AI in Functions_

Appwrite Functions let you run AI workloads on the server side, keeping API keys secure and giving you full control over how your application interacts with AI providers. Using the Vercel AI SDK, you can integrate with providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and others through a unified interface.

This guide shows how to build an Appwrite Function that generates text using the Vercel AI SDK with OpenAI.

Prerequisites

• An Appwrite project
• An OpenAI API key

1. Create new function

Head to the Appwrite Console then click on Functions in the left sidebar and then click on the Create Function button.

1. In the Appwrite Console's sidebar, click Functions.
2. Click Create function.
3. Under Connect Git repository, select your provider.
4. After connecting to GitHub, under Quick start, select the Node.js starter template.
5. In the Variables step, add the OPENAI_API_KEY, generate it here. For the APPWRITE_API_KEY, tick the box to Generate API key on completion.
6. Follow the step-by-step wizard and create the function.

2. Add dependencies

Once the function is created, navigate to the freshly created repository and clone it to your local machine.

Install the ai package and the OpenAI provider:

npm install ai @ai-sdk/openai

The ai package is the core Vercel AI SDK, and @ai-sdk/openai is the provider that connects it to OpenAI's API.

3. Create the function

Replace the contents of src/main.js with the following code:

import { generateText } from "ai";
import { openai } from "@ai-sdk/openai";

export default async ({ req, res, log, error }) => {
  if (req.path === "/api/generate") {
    if (req.method !== "POST") {
      return res.status(405).json({ error: "Method not allowed" });
    }

    const { prompt } = req.bodyJson;
    const result = await generateText({
      model: openai("gpt-5-mini"),
      prompt,
    });

    return res.json({ text: result.text });
  }

  return res.status(404).json({ error: "Not found" });
};

The function exposes a POST /api/generate endpoint. It extracts the prompt from the request body, passes it to OpenAI using generateText, and returns the generated text as JSON.

The OpenAI provider reads the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable automatically. Make sure you have set this variable in your function settings in the Appwrite Console.

4. Using other providers

The Vercel AI SDK supports many providers beyond OpenAI. You can swap providers by installing the relevant package and changing the model import.

For example, to use Anthropic:

npm install @ai-sdk/anthropic

import { anthropic } from '@ai-sdk/anthropic';

const result = await generateText({
    model: anthropic('claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929'),
    prompt,
});

Or to use Google's Gemini:

npm install @ai-sdk/google

import { google } from '@ai-sdk/google';

const result = await generateText({
    model: google('gemini-2.0-flash'),
    prompt,
});

Add the corresponding API key as an environment variable in your function settings for each provider.

5. Test the function

Now that the function is deployed, test it by sending a POST request to the function's URL:

curl -X POST https://FUNCTION_DOMAIN/api/generate \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"prompt": "Explain quantum computing in one sentence."}'

You should receive a JSON response with the generated text:

{
  "text": "Quantum computing uses quantum mechanical phenomena..."
}