> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://cascadeflow-docs-readme-hermes-callout.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Providers And Presets

> How to think about provider choice, local models, and presets without turning the docs into a provider catalog.

Use this page when you need to choose model providers, install the right extras, and decide whether presets or custom configs should be the starting point.

## Provider Coverage

| Type                 | Main options                                    |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| Hosted providers     | OpenAI, Anthropic, Groq, Together, Hugging Face |
| Local or self-hosted | Ollama, vLLM                                    |
| Framework-mediated   | Vercel AI SDK, LangChain integrations           |

## Practical Guidance

* Start with the provider you already use in production.
* Add a second provider when you need cost, resilience, or model specialization.
* Use local or self-hosted providers when deployment control matters more than turnkey access.
* Use presets for speed, then move to custom configuration only when the workload demands it.

## Install Paths

* [/get-started/installation](/get-started/installation)
* [providers.md](https://github.com/lemony-ai/cascadeflow/blob/main/docs/guides/providers.md)
* [presets.md](https://github.com/lemony-ai/cascadeflow/blob/main/docs/guides/presets.md)
* [local-providers.md](https://github.com/lemony-ai/cascadeflow/blob/main/docs/guides/local-providers.md)

## Important Examples

* [examples/multi\_provider.py](https://github.com/lemony-ai/cascadeflow/blob/main/examples/multi_provider.py)
* [examples/integrations/litellm\_providers.py](https://github.com/lemony-ai/cascadeflow/blob/main/examples/integrations/litellm_providers.py)
* [examples/multi\_instance\_ollama.py](https://github.com/lemony-ai/cascadeflow/blob/main/examples/multi_instance_ollama.py)
* [examples/multi\_instance\_vllm.py](https://github.com/lemony-ai/cascadeflow/blob/main/examples/multi_instance_vllm.py)