> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kawax.biz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Creating a Custom Provider for AI SDK

> Understand the Laravel AI SDK source code and implement custom providers for AI services not supported out of the box.

## When you need a custom provider

Laravel AI SDK supports the major AI services out of the box — OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, and Mistral. However, the standard providers cannot handle cases like:

* An emerging AI service that is not yet officially supported
* An internal model gateway or billing management layer you want to route requests through
* An on-premises inference server that uses a proprietary protocol or authentication method

In these cases, implement a custom provider and register it with the SDK's `AiManager` to use it through the same API as the standard providers.

<Info>
  **Use the built-in driver for OpenAI-compatible APIs**

  As of SDK 0.9, the `openai-compatible` driver is included out of the box. For an internal OpenAI-compatible inference server, such as Ollama's OpenAI-compatible endpoint, you only need to add its configuration to `config/ai.php`. You do not need to implement a custom provider.

  ```php theme={null}
  'my-server' => [
      'driver' => 'openai-compatible',
      'key'    => env('MY_SERVER_API_KEY'),
      'url'    => env('MY_SERVER_URL', 'http://localhost:8080/v1'),
      'models' => [
          'text' => ['default' => 'llama3.3-70b'],
      ],
  ],
  ```
</Info>

## Architecture overview

### Two-layer structure

The Laravel AI SDK consists of two layers: providers and gateways.

| Layer        | Role                                                                      | Examples                                      |
| ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| **Provider** | Application-side interface. Resolves model names and holds configuration. | `OpenAiProvider`, `AnthropicProvider`         |
| **Gateway**  | Sends the actual API request for a single step.                           | `AnthropicGateway`, `OpenAiCompatibleGateway` |

All providers extend the abstract class `Laravel\Ai\Providers\Provider` and implement feature-specific contracts (interfaces). For multi-step flows that include tool calls, `TextGenerationLoop` repeatedly invokes the gateway.

### Available contracts

Implement only the contracts for the features you want to provide.

| Contract                | Namespace                                              | Feature                     |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------- |
| `TextProvider`          | `Laravel\Ai\Contracts\Providers\TextProvider`          | Text generation and agents  |
| `EmbeddingProvider`     | `Laravel\Ai\Contracts\Providers\EmbeddingProvider`     | Vector embedding generation |
| `ImageProvider`         | `Laravel\Ai\Contracts\Providers\ImageProvider`         | Image generation            |
| `AudioProvider`         | `Laravel\Ai\Contracts\Providers\AudioProvider`         | Text-to-speech (TTS)        |
| `TranscriptionProvider` | `Laravel\Ai\Contracts\Providers\TranscriptionProvider` | Speech-to-text (STT)        |

<Info>
  In most cases, implementing `TextProvider` alone is sufficient.
</Info>

## The TextProvider contract

The interface that text generation providers implement (`src/Contracts/Providers/TextProvider.php`).

```php theme={null}
interface TextProvider extends Provider
{
    public function prompt(AgentPrompt $prompt): AgentResponse;
    public function stream(AgentPrompt $prompt): StreamableAgentResponse;
    public function useTextGateway(StepTextGateway $gateway): self;
    public function textGenerationLoop(): TextGenerationLoop;
    public function defaultTextModel(): string;
    public function cheapestTextModel(): string;
    public function smartestTextModel(): string;
}
```

The `prompt()` and `stream()` implementations can be delegated to existing traits (`GeneratesText`, `StreamsText`), so you only need to implement four methods: the three model name methods and `textGateway()`. `TextGenerationLoop` manages the multi-step tool loop, so the gateway only processes a single request step.

## Implementation example: custom provider

This example registers an inference service with a proprietary API as a provider named `my-inference`.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create the provider class">
    Create `app/Ai/Providers/MyInferenceProvider.php`.

    ```php theme={null}
    <?php

    declare(strict_types=1);

    namespace App\Ai\Providers;

    use Illuminate\Contracts\Events\Dispatcher;
    use Laravel\Ai\Contracts\Gateway\StepTextGateway;
    use Laravel\Ai\Contracts\Providers\TextProvider;
    use Laravel\Ai\Providers\Concerns\GeneratesText;
    use Laravel\Ai\Providers\Concerns\HasTextGateway;
    use Laravel\Ai\Providers\Concerns\StreamsText;
    use Laravel\Ai\Providers\Provider;

    class MyInferenceProvider extends Provider implements TextProvider
    {
        use GeneratesText;
        use HasTextGateway;
        use StreamsText;

        public function __construct(protected array $config, protected Dispatcher $events)
        {
            //
        }

