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Make the first request in minutes.

Use the standard OpenAI request shape. Point your client at OpenRouter, add a scoped key and select a published route.

Get API key Need access?

Quickstart

1. Buy OpenRouter credits.
2. Create an OpenRouter API key in the dashboard.
3. Send requests to the base URL with a model ID such as openrouter/claude-sonnet-4-6.

Base URL

https://api.openrouter.stream/v1

API key format

sk-...

Model aliases

openrouter/claude-fable-5

Claude Fable 5 through OpenRouter

openrouter/claude-opus-5

Claude Opus 5 through OpenRouter

openrouter/claude-sonnet-5

Claude Sonnet 5 through OpenRouter

openrouter/claude-opus-4-8

Claude Opus 4.8 through OpenRouter

openrouter/claude-opus-4-8-thinking

Claude Opus 4.8 Thinking through OpenRouter

openrouter/claude-opus-4-7

Claude Opus 4.7 through OpenRouter

openrouter/claude-sonnet-4-6

Claude Sonnet 4.6 through OpenRouter

openrouter/claude-haiku-4-5

Claude Haiku 4.5 through OpenRouter

Streaming

Streaming support depends on the selected route. Check route availability and test with your OpenRouter API key before wide rollout.

Controlled user note

Do not send highly sensitive data through best-effort community routes. Route multipliers apply to total token usage.

bash

curl https://api.openrouter.stream/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "openrouter/claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "messages": [
      {"role": "user", "content": "Summarize this diff and suggest next edits."}
    ]
  }'

javascript

const response = await fetch("https://api.openrouter.stream/v1/chat/completions", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    Authorization: "Bearer sk-...",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    model: "openrouter/claude-sonnet-4-6",
    messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Review this pull request." }],
  }),
});

const data = await response.json();

python

import requests

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.openrouter.stream/v1/chat/completions",
    headers={
        "Authorization": "Bearer sk-...",
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    json={
        "model": "openrouter/claude-sonnet-4-6",
        "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Generate release notes from these commits."}],
    },
)

print(response.json())

json

{
  "error": {
    "code": "insufficient_balance",
    "message": "Your OpenRouter credit balance is too low for this route.",
    "type": "billing_error"
  }
}

json

{
  "usage": {
    "input_tokens": 1800,
    "output_tokens": 3400,
    "route_multiplier": "x3",
    "charged_quota_tokens": 15600
  }
}