feat: ai sdk cli documentation + adjusted default model (#7368)

## background

The AI CLI proper documentation for authentication setup, added to help
users get started

## summary

- add AI CLI authentication documentation
- update AI CLI index
- change AI_MODEL to AI_DEFAULT_MODEL environment variable

## tasks

- [x] create authentication documentation page
- [x] rename AI_MODEL to AI_DEFAULT_MODEL in CLI code
- [x] remove Vercel OIDC token references

Author: dancer

.changeset/late-socks-flash.md

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'ai': patch
+---
+
+feat: ai sdk cli documentation + adjusted default model

content/docs/10-cli/00-authentication.mdx

@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+---
+title: Authentication
+description: Learn how to set up authentication for the AI SDK CLI.
+---
+
+# Authentication
+
+The AI SDK CLI requires authentication to access AI models through the AI Gateway. This guide will walk you through setting up your API key and configuring environment variables.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+To use the AI SDK CLI, you'll need:
+
+- Node.js 18+ and pnpm installed on your local development machine.
+- An AI Gateway API key.
+
+If you haven't obtained your AI Gateway API key, you can do so by visiting the [Vercel Dashboard](https://vercel.com/dashboard) and navigating to the **AI** tab.
+
+## Configure API Key
+
+Export your AI Gateway API Key as an environment variable. This key is used to authenticate your application with the AI Gateway service.
+
+For temporary use in your current session:
+
+<Snippet text='export AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY="your-key-here"' />
+
+Replace `your-key-here` with your actual AI Gateway API key.
+
+<Note className="mb-4">
+  The AI SDK CLI will default to using the `AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY` environment
+  variable.
+</Note>
+
+## Environment Variables
+
+You can configure additional environment variables to customize the CLI behavior:
+
+### AI_DEFAULT_MODEL
+
+Set a default model to avoid specifying it with each command:
+
+<Snippet text='export AI_DEFAULT_MODEL="anthropic/claude-3-5-sonnet"' />
+
+### AI_SYSTEM
+
+Set a default system message:
+
+<Snippet text='export AI_SYSTEM="You are a helpful assistant."' />
+
+### AI_VERBOSE
+
+Enable detailed output by default:
+
+<Snippet text='export AI_VERBOSE="true"' />
+
+## Shell Configuration
+
+For persistent configuration across terminal sessions, you can add environment variables to your shell profile:
+
+<div className="my-4">
+  <Tabs items={['Bash', 'Zsh']}>
+    <Tab>
+      <Snippet
+        text={
+          'echo \'export AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY="your-key"\' >> ~/.bashrc && source ~/.bashrc'
+        }
+        dark
+      />
+    </Tab>
+    <Tab>
+      <Snippet
+        text={
+          'echo \'export AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY="your-key"\' >> ~/.zshrc && source ~/.zshrc'
+        }
+        dark
+      />
+    </Tab>
+  </Tabs>
+</div>
+
+## Verify Setup
+
+Test your authentication setup by running a simple command:
+
+<Snippet text='npx ai "Hello, world!"' />
+
+If authentication is successful, you should see a response from the AI model. If you encounter authentication errors, double-check that your API key is correctly set and valid.

content/docs/10-cli/index.mdx

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+---
+title: AI SDK CLI
+description: Learn about the AI SDK CLI.
+---
+
+# AI SDK CLI
+
+The AI SDK CLI is a command-line tool for interacting with AI models directly from your terminal. Generate text, attach files, and stream responses using a simple command-line interface.
+
+<Snippet text="npx ai@beta 'Hello, world!'" />
+
+## Getting Started
+
+To start using the AI SDK CLI, you'll need to set up authentication and learn the basic usage patterns:
+
+<IndexCards
+  cards={[
+    {
+      title: 'Authentication',
+      description: 'Learn how to set up authentication for the AI SDK CLI.',
+      href: '/docs/ai-sdk-cli/authentication',
+    },
+  ]}
+/>

packages/ai/src/bin/ai.test.ts

@@ -109,7 +109,7 @@ describe('AI CLI', () => {
     });
 
     it('should handle environment variables with defaults', async () => {
-      process.env.AI_MODEL = 'groq/llama-3.1-8b-instant';
+      process.env.AI_DEFAULT_MODEL = 'groq/llama-3.1-8b-instant';
       process.env.AI_SYSTEM = 'Be concise';
       process.env.AI_VERBOSE = 'true';
       process.argv = ['node', 'ai', 'test prompt'];
@@ -232,10 +232,9 @@ describe('AI CLI', () => {
 
