How do I set up AI Eddie with my API key?

Open Preferences with ⌘, and select your AI provider from the tabs at the top — Anthropic, Google, Meta, OpenAI, or Custom. For cloud providers, enter your API key in the inline field that appears; a green dot confirms it is valid. For the Custom option, enter your local server URL and model name instead. AI features become available as soon as your configuration is valid.

Which AI providers does AI Eddie support?

AI Eddie supports Anthropic (Claude models), Google (Gemini models), Meta (Llama models via Together AI), OpenAI (GPT models), and Custom — any OpenAI-compatible local model server such as Ollama or LM Studio running on your Mac. The Custom option requires no API key and keeps all your writing completely on-device.

Where do I get an API key?

API keys are obtained directly from your chosen provider: Anthropic, Google AI Studio, Together AI for Meta Llama, or OpenAI. Each provider has their own pricing.

No API key needed for local models: Download Ollama — free, open-source, and runs entirely on your Mac. After installing, pull a model with ollama pull llama3.2 and point Eddie's Custom provider to http://localhost:11434/v1.

Do my API keys sync across my Macs?

Your API keys are stored in the macOS Keychain. If you have iCloud Keychain enabled, they will sync to your other Macs automatically. If not, you will need to enter them separately on each Mac.

How do I use the Advisory Board?

Open a draft document and show the Advisory panel with ⌘⇧A. Select the advisors you want to evaluate your draft, then click Run. Each advisor will return feedback from their unique perspective. Use the Insights panel (⌘⇧G) to review their responses.

How does the Editor-in-Chief work?

After your advisors have evaluated your draft, the Editor-in-Chief synthesizes their feedback into a single set of edits. Before running it, you can adjust how much weight each advisor's input carries. The result is a revised draft that reflects your priorities.

How do I create a custom advisor?

Open the Advisors panel and click the + button to create a new advisor. Give it a name, define its evaluation focus, and describe what excellent writing looks like from its perspective. You can model it on the included Starter Pack advisors or build from scratch.

Does my Advisor library sync across my Macs?

Yes. Eddie automatically stores your Advisor library in iCloud Drive so it stays in sync across all your Macs. No setup is required — if you are signed into iCloud and iCloud Drive is enabled, Eddie uses it by default.

The first time you run an iCloud-enabled version of Eddie, your existing Advisors are copied to iCloud automatically. After that, any Advisor you create, edit, or delete on one Mac will appear on your other Macs the next time you open the app.

If iCloud is not available — because you are not signed in, or because you have turned off Eddie under System Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → iCloud Drive → Apps syncing to iCloud Drive — Eddie falls back to local storage and your library continues to work normally.

What is the Community Advisors section?

Community Advisors is a free sharing platform built into AI Eddie. Browse advisors created and rated by other Eddie users, import the ones that fit your work, and share your own. A free eddie.media account is required to access Community Advisors.

What other devices will AI Eddie run on?

AI Eddie currently runs on macOS. We plan to bring Eddie to iPad and iPhone in the future.

How do I delete my Community Exchange account?

To delete your eddie.media Community Exchange account and all associated data, email us at support@eddie.media with the subject "Delete my account." We will process your request within 7 days.

Are my documents sent to your servers?

No. Your documents stay on your Mac. AI Eddie never stores or transmits your content to our servers. When you submit a draft for AI feedback using a cloud provider, it is sent directly to that provider and governed by their privacy policy. You control what gets submitted and when.

For complete privacy, use the Custom provider option with a local model such as Ollama. In this configuration, nothing leaves your Mac at all — not even to an AI provider. Read our Privacy Policy.

How do I adjust the editor text size?

Open Settings with ⌘, and scroll to the Accessibility section at the bottom. Use the +/− stepper next to Editor Text Size to choose any size from 12pt to 28pt. A live preview line shows exactly how your text will look before you commit. The setting applies only to the draft editor — all other text in the app follows the system font size. Your choice is saved automatically and persists across launches.

Does Eddie support the macOS Reduce Motion setting?

Yes. When Reduce Motion is turned on, Eddie replaces all sliding and expanding animations with simple fades — including advisory session expand/collapse, the "Session saved" indicator, category headers in the Community Advisor Exchange, and row-selection animations. To enable it: System Settings → Accessibility → Motion → Reduce motion. The change takes effect immediately with no need to restart Eddie.

Does Eddie support keyboard navigation?

Yes. With Keyboard Navigation enabled in System Settings → Keyboard, all interactive controls are reachable by Tab. Tag filter pills in the Community Advisor Exchange each take a single Tab press and toggle with Space. The star rating control accepts Tab focus and responds to arrow keys (up/right to increment, down/left to decrement) as well as number keys 1–5 to set a rating directly. Focused controls display an accent-color focus ring. To enable keyboard navigation: System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Navigation.

Does Eddie support dark mode?

Yes. Eddie adapts automatically to macOS light and dark appearance — no setting required. All interface colors are system-adaptive, so switching appearance in System Settings → Appearance takes effect immediately. Eddie does not override or lock the system appearance.

Does Eddie work with VoiceOver?

Yes. Eddie provides structural VoiceOver support throughout the app.

In the Community Advisor Exchange, advisor rows announce the author and community rating as a single combined label. Category headers announce their expanded or collapsed state and respond to VO+Space to toggle. The star rating control is fully adjustable: navigate to it, then press VO+Up Arrow to increment and VO+Down Arrow to decrement — each step is announced. You can also Tab to the stars and use arrow keys or number keys 1–5.

Within advisory session cards, the five section headings — Overall Impression, Strengths, Concerns, Suggestions, and Questions — are exposed as navigable headings. Open the VoiceOver Item Chooser with VO+U, arrow to Headings, and jump between sections across all advisor cards.

To enable VoiceOver: press ⌘F5, or open System Settings → Accessibility → VoiceOver → Enable VoiceOver. VoiceOver modifier = Ctrl+Option (VO).

Does Eddie support Voice Control?

Yes. All buttons and interactive controls in Eddie have accessibility labels that Voice Control recognises. You can say "click [label]" to activate any control — for example: "click Run Advisory Session", "click Invoke Editor-in-Chief", "click Refresh Advisors", or "click Increase Editor Text Size".

If a control name isn't obvious, say "show numbers" — Voice Control overlays a number on every interactive element and you can say "click 3" (or the relevant number) to activate it.

Note: when a text field has keyboard focus, Voice Control is in dictation mode and will type what you say. Click or Tab away from the text field first to issue navigation commands.

To enable Voice Control: System Settings → Accessibility → Voice Control → Enable Voice Control.