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

# Use Meliai with the Vercel AI SDK for Next.js Apps

> Integrate Meliai into Next.js and other Vercel applications using the AI SDK's OpenAI provider with a custom baseURL pointing to the Meliai API.

The Vercel AI SDK's OpenAI provider supports a custom `baseURL`, so you can route all inference through Meliai without changing your application logic. Create a single provider instance pointed at `https://api.meliai.ai/v1`, then use it anywhere you would normally reference an OpenAI model — streaming route handlers, server actions, `generateText`, `generateObject`, and more.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Install the AI SDK">
    Add the core AI SDK package and the OpenAI provider to your project.

    ```bash theme={null}
    npm install ai @ai-sdk/openai
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a Meliai provider">
    Use `createOpenAI` from `@ai-sdk/openai` to build a reusable provider configured for Meliai. Export it from a shared module so you can import it across your app.

    ```typescript theme={null}
    import { createOpenAI } from "@ai-sdk/openai";

    const meliai = createOpenAI({
      apiKey: process.env.MELIAI_API_KEY,
      baseURL: "https://api.meliai.ai/v1",
    });
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Use in a Next.js Route Handler">
    Pass the Meliai provider and a model ID to `streamText` inside an App Router route handler. The response is a standard streaming data stream compatible with the `useChat` and `useCompletion` hooks on the client.

    ```typescript theme={null}
    import { streamText } from "ai";
    import { createOpenAI } from "@ai-sdk/openai";

    const meliai = createOpenAI({
      apiKey: process.env.MELIAI_API_KEY!,
      baseURL: "https://api.meliai.ai/v1",
    });

    export async function POST(req: Request) {
      const { messages } = await req.json();

      const result = streamText({
        model: meliai("<MODEL_ID>"),
        messages,
      });

      return result.toDataStreamResponse();
    }
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add your environment variable">
    Add your Meliai API key to your local environment file so Next.js can read it at runtime.

    ```bash theme={null}
    MELIAI_API_KEY=sk-mel-...
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Add `MELIAI_API_KEY` to your Vercel project's environment variables before deploying. Go to **Project Settings → Environment Variables** in the Vercel dashboard and add the key for your production, preview, and development environments.
</Note>

<Tip>
  Append a routing suffix to the model ID for provider selection — for example, `meliai("<MODEL_ID>:eco")` routes to the lowest-carbon available provider, and `meliai("<MODEL_ID>:speed")` prioritises the fastest response.
</Tip>