         Authentication (required):
           export AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY="your-key"     # Get from Vercel Dashboard (AI tab)
-          export VERCEL_OIDC_TOKEN="your-token"   # For Vercel projects (or run: vercel env pull)
-
+          
         Environment Variables:
-          AI_MODEL: Default model to use
+          AI_DEFAULT_MODEL: Default model to use
           AI_SYSTEM: Default system message
           AI_VERBOSE: Set to 'true' for detailed output
 
@@ -252,7 +251,9 @@ describe('AI CLI', () => {
           cat README.md | npx ai "Summarize this"
           curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/vercel/ai | npx ai "What is this repository about?"
           
-          The gateway supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Groq, and more providers."
+          The gateway supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Groq, and more providers.
+          
+          For detailed setup instructions, visit: https://ai-sdk.dev/docs/cli/authentication"
       `);
 
       consoleSpy.mockRestore();

packages/ai/src/bin/ai.ts

@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ export function parseArgs(): CLIOptions {
   const args = process.argv.slice(2);
 
   const options: CLIOptions = {
-    model: process.env.AI_MODEL || 'openai/gpt-4',
+    model: process.env.AI_DEFAULT_MODEL || 'openai/gpt-4',
     files: [],
     help: false,
     version: false,
@@ -182,10 +182,9 @@ Options:
 
 Authentication (required):
   export AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY="your-key"     # Get from Vercel Dashboard (AI tab)
-  export VERCEL_OIDC_TOKEN="your-token"   # For Vercel projects (or run: vercel env pull)
-
+  
 Environment Variables:
-  AI_MODEL: Default model to use
+  AI_DEFAULT_MODEL: Default model to use
   AI_SYSTEM: Default system message
   AI_VERBOSE: Set to 'true' for detailed output
 
@@ -202,7 +201,9 @@ Unix-style piping:
   cat README.md | npx ai "Summarize this"
   curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/vercel/ai | npx ai "What is this repository about?"
   
-  The gateway supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Groq, and more providers.`);
+  The gateway supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Groq, and more providers.
+  
+  For detailed setup instructions, visit: https://ai-sdk.dev/docs/cli/authentication`);
 }
 
 export function showVersion() {
@@ -293,21 +294,18 @@ export async function main(): Promise<void> {
       console.error('');
     }
 
-    const hasApiKey =
-      process.env.AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY || process.env.VERCEL_OIDC_TOKEN;
+    const hasApiKey = process.env.AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY;
     if (!hasApiKey) {
       console.error(`Error: Authentication required.
 
 Set up authentication with one of these options:
 
   # Option 1: Export in current session
   export AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY="your-key-here"
-  export VERCEL_OIDC_TOKEN="your-oidc-token"
-  export AI_MODEL="anthropic/claude-3-5-sonnet"
+  export AI_DEFAULT_MODEL="anthropic/claude-3-5-sonnet"
 
   # Option 2: Add to shell profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc)
   echo 'export AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY="your-key"' >> ~/.bashrc
-  # Or run: vercel env pull
   
 Get your API key from the Vercel Dashboard (AI tab > API keys).
 Use --help for more details and examples.`);

turbo.json

@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
         "GOOGLE_VERTEX_LOCATION",
         "GOOGLE_VERTEX_PROJECT",
         "GROQ_API_KEY",
-        "AI_MODEL",
+        "AI_DEFAULT_MODEL",
         "AI_SYSTEM",
         "AI_VERBOSE",
         "LUMA_API_KEY",