        /**
         * Get the credentials for the provider.
         */
        public function providerCredentials(): array
        {
            return ['key' => $this->config['key'] ?? null];
        }

        /**
         * Get the provider's text gateway.
         */
        public function textGateway(): StepTextGateway
        {
            return $this->textGateway ??= new \App\Ai\Gateway\MyInferenceGateway($this->events);
        }

        public function defaultTextModel(): string
        {
            return $this->config['models']['text']['default'] ?? 'my-model-v1';
        }

        public function cheapestTextModel(): string
        {
            return $this->config['models']['text']['cheapest'] ?? 'my-model-v1';
        }

        public function smartestTextModel(): string
        {
            return $this->config['models']['text']['smartest'] ?? 'my-model-v1';
        }
    }
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Register in AppServiceProvider">
    Register the provider in the `boot` method of `App\Providers\AppServiceProvider` using `extend()`.

    ```php theme={null}
    <?php

    namespace App\Providers;

    use App\Ai\Providers\MyInferenceProvider;
    use Illuminate\Contracts\Events\Dispatcher;
    use Illuminate\Support\ServiceProvider;
    use Laravel\Ai\AiManager;

    class AppServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
    {
        public function boot(): void
        {
            $this->app->make(AiManager::class)->extend(
                'my-inference',
                fn (array $config) => new MyInferenceProvider(
                    $config,
                    $this->app->make(Dispatcher::class)
                )
            );
        }
    }
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add the provider to config/ai.php">
    ```php theme={null}
    'providers' => [
        // ...existing providers...

        'my-inference' => [
            'driver' => 'my-inference',
            'key'    => env('MY_INFERENCE_API_KEY'),
            'url'    => env('MY_INFERENCE_URL', 'http://localhost:8080'),
        ],
    ],
    ```

    Add the values to your `.env` file as well.

    ```ini theme={null}
    MY_INFERENCE_API_KEY=your-api-key
    MY_INFERENCE_URL=https://inference.example.internal
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Use it from an agent">
    After registration, specify the provider name in the `provider` argument of `prompt()` to use it just like a standard provider.

    ```php theme={null}
    use App\Ai\Agents\SummaryAgent;

    $response = SummaryAgent::make()->prompt('Summarize this article.', provider: 'my-inference');

    echo $response->text;
    ```

    To use it as the default provider, change the `default` key in `config/ai.php`.

    ```php theme={null}
    'default' => 'my-inference',
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Implementing a custom gateway

Services with a proprietary non-OpenAI-compatible API require a custom gateway that implements the `StepTextGateway` contract.

### The StepTextGateway contract

The interface is defined in `src/Contracts/Gateway/StepTextGateway.php`. A gateway processes **one step** of a conversation and returns a `StepResponse`. The calling `TextGenerationLoop` manages the tool call loop.

```php theme={null}
interface StepTextGateway
{
    public function generateTextStep(
        TextProvider $provider,
        string $model,
        ?string $instructions,
        array $messages,
        array $tools,
        ?array $schema,
        ?TextGenerationOptions $options,
        ?int $timeout,
        StepContext $stepContext,
    ): StepResponse;

    public function generateStreamStep(
        string $invocationId,
        TextProvider $provider,
        string $model,
        ?string $instructions,
        array $messages,
        array $tools,
        ?array $schema,
        ?TextGenerationOptions $options,
        ?int $timeout,
        StepContext $stepContext,
    ): Generator;
}
```

<Warning>
  The pre-0.9 `TextGateway` contract and its `generateText()`, `stream()`, and `onToolInvocation()` methods were removed in 0.9. If you have a custom gateway, migrate it to `StepTextGateway`. Tool call handling from `onToolInvocation()` now lives in `TextGenerationLoop`.
</Warning>

