diff --git a/src/ai_process.py b/src/ai_process.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c2e9225
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ai_process.py
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+import argparse
+import json
+import logging
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from aiprocess import AIConfig, build_processor, load_system_prompt
+from config import load, redacted_dict
+
+
+def _read_text(arg_text: str) -> str:
+    if arg_text:
+        return arg_text
+    return sys.stdin.read()
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
+    parser.add_argument("--config", default="", help="path to config.json")
+    parser.add_argument("text", nargs="?", default="", help="text to process (or stdin)")
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    logging.basicConfig(stream=sys.stderr, level=logging.INFO, format="ai: %(asctime)s %(message)s")
+    cfg = load(args.config)
+
+    logging.info(
+        "config (%s):\n%s",
+        args.config or str(Path.home() / ".config" / "lel" / "config.json"),
+        json.dumps(redacted_dict(cfg), indent=2),
+    )
+
+    if not cfg.ai_enabled:
+        logging.warning("ai_enabled is false; proceeding anyway")
+
+    prompt = load_system_prompt(cfg.ai_system_prompt_file)
+    logging.info("system prompt:\n%s", prompt)
+
+    processor = build_processor(
+        AIConfig(
+            model=cfg.ai_model,
+            temperature=cfg.ai_temperature,
+            system_prompt_file=cfg.ai_system_prompt_file,
+            base_url=cfg.ai_base_url,
+            api_key=cfg.ai_api_key,
+            timeout_sec=cfg.ai_timeout_sec,
+        )
+    )
+
+    text = _read_text(args.text).strip()
+    if not text:
+        logging.error("no input text provided")
+        return 2
+
+    output = processor.process(text)
+    sys.stdout.write(output)
+    if not output.endswith("\n"):
+        sys.stdout.write("\n")
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    raise SystemExit(main())
diff --git a/src/aiprocess.py b/src/aiprocess.py
index b98fd11..e4af413 100644
--- a/src/aiprocess.py
+++ b/src/aiprocess.py
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import json
+import urllib.request
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from pathlib import Path
 
-import ollama
-
 
 def load_system_prompt(path: str | None) -> str:
     if path:
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@ def load_system_prompt(path: str | None) -> str:
 
 @dataclass
 class AIConfig:
-    provider: str
     model: str
     temperature: float
     system_prompt_file: str
@@ -23,24 +22,46 @@ class AIConfig:
     timeout_sec: int
 
 
-class OllamaProcessor:
+class GenericAPIProcessor:
     def __init__(self, cfg: AIConfig):
         self.cfg = cfg
         self.system = load_system_prompt(cfg.system_prompt_file)
-        self.client = ollama.Client(host=cfg.base_url)
 
     def process(self, text: str) -> str:
-        resp = self.client.generate(
-            model=self.cfg.model,
-            prompt=text,
-            system=self.system,
-            options={"temperature": self.cfg.temperature},
-        )
-        return (resp.get("response") or "").strip()
+        payload = {
+            "model": self.cfg.model,
+            "messages": [
+                {"role": "system", "content": self.system},
+                {"role": "user", "content": f"<transcript>{text}</transcript>"},
+            ],
+            "temperature": self.cfg.temperature,
+        }
+        data = json.dumps(payload).encode("utf-8")
+        req = urllib.request.Request(self.cfg.base_url, data=data, method="POST")
+        req.add_header("Content-Type", "application/json")
+        if self.cfg.api_key:
+            req.add_header("Authorization", f"Bearer {self.cfg.api_key}")
+
+        with urllib.request.urlopen(req, timeout=self.cfg.timeout_sec) as resp:
+            body = resp.read()
+
+        out = json.loads(body.decode("utf-8"))
+
+        if isinstance(out, dict):
+            if "output" in out:
+                return str(out["output"]).strip()
+            if "response" in out:
+                return str(out["response"]).strip()
+            if "choices" in out and out["choices"]:
+                choice = out["choices"][0]
+                msg = choice.get("message") or {}
+                content = msg.get("content") or choice.get("text")
+                if content is not None:
+                    return str(content).strip()
+        raise RuntimeError("unexpected response format")
 
 
-def build_processor(cfg: AIConfig) -> OllamaProcessor:
-    provider = cfg.provider.strip().lower()
-    if provider != "ollama":
-        raise ValueError(f"unsupported ai provider: {cfg.provider}")
-    return OllamaProcessor(cfg)
+def build_processor(cfg: AIConfig) -> GenericAPIProcessor:
+    if not cfg.base_url:
+        raise ValueError("ai_base_url is required for generic API")
+    return GenericAPIProcessor(cfg)