AI Modes: Local vs. Connected
What changes when you connect an OpenAI API key, and how the local fallback keeps things working without one.
Prompt Lab works in two modes — a rule-based local mode that needs no API key, and a live AI mode that connects to OpenAI for richer feedback.
Local mode (default)
When no API key is configured, the coach uses built-in rules to:
- Score prompts by checking for length, specificity, format indicators, audience/role words, and safety
- Suggest improvements based on common patterns
- Generate practice questions from a local question bank
Local mode is fast, private (nothing leaves your server), and works offline. The feedback is helpful — just less nuanced than AI-generated responses.
Connected mode (OpenAI)
When an OpenAI API key is added, the coach uses GPT-4o mini (by default) to:
- Give context-aware, lesson-specific feedback
- Generate unique practice questions tailored to your prompt
- Explain wrong quiz answers with analogies and follow-up questions
- Score prompts against AI-understanding of quality (not just pattern matching)
- Generate quiz questions from uploaded PDFs and Word docs
Adding an API key
- Go to Admin → Admin dashboard.
- Paste your OpenAI API key into the API key for this session field.
- Click Save key.
- The key is stored in your session only — it's never written to disk.
For a shared deployment (classroom server), set the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable instead — all users will benefit automatically.
Choosing the model
The default model is gpt-4o-mini — fast and cost-effective. Override it with the OPENAI_MODEL environment variable (e.g. gpt-4o for higher quality at higher cost).