From 3edc64d5cf20657ce40aa23393b0ebde94a74b1b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Sam Becker <sam@sambecker.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2026 20:42:47 -0600
Subject: [PATCH] Allow AI model override

---
 README.md                                        |  3 ++-
 src/admin/config/AdminAppConfigurationClient.tsx | 12 ++++++++++++
 src/app/config.ts                                |  2 ++
 src/platforms/openai.ts                          | 13 ++++++++++---
 4 files changed, 26 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 934dac19..e53c087b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -92,7 +92,8 @@ To auto-generate text descriptions of photo:
 1. Setup OpenAI
    - Create [OpenAI](https://openai.com) account and fund it ([see thread](https://github.com/sambecker/exif-photo-blog/issues/110) if you're having issues)
    - Setup usage limits to avoid unexpected charges (_recommended_)
-   - Set `OPENAI_BASE_URL` in order to use alternate OpenAI-compatible providers (experimental)
+   - Set `OPENAI_MODEL` to choose a specific model (set to 'compatible' to use gpt-4o)
+   - Set `OPENAI_BASE_URL` to use alternate OpenAI-compatible providers (experimental)
 2. Generate API key and store in environment variable `OPENAI_SECRET_KEY` (enable Responses API write access if customizing permissions)
 3. Add [rate limiting](#rate-limiting) (_recommended_)
 4. Configure auto-generated fields (optional)
diff --git a/src/admin/config/AdminAppConfigurationClient.tsx b/src/admin/config/AdminAppConfigurationClient.tsx
index cc7d1b98..62fe922f 100644
--- a/src/admin/config/AdminAppConfigurationClient.tsx
+++ b/src/admin/config/AdminAppConfigurationClient.tsx
@@ -81,6 +81,7 @@ export default function AdminAppConfigurationClient({
   imageQuality,
   isBlurEnabled,
   // AI
+  hasOpenaiModel,
   hasOpenaiBaseUrl,
   isAiTextGenerationEnabled,
   aiTextAutoGeneratedFields,
@@ -555,6 +556,17 @@ export default function AdminAppConfigurationClient({
             )}):
             {renderEnvVars(['AI_TEXT_AUTO_GENERATED_FIELDS'])}
           </ChecklistRow>
+          <ChecklistRow
+            title="Model override"
+            status={hasOpenaiModel}
+            optional
+          >
+            Store model in environment variable to use
+            alternate OpenAI model
+            {' '}
+            {'(set to \'compatible\' to use gpt-4o):'}
+            {renderEnvVars(['OPENAI_MODEL'])}
+          </ChecklistRow>
           <ChecklistRow
             title="Base URL override (experimental)"
             status={hasOpenaiBaseUrl}
diff --git a/src/app/config.ts b/src/app/config.ts
index 05a99bb5..e96d5341 100644
--- a/src/app/config.ts
+++ b/src/app/config.ts
@@ -257,6 +257,7 @@ export const BLUR_ENABLED =
 // AI
 
 export const OPENAI_SECRET_KEY = process.env.OPENAI_SECRET_KEY;
+export const OPENAI_MODEL = process.env.OPENAI_MODEL;
 export const OPENAI_BASE_URL = process.env.OPENAI_BASE_URL;
 export const AI_CONTENT_GENERATION_ENABLED = Boolean(OPENAI_SECRET_KEY);
 export const AI_TEXT_AUTO_GENERATED_FIELDS = parseAiAutoGeneratedFieldsString(
@@ -453,6 +454,7 @@ export const APP_CONFIGURATION = {
   imageQuality: IMAGE_QUALITY,
   isBlurEnabled: BLUR_ENABLED,
   // AI
+  hasOpenaiModel: Boolean(OPENAI_MODEL),
   hasOpenaiBaseUrl: Boolean(OPENAI_BASE_URL),
   isAiTextGenerationEnabled: AI_CONTENT_GENERATION_ENABLED,
   aiTextAutoGeneratedFields: process.env.AI_TEXT_AUTO_GENERATED_FIELDS
diff --git a/src/platforms/openai.ts b/src/platforms/openai.ts
index ffef6985..d2f5b2ef 100644
--- a/src/platforms/openai.ts
+++ b/src/platforms/openai.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { generateText, Output, streamText } from 'ai';
 import { createStreamableValue } from '@ai-sdk/rsc';
 import { createOpenAI } from '@ai-sdk/openai';
-import { OPENAI_BASE_URL, OPENAI_SECRET_KEY } from '@/app/config';
+import { OPENAI_BASE_URL, OPENAI_MODEL, OPENAI_SECRET_KEY } from '@/app/config';
 import { removeBase64Prefix } from '@/utility/image';
 import { cleanUpAiTextResponse } from '@/photo/ai';
 import {
@@ -9,14 +9,21 @@ import {
 } from '@/platforms/rate-limit';
 import { z } from 'zod';
 
+type OpenAIModel = Parameters<NonNullable<typeof openai>>[0];
+
+const MODEL_DEFAULT: OpenAIModel = 'gpt-5.2';
+const MODEL_COMPATIBLE: OpenAIModel = 'gpt-4o';
+
+const MODEL: OpenAIModel = OPENAI_MODEL === 'compatible'
+  ? MODEL_COMPATIBLE
+  : (OPENAI_MODEL || MODEL_DEFAULT);
+
 const checkRateLimitAndThrow = (isBatch?: boolean) =>
   _checkRateLimitAndThrow({
     identifier: 'openai-image-query',
     ...isBatch && { tokens: 1200, duration: '1d' },
   });
 
-const MODEL: Parameters<NonNullable<typeof openai>>[0] = 'gpt-5.2';
-
 const openai = OPENAI_SECRET_KEY
   ? createOpenAI({
     apiKey: OPENAI_SECRET_KEY,