AI Configuration

Configure Cadence to use OpenAI or Anthropic for enhanced commit analysis.

Environment Variables

Configure AI using environment variables:

Bash

# Enable AI analysis
export CADENCE_AI_ENABLED=true

# Set provider ("openai" or "anthropic")
export CADENCE_AI_PROVIDER=openai

# API key (required)
export CADENCE_AI_KEY=sk-proj-your-api-key-here

# Model to use (optional, defaults to provider default)
# OpenAI default: gpt-4o-mini
# Anthropic default: claude-sonnet-4-20250514
export CADENCE_AI_MODEL=gpt-4-turbo

Configuration File

In your .cadence.yaml:

YAML

ai:
  enabled: true
  provider: "openai"            # or "anthropic"
  api_key: ""                   # Or use CADENCE_AI_KEY env var
  model: ""                     # Leave empty for provider default

Security Best Practices

Never commit API keys to version control!

Using Environment Variables

Bash

# Set temporarily for single command
CADENCE_AI_KEY=sk-proj-... cadence analyze ./repo -o report.txt

# Set for session
export CADENCE_AI_KEY=sk-proj-...
cadence analyze ./repo1 -o report1.txt
cadence analyze ./repo2 -o report2.txt

Using .env File

Create .env file (add to .gitignore):

CADENCE_AI_ENABLED=true
CADENCE_AI_PROVIDER=openai
CADENCE_AI_KEY=sk-proj-your-key
CADENCE_AI_MODEL=gpt-4-turbo

Load before running:

Bash

# Linux/macOS
source .env
cadence analyze ./repo -o report.txt

# Windows (PowerShell)
Get-Content .env | ForEach-Object {
  if ($_ -match '^\s*$|^\s*#') { return }
  $key, $value = $_ -split '=', 2
  [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable($key, $value)
}
cadence analyze ./repo -o report.txt

Add to .gitignore

.env
.env.local
.env.*.local
*.key

In CI/CD

Use secrets management:

GitHub Actions:

YAML

env:
  CADENCE_AI_KEY: ${{ secrets.CADENCE_AI_KEY }}

GitLab CI:

YAML

variables:
  CADENCE_AI_KEY: $CADENCE_AI_KEY  # Set in CI/CD Variables

Model Selection

OpenAI Models

Default: gpt-4o-mini

Bash

export CADENCE_AI_PROVIDER=openai
export CADENCE_AI_KEY=sk-proj-...
# Model defaults to gpt-4o-mini

High Accuracy: gpt-4

Bash

export CADENCE_AI_MODEL=gpt-4

Balanced: gpt-4-turbo

Bash

export CADENCE_AI_MODEL=gpt-4-turbo

Anthropic Models

Default: claude-sonnet-4-20250514

Bash

export CADENCE_AI_PROVIDER=anthropic
export CADENCE_AI_KEY=sk-ant-...
# Model defaults to claude-sonnet-4-20250514

Fast: claude-haiku

Bash

export CADENCE_AI_MODEL=claude-haiku

Disabling AI

To run without AI analysis:

Bash

# Don't set CADENCE_AI_ENABLED or set to false
export CADENCE_AI_ENABLED=false
cadence analyze ./repo -o report.txt

# Or simply omit the environment variables
cadence analyze ./repo -o report.txt

Verifying Configuration

Check if AI is properly configured:

Bash

# Run analysis — if AI config is invalid, you'll see errors
cadence analyze ./test-repo -o test-report.txt --config .cadence.yaml

# Verify the key is set
echo $CADENCE_AI_KEY

Common Configuration Issues

"API key is required"

Verify CADENCE_AI_KEY is set: echo $CADENCE_AI_KEY
Check for accidental whitespace
Ensure you're in the correct shell session

"Invalid API key"

Verify key format: OpenAI keys start with sk-proj-, Anthropic keys start with sk-ant-
Check the key hasn't been revoked in your provider dashboard
Try creating a new key

"Unknown model"

Check model name spelling
Verify the model is available for your provider and API tier
Use the provider default by leaving model empty

"Unknown provider"

Supported providers: openai, anthropic
Check spelling in config or CADENCE_AI_PROVIDER env var

"Rate limit exceeded"

Wait before retrying
Check your account rate limits with the provider
Consider batching requests or upgrading your API tier

Advanced Configuration

Custom API Base URL

For proxy or custom endpoints:

Bash

export OPENAI_API_BASE=https://your-proxy.com/v1
export CADENCE_AI_KEY=sk-proj-...

Request Timeout

Bash

# Increase timeout for slow networks (seconds)
export CADENCE_AI_TIMEOUT=60

Cost Optimization

Use cheaper models for initial scans

Bash

# OpenAI
export CADENCE_AI_PROVIDER=openai
export CADENCE_AI_MODEL=gpt-4o-mini
cadence analyze ./repo -o report.txt

# Anthropic
export CADENCE_AI_PROVIDER=anthropic
export CADENCE_AI_MODEL=claude-haiku
cadence analyze ./repo -o report.txt

Reserve expensive models for critical analysis

Bash

export CADENCE_AI_MODEL=gpt-4        # or claude-sonnet-4-20250514
cadence analyze ./critical-section -o critical-report.txt