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

# Groq

> Configure evalflow to run fast, low-cost evals using Groq's inference API.

Use Groq when you want fast CI checks without incurring high API costs. Groq offers a free tier with no credit card required, making it a strong default for teams that want routine regression checks on every pull request without slowing builds down.

Groq is also the **default judge provider** that evalflow uses to score outputs — so even if you test against a different provider, Groq is already part of your eval pipeline unless you override the `judge` block.

## Configure evalflow\.yaml

Add a `groq` block under `providers` and set `default_provider` to `groq`:

```yaml theme={null}
providers:
  groq:
    api_key_env: "GROQ_API_KEY"
    default_model: "llama-3.1-8b-instant"

eval:
  default_provider: "groq"
```

`api_key_env` is the name of the environment variable that holds your key — evalflow reads the variable at runtime and never stores the key itself.

## Set your API key

Get a free key at [console.groq.com](https://console.groq.com), then export it:

```bash theme={null}
export GROQ_API_KEY="your-key-here"
```

<Tip>Add this line to your shell profile (`~/.bashrc`, `~/.zshrc`, etc.) or a `.env` file so you do not have to re-export it each session. Never commit your `.env` file to version control.</Tip>

## Verify the connection

Run `evalflow doctor` to confirm evalflow can see the key before running any evals:

```bash theme={null}
evalflow doctor
```

```text theme={null}
✓ GROQ_API_KEY set
```

## Run evals

```bash theme={null}
evalflow eval --provider groq
```

```text theme={null}
Running test cases against llama-3.1-8b-instant...
Quality Gate: PASS
```

If `eval.default_provider` is already set to `groq` in your `evalflow.yaml`, you can omit the `--provider` flag:

```bash theme={null}
evalflow eval
```

## Provider notes

* **Default model:** `llama-3.1-8b-instant`. This model is fast and well-suited for CI use cases where latency matters.
* **Free tier:** Groq's free tier covers a generous number of tokens per day, enough for routine eval runs on most projects.
* **Judge model:** evalflow's default judge is `llama-3.1-8b-instant` on Groq. If you want a different judge, update the `judge` block in `evalflow.yaml`:

```yaml theme={null}
judge:
  provider: "groq"
  model: "llama-3.1-8b-instant"
```

## Best for

* CI/CD pipelines where fast feedback loops matter
* Teams on a budget or without a billing account on other providers
* Default judge-model usage without additional configuration