llm-keys-ui 0.1
Simon Willison’s Weblog Simon Willison
Simon Willison built a tiny UI for adding LLM API keys without pasting them into an agent chat. It lets Codex fetch the key later, which is cleaner and a bit less nerve-wracking.
Based on reporting by Simon Willison’s Weblog, Simon Willison — read the original for the full story.
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Simon Willison has released llm-keys-ui 0.1, a small plugin aimed at one awkward little job: getting API keys onto a machine without dropping them into an agent conversation. He says the need came up while using Codex Remote to run coding agents on different machines and steer them from his phone.
The problem gets sharper when those machines are being used for LLM work. At that point, an API key may need to be configured, but pasting it into an agent session is exactly what he wants to avoid. So instead of handing the key over in chat, he wanted a way to load it onto the machine another way.
The plugin gives him that route. He can run llm keys-ui through uvx, then ask Codex for the URL of a local interface where more API keys can be saved. Willison says that URL can include local network addresses or Tailscale device IPs, which makes it usable beyond just the machine itself.
Once the key is stored, the setup can pull it back out later. He describes using a command such as llm keys get anthropic as part of a shell command when a key is needed. It is a narrow tool, but that is the point: one less excuse to shove secrets through a chat window.
My take — AI-written commentary, not fact-checked reporting
This is the kind of boring software that actually deserves attention. Secret handling keeps getting dragged through chat interfaces because it is convenient, and convenience is how people end up making dumb choices with good credentials. A tiny UI that keeps keys out of the agent transcript is a better habit, even if it lacks the glamour of whatever the demo video is selling this week.
Read more about this at: Simon Willison’s Weblog
