The OpenAI Compatibility Paradox
The promise of a standardized interface for LLMs via OpenAI-compatible endpoints is compelling. In theory, it allows for a plug-and-play architecture where switching models is as trivial as changing a base_url. In practice, this compatibility is often an illusion. I’ve spent the past year building a multi-provider LLM backend, and the pattern is always the same: things work for basic text generation, then break the moment you need production-critical features. ...