Connect OpenAI to atbridge.ai

Once OpenAI is connected, the @bridge AI Chat inside Thunderbird uses GPT to read, search, draft, and organise your email — across every account, on your machine.

Note

Install atbridge.ai and the Thunderbird add-on first — see Install atbridge.ai. New to the in-Thunderbird side? Start with Set up the @bridge extension.

1. Get your OpenAI API key

1. Sign in at platform.openai.com/api-keys.

2. Click Create new secret key, give it a name (e.g. “atbridge.ai”), and copy it. It starts with sk-.

3. OpenAI shows the key once — copy it now; you can’t see it again later.

Caution

OpenAI bills your own account per use. Set a usage limit under Settings → Limits if you’d like a ceiling. atbridge.ai puts no markup on what OpenAI charges. Prefer not to pay per use? Run a model free and locally with Ollama.

2. Add it to atbridge.ai

1. In Thunderbird, open the @bridge Settings — the gear, or Tools → Add-ons and Themes → atbridge.ai → Options (see Set up the @bridge extension). Go to the AI providers tab.

2. Pick OpenAI from the Provider dropdown.

3. Paste your sk-… key into API key. It’s encrypted on this device — your key never reaches atbridge.ai’s servers.

4. Click Connect. The status turns to a green ✓.

3. Pick a model and chat

Open the @bridge AI Chat (the @b button in Thunderbird), pick an OpenAI model from the model dropdown — gpt-4o-mini is a fast, low-cost default; gpt-4o is stronger — and ask away:

“Summarise the unread thread from Maya and draft a reply.”

Tip

You can connect more than one provider and switch in the chat any time — your keys all stay local. Prefer to keep everything on your machine? See Connect a local model (Ollama).

Related

• Connect your AI — overview
• Use the @bridge AI Chat
• Connect Anthropic (Claude)