DEP — DEVlink Engineering PlatformUser Guide
ChargeLink docs ↗
Developed byDEVlink

AI Connections

AI is optional in DEP. It is used only in Requirements to model, where the DEP Engineering CoPilot can suggest a physical specification, generate a control model or improve the wording of a requirement. Everything else in DEP works without AI, including the rule-based model builder.

What is sent, and when

  • Nothing is sent until you have saved and enabled a connection.
  • Before each request, DEP shows the destination and the requirements baseline it will send. You must tick I approve sending this baseline to the displayed destination. Nothing is sent until you approve.
  • Test connection & discover models sends only authentication and a request for the model list. It sends no requirements or project data.
  • DEP never switches to another provider on its own.
  • Every AI proposal is validated before it becomes a model. Proposals that fail structural or behaviour checks are rejected (DEP-AI-PROPOSAL, DEP-MODEL-BEHAVIOR), and nothing is created.

Check your organisation's rules before sending requirements to a cloud service. For confidential projects, use Local AI or an approved company endpoint.

Configure a connection

Settings → AI connections.
Settings → AI connections.
  1. Open the tabSettings → AI connections.
  2. Choose a templateLocal AI (a server on this PC, for example on 127.0.0.1), OpenAI (an approved cloud account) or Company AI (your organisation's OpenAI-compatible endpoint).
  3. Fill in the fieldsConnection name; Deployment: Local loopback or Remote / cloud HTTPS; Chat-completions endpoint, the full URL; Model ID; and API key if required.
  4. Enable and saveTick Enable this connection, then select Save connection.
  5. TestSelect Test connection & discover models. A successful test lists the models available to the key.

To remove a connection and its key, select Remove connection.

How keys are protected

  • API keys are encrypted with Windows data protection for your Windows account and stored in ai-connections.bin in your DEP settings folder. They are never written into projects.
  • Changing the endpoint or deployment of a connection clears its key, so a key cannot be sent to a destination you did not enter it for.
  • Support summaries never contain keys.

Limitations

  • AI connections are available on Windows only.
  • DEVlink does not vouch for the output of any AI provider. Treat every proposal as a draft: review the requirements links, run Check model and verify the model with independent expected values.
  • If a connection fails, DEP shows DEP-AI-PROVIDER. Check the endpoint, the model ID and your approval.
HomeTop