OpenAI Configuration

Set up OpenAI as an alternative AI provider

OpenAI Configuration

Simili Bot v0.2.0 supports OpenAI as a full alternative to Google Gemini for both embeddings and LLM analysis.

Getting started

1. Get API key

1. Go to platform.openai.com
2. Sign in with your OpenAI account
3. Click Create new secret key
4. Copy the generated API key

2. Set up GitHub secret

Store your API key securely:

1. Go to repository Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions
2. Create secret OPENAI_API_KEY
3. Paste your API key

3. Configure Simili Bot

Add to .github/simili.yaml:

embedding:
  provider: "openai"
  api_key: "${OPENAI_API_KEY}"
  model: "text-embedding-3-small"
  dimensions: 1536

llm:
  provider: "openai"
  api_key: "${OPENAI_API_KEY}"
  model: "gpt-5.2"

Configuration reference

Embedding settings

Property	Type	Description	Required
provider	string	Must be "openai"	Yes
api_key	string	OpenAI API key	Yes
model	string	Embedding model	No (default: text-embedding-3-small)
dimensions	number	Must match model output	Yes

LLM settings

Property	Type	Description	Default
provider	string	Must be "openai"	Inherits from embedding
api_key	string	OpenAI API key	Inherits from embedding
model	string	LLM model	gpt-5.2

Available models

Embedding models

Model	Dimensions	Notes
text-embedding-3-small	1536	Default, cost-efficient
text-embedding-3-large	3072	Highest quality
text-embedding-ada-002	1536	Legacy, not recommended

The dimensions value must match the model’s output. Mismatches will cause Qdrant collection errors.

Provider precedence

If both GEMINI_API_KEY and OPENAI_API_KEY are set, Gemini takes priority.

To use only OpenAI:

• Only set OPENAI_API_KEY (do not set GEMINI_API_KEY), or
• Explicitly configure provider: "openai" in your simili.yaml

Mixed providers

You can use different providers for embeddings and LLM:

# Use OpenAI for embeddings, Gemini for LLM
embedding:
  provider: "openai"
  api_key: "${OPENAI_API_KEY}"
  model: "text-embedding-3-large"
  dimensions: 3072

llm:
  provider: "gemini"
  api_key: "${GEMINI_API_KEY}"
  model: "gemini-2.5-flash"

Common issues & solutions

Invalid API key

Error: Error 401: Incorrect API key provided

Solutions:

1. Verify the key is correct from platform.openai.com
2. Ensure no extra whitespace in the secret value
3. Check the key has not been revoked

Rate limited

Error: Error 429: Rate limit reached

Solutions:

1. Reduce worker count during bulk indexing
2. Upgrade your OpenAI tier for higher limits

Dimension mismatch

Error: collection dimension mismatch

Make sure dimensions matches the model:

embedding:
  model: "text-embedding-3-small"
  dimensions: 1536   # Must match!

Next steps

Gemini configuration

Use Gemini instead

Environment variables

Configure API keys

OpenAI integration reference

Technical integration details