Using OpenRouter for Multiple Models

What is OpenRouter?

OpenRouter provides unified access to multiple AI models through a single API, including:

OpenAI models (GPT-4, GPT-3.5)
Anthropic models (Claude)
Meta models (Llama)
Mistral models
Google models (Gemini)
Many others

Pay-as-you-go pricing with one account instead of managing multiple provider accounts.

Getting Started with OpenRouter

Go to openrouter.ai
Click "Sign Up"
Create account with email or OAuth
Add credits to your account

Creating API Key

Log in to OpenRouter
Go to "Keys" section
Click "Create Key"
Give it a name
Copy the key (starts with sk-or-)

Configuration in AgentClaw

Add these environment variables:

OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-your-key AI_MODEL=anthropic/claude-4.5-sonnet OPENROUTER_APP_NAME=AgentClaw Bot

Then restart your instance.

Available Models

Popular models on OpenRouter (use these as AI_MODEL):

Anthropic/Claude

anthropic/claude-4.6-opus
anthropic/claude-4.5-sonnet
anthropic/claude-4.5-haiku

OpenAI

openai/gpt-4.1
openai/gpt-4-turbo
openai/gpt-3.5-turbo

Meta/Llama

meta-llama/llama-3.1-70b-instruct
meta-llama/llama-3.1-8b-instruct

Mistral

mistralai/mistral-large
mistralai/mistral-medium

See full list at openrouter.ai/models

Pricing

OpenRouter adds a small markup (~10-20%) to provider prices. Benefits:

Single account for all models
Unified billing
Easy model switching
No need to manage multiple API keys

Check current pricing at openrouter.ai/models

Advantages of OpenRouter

Model variety: Access 50+ models
Easy switching: Change AI_MODEL variable, no new API key
Fallback support: Specify backup models if primary is unavailable
Cost comparison: Compare prices across models easily
One billing statement: All usage in one place

Monitoring Usage

Log in to OpenRouter dashboard
View usage statistics
See breakdown by model
Track credit balance
Enable low balance alerts

Switching Models

To try different models:

Update AI_MODEL environment variable
Use format: provider/model-name
Save changes
Restart instance
Test with messages

Best Practices

Start with credits: Add $10-20 to test
Enable auto-top-up: Prevent service interruption
Try multiple models: Find best balance of cost/quality
Monitor usage: Some models more expensive than others
Set spending limits: Configure alerts

Troubleshooting

"Invalid API key"

Verify key starts with sk-or-
Check variable name is OPENROUTER_API_KEY
Ensure key wasn't revoked

"Model not found"

Check model name format: provider/model
Verify model exists at openrouter.ai/models
Some models may be temporarily unavailable

"Insufficient credits"

Add credits in OpenRouter dashboard
Enable auto-top-up
Check credit balance

When to Use OpenRouter

Good For:

Experimenting with multiple models
Avoiding vendor lock-in
Accessing models not directly available
Simplified billing across providers

May Not Be Best For:

Production use requiring direct provider SLAs
Situations where markup matters significantly
When you only use one provider