While Data Designer ships with pre-configured model providers and configurations, you can create custom configurations to use different models, adjust inference parameters, or connect to custom API endpoints.
Use custom model settings when you need to:
Create custom model configurations that use the default providers (no need to define providers yourself):
When you only specify model_configs, the default model providers (NVIDIA, OpenAI, and OpenRouter) are still available. You only need to create custom providers if you want to connect to different endpoints or modify provider settings.
Always specify provider= on ModelConfig
Leaving provider unset (or passing provider=None) on ModelConfig is deprecated. The legacy “implicit default provider” routing — used when provider is omitted — emits a DeprecationWarning and will be removed in a future release. Always reference the intended provider by name, as the examples below do. See issue #589.
When you provide custom model_configs to DataDesignerConfigBuilder, they replace the defaults entirely. To use custom model configs in addition to the default configs, use the add_model_config method:
Define both custom providers and custom model configurations when you need to connect to services not included in the defaults:
Network Accessibility The custom provider endpoints must be reachable from where Data Designer runs. Ensure network connectivity, firewall rules, and any VPN requirements are properly configured.