AI Provider Setup · BYOK

Connect OpenRouter

One key, every frontier model — the fastest way to try them all.

OpenRouter proxies dozens of model providers behind a single API key, so you can switch between Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, and Llama without signing up for each one. It is the default we recommend for most Admaxxer users — pay-as-you-go, no monthly minimums, and you can change models per-chat without touching settings.

Best used for

Key details

Where to generate your key
https://openrouter.ai/keys
Expected key format
Starts with sk-or-
Environment variable name (if self-hosting)
OPENROUTER_API_KEY
Provider pricing
https://openrouter.ai/models
Official docs
OpenRouter docs

Step-by-step setup

  1. 1 Create an OpenRouter account

    Sign up at openrouter.ai with Google, GitHub, or email. Free to create the account — you only pay for tokens you actually use.

  2. 2 Load credits

    Go to openrouter.ai/credits and top up with a card. $10 is enough to test every model on Admaxxer for a few weeks of normal use.

  3. 3 Open the API Keys page

    Navigate to openrouter.ai/keys or click your avatar then Keys. OpenRouter lets you create multiple keys so you can scope one per app.

  4. 4 Create a new key labeled Admaxxer

    Click Create Key, name it Admaxxer, optionally set a credit limit (e.g. $25), and hit Create. The limit protects you if the key ever leaks.

  5. 5 Copy the key right away

    The full key is shown exactly once. It begins with sk-or-. Paste it somewhere safe before closing the dialog.

  6. 6 Paste it into Admaxxer

    Go to Settings then AI Providers, find the OpenRouter row, paste the key, and click Connect. Admaxxer runs a test call and stores the key encrypted.

  7. 7 Pick a default model

    We recommend anthropic/claude-opus-4-7 for best reasoning plus tool use. You can always override the model per chat.

  8. 8 If the connection test fails

    Re-check the key starts with sk-or-, that you have credits loaded, and that the key has not been revoked on openrouter.ai/keys.

Test the connection inside Admaxxer

Once you've pasted your key into /settings/ai-providers, hit Test. Admaxxer makes a single no-cost call against the provider's /v1/models (or equivalent) endpoint and reports back:

Available models

These are the pinned model IDs Admaxxer tests against. The model picker in chat will show these plus any live-catalog entries the provider returns.

Model ID Display name Context Tools Best for
anthropic/claude-opus-4-7 Claude Opus (via OpenRouter) (recommended) 200K Yes Best all-round — deep reasoning, tool use, and 200K context. Our default pick.
anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6 Claude Sonnet (via OpenRouter) 200K Yes Faster and cheaper than Opus. Good for high-volume agent runs.
openai/gpt-5 GPT-5 (via OpenRouter) 400K Yes Largest context on OpenAI side. Useful for long-document analysis.
google/gemini-2.5-pro Gemini 2.5 Pro (via OpenRouter) 1000K Yes 1M-token context for very large dumps — ad creative libraries, transcripts, logs.
xai/grok-4 Grok 4 (via OpenRouter) 256K Yes Real-time X/Twitter access. Useful when questions depend on today's chatter.
deepseek/deepseek-r2 DeepSeek R2 (via OpenRouter) 128K Yes Cheapest reasoning tokens available. Good for bulk analytical workloads.

Common errors and fixes

401

When it happens: On first Connect, or later if the key is revoked.

Fix: Regenerate the key at openrouter.ai/keys and paste the new one. Keys cannot be recovered — rotate, don't retry.

402

When it happens: After your credits drop to zero.

Fix: Top up at openrouter.ai/credits. OpenRouter does not auto-recharge by default.

429

When it happens: Under heavy concurrent load on a specific model.

Fix: OpenRouter rate-limits per-model. Slow down, or switch to a different model for the current chat.

404

When it happens: If the selected model id is mistyped or has been deprecated upstream.

Fix: Pick a model from Admaxxer's list or browse openrouter.ai/models for current ids.

timeout

When it happens: If the upstream provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, etc.) is down.

Fix: Check openrouter.ai/status. Switch to another provider's model in the meantime.