Service Root vs Full Request Address
Every service has an Address Type setting. SpotAsk pre-fills the address with the official address of the selected API Format and Address Type, so the examples below are what a new service already shows.
Service Root
Use Service Root when you enter the base address of the provider. SpotAsk appends the chat path automatically:
https://api.openai.com/v1For an OpenAI-compatible service, SpotAsk appends /chat/completions. For Anthropic, it appends the Messages path when needed. Gemini carries the model and the action in the request path (/v1beta/models/<model>:generateContent), so the API version root https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta is enough as the address: SpotAsk resolves it to the model collection and appends the action per request.
This mode also makes model discovery possible, because SpotAsk can request the provider's model list.
Full Request Address
Use Full Request Address when the provider gives you the exact chat endpoint and you want to send requests directly to that path:
https://api.openai.com/v1/chat/completionsThe full address must point to the correct chat endpoint for the selected API format. Model discovery is not available in this mode; add models manually.
Which one should I choose?
Choose Service Root unless the provider documentation explicitly gives you a full endpoint that should not be derived from a base address.
flowchart TD
A{What does the provider document?}
A -->|Base address| B[Service Root]
A -->|Complete chat endpoint| C[Full Request Address]
class A entry
class B,C outcome Opens the Service page in SpotAsk. If SpotAsk is not installed this link does nothing — open it by hand instead: SpotAsk menu bar icon → Settings... → Service, or press ⌘ + , to open Settings. Direct link: spotask://settings/provider
Local services
SpotAsk accepts http only for local services such as http://localhost or http://127.0.0.1. Remote addresses must use https.
Related: Connect an OpenAI-Compatible Service, Connect Anthropic