What is OpenRouter?
No dated launch filed yet
Summary
OpenRouter is an API with SDKs and an agent package for sending chat requests to models via one endpoint.
- Category
- Agent infra
- MCP
- Yes
- Pricing
- Not stated in the sources on this page.
- Links
- Website
OpenRouter's quickstart guide describes a chat completions endpoint. Requests carry a bearer API key and a model name plus messages. The guide's section headings read "Full control, any language, no dependencies", "Type-safe model calls with minimal overhead" and "Building agents with tool use, loops, and state".
According to the guide, you can call the endpoint with Python requests, fetch or curl. It also shows an @openrouter/sdk package for TypeScript, installed with npm or deno, and a Python openrouter client. Another example uses the OpenAI SDK with its base URL set to OpenRouter's API. The @openrouter/agent package is shown with a tool definition and a callModel call, and the guide lists an MCP endpoint. Pricing, license and model availability are not stated in the cited sources.
For related tools, see the Agent infra category, and the Opik vs Langfuse guide. Read the original OpenRouter Quickstart Guide for the full examples.
OpenRouter alternatives
| Tool | License | Pricing note |
|---|---|---|
OpenRouterThis pageOpenRouter is an API with SDKs and an agent package for sending chat requests to models via one endpoint. | — | Not stated |
LiteLLMLiteLLM is an open-source library with a unified interface to call 100+ LLMs in the OpenAI format. | Open source | Not stated |
Launches and updates
No dated launch has been filed for OpenRouter yet. The description above is from the project’s own pages.
Guides covering OpenRouter
Questions
What is OpenRouter?
According to its quickstart guide, OpenRouter exposes a chat completions endpoint that takes a model name and a list of messages. The guide also shows an @openrouter/sdk package, an @openrouter/agent package and a Python client.
Is OpenRouter open source?
Not stated in the cited sources. The quickstart excerpts do not give a license or say whether the service is open source.
How is OpenRouter used?
Its quickstart shows requests sent with an Authorization bearer API key to the chat completions endpoint using Python requests, fetch, curl, the OpenRouter SDKs, or the OpenAI SDK with the base URL pointed at OpenRouter.