### Custom gateway implementation example

A skeleton of a simple gateway that sends HTTP requests to a proprietary inference API.

```php theme={null}
<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

namespace App\Ai\Gateway;

use Generator;
use Illuminate\Contracts\Events\Dispatcher;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Http;
use Laravel\Ai\Contracts\Gateway\StepTextGateway;
use Laravel\Ai\Contracts\Providers\TextProvider;
use Laravel\Ai\Gateway\StepContext;
use Laravel\Ai\Gateway\StepResponse;
use Laravel\Ai\Gateway\TextGenerationOptions;
use Laravel\Ai\Responses\Data\FinishReason;
use Laravel\Ai\Responses\Data\Meta;
use Laravel\Ai\Responses\Data\Usage;

class MyInferenceGateway implements StepTextGateway
{
    public function __construct(protected Dispatcher $events) {}

    public function generateTextStep(
        TextProvider $provider,
        string $model,
        ?string $instructions,
        array $messages,
        array $tools,
        ?array $schema,
        ?TextGenerationOptions $options,
        ?int $timeout,
        StepContext $stepContext,
    ): StepResponse {
        $credentials = $provider->providerCredentials();
        $config      = $provider->additionalConfiguration();

        $response = Http::withToken($credentials['key'])
            ->baseUrl($config['url'])
            ->timeout($timeout ?? 30)
            ->post('/generate', [
                'model'        => $model,
                'instructions' => $instructions,
                'messages'     => $this->formatMessages($messages),
            ]);

        $data = $response->json();

        return new StepResponse(
            text: $data['output']['text'] ?? '',
            toolCalls: [],
            finishReason: FinishReason::Stop,
            usage: new Usage(
                promptTokens: $data['usage']['input_tokens'] ?? 0,
                completionTokens: $data['usage']['output_tokens'] ?? 0,
            ),
            meta: new Meta(
                provider: $provider->name(),
                model: $model,
            ),
        );
    }

    public function generateStreamStep(
        string $invocationId,
        TextProvider $provider,
        string $model,
        ?string $instructions,
        array $messages,
        array $tools,
        ?array $schema,
        ?TextGenerationOptions $options,
        ?int $timeout,
        StepContext $stepContext,
    ): Generator {
        // Streaming implementation (omitted)
        yield from [];

        return null;
    }

    protected function formatMessages(array $messages): array
    {
        return array_map(fn ($message) => [
            'role'    => $message->role->value,
            'content' => $message->content,
        ], $messages);
    }
}
```

<Info>
  To support tool calls (function calling), include the tool call results in `toolCalls` from `generateTextStep()` and set `finishReason` to `FinishReason::ToolCalls`. `TextGenerationLoop` automatically executes the tools and advances to the next step. Refer to `AnthropicGateway.php` for an implementation example.
</Info>

## Testing

### Using Agent::fake()

To test agents that use your custom provider, call the `fake` method on the agent class. Regardless of whether a custom provider is in use, the fake gateway is set on the provider.

```php theme={null}
<?php

namespace Tests\Feature;

use App\Ai\Agents\SummaryAgent;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Testing\RefreshDatabase;
use Tests\TestCase;

class SummaryAgentTest extends TestCase
{
    use RefreshDatabase;

    public function test_summary_agent_returns_text(): void
    {
        SummaryAgent::fake(['This is a summary.']);

        $response = SummaryAgent::make()->prompt('Long article text...', provider: 'my-inference');

        $this->assertEquals('This is a summary.', $response->text);

        SummaryAgent::assertPrompted('Long article text...');
    }
}
```

<Info>
  As of 0.9, responses from `Agent::fake()` pass through the same `TextGenerationLoop` as real providers. If you configure a fake tool call for an agent that has not registered that tool, the SDK throws a `NoSuchToolException`.
</Info>

### Mock provider using extend()

You can also use `extend()` to register a test provider from the container.

```php theme={null}
public function test_with_mock_provider(): void
{
    $this->app->make(AiManager::class)->extend(
        'my-inference',
        function (array $config) {
            $events = $this->app->make(\Illuminate\Contracts\Events\Dispatcher::class);

            return new MyInferenceProvider($config, $events);
        }
    );

    // Test code
}
```

## Reference links

<Card title="OllamaProvider.php — simple provider implementation example" icon="github" href="https://github.com/laravel/ai/blob/0.x/src/Providers/OllamaProvider.php">
  A minimal provider that connects to a local model server. A good starting point for custom provider implementations.
</Card>

<Card title="AnthropicGateway.php — gateway implementation example" icon="github" href="https://github.com/laravel/ai/blob/0.x/src/Gateway/Anthropic/AnthropicGateway.php">
  A gateway implementation of `StepTextGateway`, including `generateTextStep()` and `generateStreamStep()`.
</Card>

<Card title="StepTextGateway Contract" icon="github" href="https://github.com/laravel/ai/blob/0.x/src/Contracts/Gateway/StepTextGateway.php">
  The interface definition that text generation gateways must implement.
</Card>

<Card title="TextProvider Contract" icon="github" href="https://github.com/laravel/ai/blob/0.x/src/Contracts/Providers/TextProvider.php">
  The interface definition that text generation providers must implement.
</Card>


## Related topics

- [Service providers](/en/service-providers.md)
- [Laravel Socialite (Social Authentication)](/en/socialite.md)
- [Creating a Custom Agent for Boost](/en/advanced/boost-custom-agent.md)
- [Custom providers](/en/packages/laravel-copilot-sdk/custom-providers.md)
- [Laravel AI SDK](/en/ai-sdk.md)