# Self-hosted providers and model routing

This page applies to a gateway you operate. Hosted Gideon manages models, providers, speech, routing, and platform credentials for you.

## Install and test a provider
Open Apps, install the relevant provider, then use **Settings → Providers** for its endpoint and credentials. Test connectivity. A successful test establishes that connection, not every model use case.

## Bind model use cases
Open **Settings → Models** and bind chat, background work, embeddings, ingestion, speech, and other use cases as needed. Different use cases can use different providers. Do not assume a chat binding also configures semantic retrieval or transcription.

Where local model managers are available, inspect download status, loaded models, and resource requirements before selecting a model. A model listed in a catalog may still need downloading or loading.

## Routing and efficiency
Use **Routing & Efficiency** to inspect the routing choices and proposals the installation supports. Review order and conditions before changing them. A proposed routing optimization should be evaluated on representative work rather than accepted as a guaranteed cost or quality improvement.

## Secrets
Use **Settings → Secrets** and the credential controls to store keys. Secret presence is shown without revealing the stored value. The Security panel can move supported credentials to an OS keychain; if no usable secret service exists the runtime reports its fallback rather than pretending the move succeeded.

## Diagnose
Use **Doctor** for missing dependencies and binding problems. **Diagnostics** provides a live log tail and log-level control. Record the specific error and redact credentials before sharing logs.