AI engines & login
Each project runs on an AI engine — the model that powers the agent. An administrator picks the engine per project and authenticates it once. The whole point of Makion is that you connect a subscription you already have rather than paying per token — see What is Makion. Engines are configured in the AI engines table of the Admin tab.
Choosing an engine per project#
In the Admin tab's Projects table, the Engine column sets which model runs that project: Claude, Gemini, Codex, Kimi, or Grok. Different projects can run on different engines. An engine must be authenticated (below) before it can run tasks.
Two ways to authenticate an engine#
There are two ways to sign an engine in. Which one applies depends on the engine.
| Method | How it works | Which engines |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription login | An in-app device-code flow: connect a subscription you already pay for, no per-token billing. | Engines that support in-app login. Claude uses the server's own login and needs no API key at all. |
| API key | Paste a provider API key and save it. | Engines that have no in-app login — authenticate with a key instead. |
Claude needs no API key — it uses the server's own login. Some engines authenticate by subscription login, others only by API key. The AI engines table tells you which applies to each.
The AI engines table#
The AI engines table in the Admin tab has one row per engine:
| Column | What it shows / does |
|---|---|
| Engine | The engine's name. |
| Subscription | Its subscription status — Connected ✓ or Not connected, with a Connect (subscription) button — or the note "no in-app login — use an API key" for engines that don't support it. |
| API key | Whether a key is set or not set, a password input to paste one, and Save / Remove. Claude's row notes: "Claude — uses the server's own login, no API key needed." |
Subscription login, step by step#
Clicking Connect (subscription) opens a device-code login panel. It works like signing a TV app into an account:
- Open this link in any browser — the panel shows a link; open it in a browser.
- Enter this code on that page — the panel shows a code with a Copy button. Paste it on the page you just opened. (Some engines instead show a paste-code flow — you paste a code back into the panel and click Submit code.)
- Authorize — approve the request on that page. The panel shows "Waiting for you to authorize…".
- Done — when the provider confirms, the panel shows Connected ✓ and the engine's Subscription status flips to Connected ✓.
Use Cancel or Close to dismiss the panel at any point.
Adding an API key#
For an engine that authenticates by key, paste it into the API key password input on that engine's row and click Save — the status changes to set. Remove clears it. All engine credentials live on your own on-prem server; nothing leaves it.
Where to go next#
- What is Makion — why subscription-not-API is the headline.
- Configuring projects — pick the engine as part of project setup.
- Security model — where credentials live and how access is controlled.