Skip to content

How to Use Proxies

Route requests through proxy services like CBORG, LiteLLM, or Azure OpenAI.

CBORG (Berkeley Lab)

CBORG provides institutional access with cost management.

Setup

export CBORG_API_KEY="your-cborg-key"

Usage

deep-research-client research "Quantum computing advances" --use-cborg

The --use-cborg flag automatically:

  • Sets base URL to https://api.cborg.lbl.gov
  • Uses CBORG_API_KEY environment variable

Custom OpenAI-Compatible Endpoints

Use any OpenAI-compatible API with --base-url:

Azure OpenAI

export AZURE_OPENAI_KEY="your-azure-key"

deep-research-client research "AI trends" \
  --base-url https://your-resource.openai.azure.com \
  --api-key-env AZURE_OPENAI_KEY

LiteLLM Proxy

# Start LiteLLM locally
litellm --port 4000

# Use it
export LITELLM_API_KEY="your-key"
deep-research-client research "ML developments" \
  --base-url http://localhost:4000 \
  --api-key-env LITELLM_API_KEY

OpenRouter

export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="your-key"

deep-research-client research "Technology review" \
  --base-url https://openrouter.ai/api/v1 \
  --api-key-env OPENROUTER_API_KEY

Python API

Configure proxies programmatically:

import os
from deep_research_client import DeepResearchClient, ProviderConfig

# CBORG configuration
cborg_config = {
    "openai": ProviderConfig(
        name="openai",
        api_key=os.getenv("CBORG_API_KEY"),
        base_url="https://api.cborg.lbl.gov",
        enabled=True
    )
}

client = DeepResearchClient(provider_configs=cborg_config)
result = client.research("Latest AI developments")

Options Reference

Option Description
--use-cborg Use CBORG proxy (shortcut)
--base-url <url> Custom API endpoint URL
--api-key-env <name> Environment variable name for API key

Common Use Cases

Institutional Billing

Keep personal key for direct access, use CBORG for institutional work:

# Personal
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-personal-key"
deep-research-client research "Personal project"

# Institutional
export CBORG_API_KEY="cborg-institutional-key"
deep-research-client research "Lab project" --use-cborg

Multi-Provider Gateway

Use LiteLLM to access multiple providers through one interface:

litellm --port 4000

deep-research-client research "Research query" \
  --base-url http://localhost:4000 \
  --api-key-env LITELLM_API_KEY

Benefits

  • Institutional Billing: Track costs through CBORG or similar
  • Compliance: Meet data residency requirements
  • Fallback: Use gateways for automatic provider failover
  • Budget Control: Add rate limiting through proxy services