you ask for feedback, your key is sent with that request through iBacalao's server to your provider, and used only for that one request.
- iBacalao does not save your key to a database, a log, or an error report.
- Anyone with access to your unlocked browser profile could read the key. Use “this tab only” on a shared or school computer.
- Your drafts go to the provider you chose. Their privacy terms apply to that text, not ours — read them if this matters to you.
Troubleshooting
Invalid key
Typo, wrong provider selected, or the key was deleted.
Re-copy the key with no spaces; confirm the provider picker matches where the key came from.
No credit
The provider account has no balance.
Add credit (Anthropic and OpenAI need a top-up before the first call), or switch to Gemini's free tier.
Rate limited
Too many requests too fast, or the free-tier daily limit is used up.
Wait, then retry. On Gemini's free tier, the limit resets daily.
Model not found
The model id in advanced settings does not exist on that provider.
Clear the model field to fall back to the default.
Provider down
The provider is having an outage.
Not your key. Try later, or switch providers.
- Do I need to keep the tab open? No.
- Can I use the same key on my phone and laptop? Yes, paste it on both.
- How do I stop using my key? Forget key — your account and history are untouched.
Safety rules
- Never paste your key into a chat, a screenshot, a homework doc, or a friend's laptop.
- Set a spending limit in your provider console — every provider has one.
- If you think it leaked, delete the key in the console. That instantly kills it.
- One key per person. A shared class key means one student's mistake bills everyone.
Still stuck?
Write to support@ibacalao.com and say which provider you tried and what the error said. Never include the key itself — we do not need it, and we will ask you to delete and replace any key you send us.
Read all that and would rather not? That is the normal reaction. The plans do every part of it for you, with a model specialised for Diploma Programme assessment and the checks a personal key cannot reach.
See plans →