Developer builds AI Chrome extensions with zero server costs using BYOK architecture

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A solo developer built three AI-powered Chrome extensions — covering PR summarization, risk scoring, and draft review generation — without any backend infrastructure, keeping monthly costs at zero. Instead of the conventional model where developers host a server and hold a master API key, the extensions use a Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) approach, letting users supply their own API keys directly. The API key is stored locally in the browser via chrome.storage.local and is never routed through the developer's servers, addressing privacy concerns common with tools that read sensitive code. The architecture supports multiple AI providers — including OpenAI, Groq, Mistral, and locally run Ollama models — all sharing a compatible API format. While this eliminates infrastructure costs and GDPR liability for the developer, it shifts the burden of obtaining and managing API keys onto the user.

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