fix(ai): give text analysis a real multi-vendor fallback chain - #238
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llm-analysis.js and aiAnalysisService.js each constructed their own OpenAI client, hardcoded model: 'gpt-4', and threw/skipped outright whenever OPENAI_API_KEY was unset — a single vendor, single model, with no recovery path. The moment OpenAI has a billing hiccup, an outage, or retires gpt-4, every text-analysis feature in this app goes dead until someone notices and redeploys. backend/lib/aiChain.js gives both services a real chain via ai-kit (Groq -> OpenRouter free tier, same package already adopted fleet-wide for this exact failure mode), plus a health tracker exposed informationally on /health (never gates the endpoint's status — a dead vendor key can't be fixed by a restart). Vision/image analysis (imageIngestionService.js, video frame analysis, openaiVisionService.ts) and Whisper audio transcription stay on OpenAI directly: ai-kit's free chain carries no vision- or audio-capable free models, so forcing those onto it would silently degrade output quality rather than provide a real fallback. Documented as a known limitation in .claude/CLAUDE.md's env var list. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01HVwg8DKHQktxJuHeLM3xpG
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Summary
backend/services/llm-analysis.jsandbackend/services/aiAnalysisService.jseach hardcoded a single OpenAI client (model: 'gpt-4') with no fallback — threw/skipped outright ifOPENAI_API_KEYwas unset, and would go fully dead on any OpenAI outage/billing hiccup/model retirement.backend/lib/aiChain.jsgives both services a real chain viaai-kit(Groq → OpenRouter free tier), plus a health tracker exposed informationally on/health(never gates the endpoint's status).databaseController.js'sanalyzeDatabaseno longer accepts a client-suppliedmodel(gpt-4 vs gpt-3.5 was never a real fallback, just two names for the same vendor) — old clients sending it are unaffected, the field is just ignored now.Deliberately left as a documented limitation
Vision/image analysis (
imageIngestionService.js, video frame analysis,openaiVisionService.ts) and Whisper audio transcription stay on OpenAI directly —ai-kit's free chain has no vision- or audio-capable free models, so forcing those onto it would silently degrade output quality rather than provide a real fallback. Documented in.claude/CLAUDE.md's env var list.Test plan
npm run verifygreen (format, lint 0 errors, typecheck, 46 tests, build)api.openai.comchat-completion calls outside the vision/audio paths noted above