GrepAI Embeddings with OpenAI

This skill covers using OpenAI's embedding API with GrepAI for high-quality, cloud-based embeddings.

When to Use This Skill

• Need highest quality embeddings

• Team environment with shared infrastructure

• Don't want to manage local embedding server

• Willing to trade privacy for quality/convenience

Considerations

Aspect

Details

✅ Quality

State-of-the-art embeddings

✅ Speed

Fast, no local compute needed

✅ Scalability

Handles any codebase size

⚠️ Privacy

Code sent to OpenAI servers

⚠️ Cost

Pay per token

⚠️ Internet

Requires connection

Prerequisites

• OpenAI API key

• Billing enabled on OpenAI account

Get your API key at: https://platform.openai.com/api-keys

Configuration

Basic Configuration

# .grepai/config.yaml

embedder:

  provider: openai

  model: text-embedding-3-small

  api_key: ${OPENAI_API_KEY}

Set the environment variable:

export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."

With Parallel Processing

embedder:

  provider: openai

  model: text-embedding-3-small

  api_key: ${OPENAI_API_KEY}

  parallelism: 8  # Concurrent requests for speed

Direct API Key (Not Recommended)

embedder:

  provider: openai

  model: text-embedding-3-small

  api_key: sk-your-api-key-here  # Avoid committing secrets!

Warning: Never commit API keys to version control.

Available Models

text-embedding-3-small (Recommended)

Property

Value

Dimensions

1536

Price

$0.00002 / 1K tokens

Quality

Very high

Speed

Fast

Best for: Most use cases, good balance of cost/quality.

embedder:

  provider: openai

  model: text-embedding-3-small

text-embedding-3-large

Property

Value

Dimensions

3072

Price

$0.00013 / 1K tokens

Quality

Highest

Speed

Fast

Best for: Maximum accuracy, cost not a concern.

embedder:

  provider: openai

  model: text-embedding-3-large

  dimensions: 3072

Dimension Reduction

You can reduce dimensions to save storage:

embedder:

  provider: openai

  model: text-embedding-3-large

  dimensions: 1024  # Reduced from 3072

Model Comparison

Model

Dimensions

Cost/1K tokens

Quality

text-embedding-3-small

1536

$0.00002

⭐⭐⭐⭐

text-embedding-3-large

3072

$0.00013

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cost Estimation

Approximate costs per 1000 source files:

Codebase Size

Chunks

Small Model

Large Model

Small (100 files)

~500

$0.01

$0.06

Medium (1000 files)

~5,000

$0.10

$0.65

Large (10000 files)

~50,000

$1.00

$6.50

Note: Costs are one-time for initial indexing. Updates only re-embed changed files.

Optimizing for Speed

Parallel Requests

GrepAI v0.24.0+ supports adaptive rate limiting and parallel requests:

embedder:

  provider: openai

  model: text-embedding-3-small

  api_key: ${OPENAI_API_KEY}

  parallelism: 8  # Adjust based on your rate limit tier

Parallelism recommendations:

• Tier 1 (Free): 1-2

• Tier 2: 4-8

• Tier 3+: 8-16

Batching

GrepAI automatically batches chunks for efficient API usage.

Rate Limits

OpenAI has rate limits based on your account tier:

Tier

RPM

TPM

Free

3

150,000

Tier 1

500

1,000,000

Tier 2

5,000

5,000,000

GrepAI handles rate limiting automatically with adaptive backoff.

Environment Variables

Setting the API Key

macOS/Linux:

# In ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or ~/.profile

export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."

Windows (PowerShell):

$env:OPENAI_API_KEY = "sk-..."

# Or permanently

[System.Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('OPENAI_API_KEY', 'sk-...', 'User')

Using .env Files

Create .env in your project root:

OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...

Add to .gitignore:

.env

Azure OpenAI

For Azure-hosted OpenAI:

embedder:

  provider: openai

  model: your-deployment-name

  api_key: ${AZURE_OPENAI_API_KEY}

  endpoint: https://your-resource.openai.azure.com

Security Best Practices

• Use environment variables: Never hardcode API keys

• Add to .gitignore: Exclude .env files

• Rotate keys: Regularly rotate API keys

• Monitor usage: Check OpenAI dashboard for unexpected usage

• Review code: Ensure sensitive code isn't being indexed

Common Issues

❌ Problem: 401 Unauthorized

✅ Solution: Check API key is correct and environment variable is set:

echo $OPENAI_API_KEY

❌ Problem: 429 Rate limit exceeded

✅ Solution: Reduce parallelism or upgrade OpenAI tier:

embedder:

  parallelism: 2  # Lower value

❌ Problem: High costs

✅ Solutions:

• Use text-embedding-3-small instead of large

• Reduce dimension size

• Add more ignore patterns to reduce indexed files

❌ Problem: Slow indexing

✅ Solution: Increase parallelism:

embedder:

  parallelism: 8

❌ Problem: Privacy concerns

✅ Solution: Use Ollama for local embeddings instead

Migrating from Ollama to OpenAI

• Update configuration:

embedder:

  provider: openai

  model: text-embedding-3-small

  api_key: ${OPENAI_API_KEY}

• Delete existing index:

rm .grepai/index.gob

• Re-index:

grepai watch

Important: You cannot mix embeddings from different models/providers.

Output Format

Successful OpenAI configuration:

✅ OpenAI Embedding Provider Configured

   Provider: OpenAI

   Model: text-embedding-3-small

   Dimensions: 1536

   Parallelism: 4

   API Key: sk-...xxxx (from environment)

   Estimated cost for this codebase:

   - Files: 245

   - Chunks: ~1,200

   - Cost: ~$0.02

   Note: Code will be sent to OpenAI servers.