OpenRouter Account Setup

Overview

You'll create an OpenRouter account and get an API key to access 100+ models.

Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Very low

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🎯 Objectives

• ✅ Create an OpenRouter account
• ✅ Get an API key
• ✅ Configure .env
• ✅ Verify with curl

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📝 Step 1: Create an Account

1.1 Signup:

1. Visit: https://openrouter.ai/
2. Click "Sign Up"
3. Options:
   • Email + password
   • Google OAuth
   • GitHub OAuth

Recommendation: Google (1 click)

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1.2 Verification:

If you used email, verify your inbox (check spam).

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💳 Step 2: Credits and Billing

Free credits:

Some users get $1 free for testing.

Check:

• Dashboard → Credits
• Available balance

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If you need to add credits:

1. Dashboard → Billing
2. Add payment method (card)
3. Add credits ($5, $10, $20, etc.)

Spending limits:

• Set limit: $10/month (recommended)
• Alert: $5/month

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🔑 Step 3: Get an API Key

3.1 Generate a key:

1. Dashboard → API Keys
2. Click "Create Key"
3. Name: "Module 5 - Learning"
4. Click "Create"

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3.2 Copy the key:

sk-or-v1-abc123...

⚠️ You'll only see it once! Copy it now.

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3.3 Format:

OpenRouter API keys:

sk-or-v1-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Starts with sk-or-v1-

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🔐 Step 4: Configure .env

Create/edit .env:

# .env
OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-v1-abc123...

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Update .gitignore:

# .gitignore
.env
.env.local

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✅ Step 5: Verify with Curl

curl https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/models \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $OPENROUTER_API_KEY"

Expected output (first lines):

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "openai/gpt-3.5-turbo",
      "name": "GPT-3.5 Turbo"
    },
    {
      "id": "anthropic/claude-3-haiku",
      "name": "Claude 3 Haiku"
    },
    ...
  ]
}

If you see a list of models: ✅ Your API key works!

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🧪 Step 6: Test with Python

from dotenv import load_dotenv
import os
import requests

load_dotenv()
api_key = os.getenv("OPENROUTER_API_KEY")

if not api_key:
    print("❌ API key not found")
    exit(1)

print(f"✅ API Key: {api_key[:20]}...")

# List models
headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {api_key}"}
response = requests.get(
    "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1/models",
    headers=headers
)

if response.status_code == 200:
    models = response.json()["data"]
    print(f"✅ API works! {len(models)} models available")
    print(f"Examples: {models[0]['id']}, {models[1]['id']}")
else:
    print(f"❌ Error: {response.status_code}")

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🐛 Troubleshooting

Error: 401 Unauthorized

Cause: Incorrect API key

Solution:

• Verify the key starts with sk-or-v1-
• No spaces at the start/end
• Regenerate the key if needed

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Error: 402 Payment Required

Cause: Credits exhausted

Solution:

• Dashboard → Add credits
• Minimum $5

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📊 Dashboard Overview

Explore the dashboard:

1. Models:

• 100+ models available
• Filters: Provider, Cost, Context

2. Usage:

• Requests per model
• Accumulated cost
• Charts

3. API Keys:

• Manage keys
• Revoke keys

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✅ Summary

• OpenRouter account created
• API key obtained (sk-or-v1-...)
• .env configured
• Verified with curl and Python
• Ready to use 100+ models

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Next: 03-your-first-requests.md

You'll make requests to multiple models (GPT, Claude, Gemini) with the same API.

Time: 20 min