Exocoetidae: A Backup Way to Keep Working with AI

On 3 September 2026, ChatGPT, Claude and Grok experienced overlapping service outages. For people who already rely on AI at work, a conversation or a piece of writing could suddenly grind to a halt. The Register reported the overlapping interruptions.

Large language models are becoming infrastructure. Infrastructure can fail. If ChatGPT or Claude is your only way to use an LLM, losing that familiar entrance can interrupt everything you were doing with it.

Exocoetidae is a lightweight AI chat page: connect your own model API and you have another window in which to keep working. Use it for writing, translation, exploring ideas or discussing code. Configure different providers ahead of time and switch when needed.

With your permission, it can access a local folder you select, read your documents and code, and edit them with safety checks, reviewable changes and undo. You can also ask multiple agents to work in parallel—for example, researching material, editing code and checking results—and follow their progress in one chat window.

Open the Exocoetidae chat window

Open and start; for everyday use, I recommend DeepSeek

No API key yet? Type a task and start. The Default Model tries several free routes in sequence and shows the resolved model name in the top bar. Free services can be rate-limited or temporarily unavailable and are not suitable for personal or confidential material. Connect your own API when you want steady everyday service.

An API is another way to access a model. Create an API key on the provider’s platform and enter it in Exocoetidae to chat with that provider’s models. Billing is usually based on usage and is separate from a chat website subscription.

For a first try, I recommend DeepSeek. Around RMB 50 is a comfortable starting budget for everyday text conversations. Treat this as a suggested budget, rather than a monthly plan or unlimited allowance. How long it lasts depends on the model, conversation length and frequency; long documents and tasks with multiple steps consume more. Check current prices and credit terms before topping up.

1. Sign in to the DeepSeek platform, add credit and create an API key.
2. In Exocoetidae, open Settings → Models (「设置 → 模型」), select DeepSeek, click Add (「添加」) and paste your key.
3. Use https://api.deepseek.com as the Base URL. Fetch the model list with 「拉取」, or enter a model name from the official documentation, such as the currently listed deepseek-v4-flash.
4. Close settings, select your model in the chat window and send a test message.

Official guides: Your First API Call and Models & Pricing. You do not need to write the sample code: copy the key, address and model name into the settings instead.

Other options include:

Provider	Official tutorial	Exocoetidae setup
Kimi / Moonshot	Create a key and make your first call	Select Moonshot, enter your key, use https://api.moonshot.cn/v1, and enter a model name from the documentation.
Alibaba Cloud Model Studio / Qwen	First Qwen API call	Activate Model Studio and create a key. Select 通义, then replace the Base URL with the documented OpenAI-compatible address for your region and workspace, and enter your model name.

The key, address and model must match the same service configuration. If a connection fails, check credit, model access and the address first; some providers restrict direct browser connections. Test your backup ahead of time so it is ready when you need it.

Using Exocoetidae

The chat window handles everyday work: open it and type your question. The top bar includes font-size controls and a model-settings shortcut; the original bottom-left Settings button remains available. Search your history, organise conversations into projects and upload text material to discuss. Markdown, maths notation, editing and resubmitting messages, conversation branches and temporary chats are available. The current interface is primarily in Chinese; prompts and replies can be in either Chinese or English.

For file work, open the right-hand panel. Browser-stored project files, attachments for the current conversation and local folders you authorise are shown separately, with filename search, refresh, preview, original-name downloads, multi-file upload and drag-and-drop. The panel refreshes after agent edits. The Changes This Turn (「本轮改动」) card still provides line counts, line-by-line differences, open, path, undo and download controls. On narrow screens, the file panel becomes a drawer so the chat remains usable.

Add images with 「＋ 图片」, drag them into the composer or paste them. Removable thumbnails appear before sending. A vision-capable model can understand the images, which stay with the conversation in the current browser and can be enlarged or downloaded from the message or file panel. A model that is not marked as image-capable produces a clear prompt to switch models.

Memory across conversations carries long-term preferences and earlier discussions into new chats. Review and edit global memory under Settings → Memory (「设置 → 记忆」); project memory keeps project context together. Scheduled execution accepts requests such as “Summarise this project’s progress every day at 5 pm.” Manage tasks under Settings → Reminders (「设置 → 提醒」). Tasks run when due while the page is open. With push configured, reminders can arrive after you close the page; tasks execute when you reopen it.

Web access now works without the enhancer: the base tools use free DDG search and automatically choose between a direct browser request and key-free Jina Reader for webpage extraction. A failed route falls through instead of ending the whole turn. The optional local experience enhancer can still improve reliability, add Brave Search and deliver push reminders while the page is closed.

Settings and conversation history stay in the current browser. Sending a question shares the relevant content with your selected model provider; web features also share content with the corresponding services. Before changing devices or clearing browser data, export a backup under Settings → Data (「设置 → 数据」) and keep its passphrase safe.

I want Exocoetidae to be a small tool that is useful on an ordinary day and already waiting when you need it. As AI becomes part of more work, having another entrance becomes more valuable.