Wraps every Butterbase app's built-in LLM gateway into a single MCP tool: chat completions, embeddings, model listing, config management, and usage reporting. You'd reach for this when your agent needs to call GPT or Claude, generate vectors, or check token spend without leaving the tool context. It's deliberately synchronous, no streaming, because agent tools can't handle partial deltas anyway. The real win is consolidation: one tool covers what would otherwise be five separate API surfaces, and it respects per-app defaults so you're not hardcoding model strings everywhere. If you need streaming or vector search, you'll still need the SDK or the RAG skill.
$ npx -y skills add butterbase-ai/butterbase-skills --skill ai --agent claude-codeInstalls into .claude/skills of the current project.
The AI gateway provides chat, embeddings, model listing, configuration, usage reporting, and asynchronous video jobs. One umbrella tool: manage_ai.
| Action | What it does | Returns |
|---|---|---|
chat | Synchronous chat completion (no streaming) | OpenAI-shaped { choices: [...] } |
embed | Vector embeddings for string or string[] | OpenAI-shaped { data: [{ embedding: [...] }] } |
list_models | Available models with capabilities | { models: AiModel[] } |
get_config | Current AI config (default model, BYOK key flag, etc.) | AiConfig |
update_config | Set defaults, allowed models, max tokens, BYOK | AiConfig |
get_usage | Token + cost aggregate over a window | usage record |
submit_video | Submit an ordinary async video job | { job_id, status, polling_url } |
poll_video | Read an existing video job without submitting again | status, optional stage and authenticated content URLs |
manage_ai({
action: "chat",
app_id,
messages: [
{ role: "system", content: "You are a helpful assistant." },
{ role: "user", content: "What's RAG?" }
],
model: "openai/gpt-4o-mini", // optional — falls back to app's default
temperature: 0.2, // optional
max_tokens: 500 // optional
})
This action sets stream: false deliberately — agent tools don't stream. If you need partial-token deltas, drive the SDK's ai.chatStream(…) from inside a function or DO instead.
messages[].content can be a string or an array of content parts ({ type: "text", text }, { type: "image_url", image_url: {...} }, { type: "video_url", video_url: {...} }).
manage_ai({
action: "embed",
app_id,
input: "hello world", // or ["a", "b", "c"]
model: "openai/text-embedding-3-small", // optional
encoding_format: "float" // or "base64"
})
manage_ai({ action: "list_models", app_id })
// → { models: [{ id, provider, capabilities: ["chat", "embed", ...], context_window, pricing }, ...] }
Use this to discover what the app can call — capabilities + context window matter when picking a model.
manage_ai({
action: "update_config",
app_id,
config: {
defaultModel: "openai/gpt-4o-mini",
allowedModels: ["openai/gpt-4o-mini", "anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5"],
maxTokensPerRequest: 4000,
byokKey: "..." // optional — rotates the customer-supplied OpenRouter / Anthropic key
}
})
maxTokensPerRequest is server-clamped to 1–100000.allowedModels is a whitelist — empty means all models the provider exposes.byokKey switches the app to route through that customer key. Clear it by passing byokKey: "" (returns to platform pool).manage_ai({
action: "get_usage",
app_id,
startDate: "2026-05-01",
endDate: "2026-05-31"
})
Returns aggregate token counts + cost. Useful for billing reconciliation, spending-cap diagnostics, and showing dashboards.
manage_ai is synchronous. Use the SDK inside a function for streamed deltas.stream: true in the body — the tool ignores it; always wired to false.model — better to omit, let the app's defaultModel win, and surface that knob via update_config.list_models before suggesting one — model availability shifts; verify before recommending.ai.chatStream) inside a function or DO.butterbase-skills:rag-dev (RAG collections wrap embeddings + search together).@butterbase/sdk and call client.ai.* directly; no MCP needed at runtime.For routing, classification, moderation or scoring, where code needs a choice / yes-no / score with probabilities, use manage_ai action: "decide" (SDK ai.decide) with a decision model (default typesafe/jev-1.13) instead of asking a chat model for JSON. It is cheaper, faster and returns typed probabilities. Full reference: butterbase_docs topic ai, "Decision models".
Before video work, call butterbase_docs with topic: "ai" and discover supported models with manage_ai({ action: "list_models", app_id, modality: "video" }).
Preserve the returned job ID, show the reported stage, poll without issuing another submission, and display authenticated content URLs after completion. Use the caller's explicit fictional-character declaration only. Never silently add declarations or automatically label real people as fictional.
Inspect the connected manage_ai tool schema before choosing a client surface. When it includes both reference_declarations and prepare_references, add the declaration example below to manage_ai with action: "submit_video". For older MCP servers that lack these fields, send the fields in the REST body for POST /v1/:appId/videos/completions; do not assume an older wrapper forwards unknown arguments. Poll the returned job ID with poll_video or GET /v1/:appId/videos/completions/:jobId. Do not invent an SDK video helper.
Eligible apps and models can declare specific image slots as AI-generated fictional characters:
{
"input_images": ["https://images.example/fictional-character.png"],
"reference_declarations": [
{"path": "/input_images/0", "kind": "ai_generated_fictional_character"}
],
"prepare_references": "on_rejection"
}
Add these fields to an ordinary video request. Declare only images the caller knows are AI-generated fictional characters. A declaration does not establish consent for a real person's likeness or guarantee that an image will pass provider validation. Do not infer a declaration from appearance or a prompt.
on_rejection is the default: prepare only after a verified eligible input rejection and retry once after settlement. upfront prepares all declared slots before submission. Canonical paths address image entries in input_images, frame_images, or input_references; use one canonical collection and avoid conflicting aliases. Up to eight distinct slots can be declared. Undeclared requests use ordinary video generation.
Submission returns the same stable job_id while the worker advances through preparing_references, submitting, polling, and settling. Polling reads status; it does not trigger generation. Completion includes authenticated content URLs and acknowledged charges. Unsupported app/model combinations return UNSUPPORTED_REFERENCE_PREPARATION. Changed image bytes, unavailable or rejected assets, and capacity exhaustion may fail preparation. A timeout with unknown provider acceptance remains pending for reconciliation; do not submit another job merely because polling is slow.
Preparation sends declared images to an external generation provider for storage and validation. Registration is not separately charged in this release; video generation uses the app's normal credits and settled usage. Source URLs and prompts are removed from preparation records after 24 hours. Provider copies are queued for deletion when the last retained job reference is released, subject to active jobs and unresolved operations; provider deletion can therefore take longer. App deletion preserves cleanup obligations and unsettled billing evidence. URL inputs have no storage-object identity: deleting the original file does not immediately delete its provider copy. Use stable storage objectId values in your own app and resolve fresh download URLs when loading UI.
When retained-output delivery is enabled, prepared videos complete only after every output is copied into private app storage and settlement is acknowledged. Generated outputs count toward app and organization storage limits. Authenticated content endpoints support one byte range and return 410 after the stored output is deleted. Keep the stable job ID for future content loads; older jobs can still depend on provider retention. App copies exclude prepared-video history.
There is no character-library dashboard. Preparation eligibility and resource limits are deployment-controlled. For troubleshooting, inspect the returned stage and sanitized error, verify the declaration and unchanged image bytes, and contact the operator for unresolved acceptance or cleanup.
If a docs/butterbase/00-state.md exists in the working directory, prefer invoking via /butterbase-skills:journey-ai so the journey orchestrator stays in sync.
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