> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.wednesdayai.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# OpenRouter

> Access 100+ models from a single OpenRouter API key — unified billing and automatic fallback.

# OpenRouter

[OpenRouter](https://openrouter.ai) is a unified API gateway that gives WednesdayAI access to hundreds of models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Mistral, Meta, and others — all from one API key.

## When to use it

* Experiment with many models without managing separate keys
* Unified billing across providers
* Access to models not available in your region

## Authentication

Create a key at [openrouter.ai/keys](https://openrouter.ai/keys), then onboard, or set it on the gateway host:

```bash theme={"dark"}
echo 'OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-...' >> ~/.openclaw/.env
```

## Selecting a model

OpenRouter model references are prefixed with `openrouter/` and keep the upstream `provider/model` path:

```json5 theme={"dark"}
{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: { primary: "openrouter/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5" },
    },
  },
}
```

| Model                | Reference                                      |
| -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| Claude Sonnet 4.5    | `openrouter/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5`       |
| Claude Opus 4.6      | `openrouter/anthropic/claude-opus-4-6`         |
| Gemini 2.0 Flash     | `openrouter/google/gemini-2.0-flash-001`       |
| Llama 3.3 70B        | `openrouter/meta-llama/llama-3.3-70b-instruct` |
| DeepSeek R1          | `openrouter/deepseek/deepseek-r1`              |
| Auto (smart routing) | `openrouter/openrouter/auto`                   |

<Note>
  When typing `/model` in chat with an OpenRouter reference, include the full `openrouter/` prefix — the reference is parsed by splitting on the first `/`, so the provider prefix is required for IDs that themselves contain `/`.
</Note>

Run `openclaw models status` to list models your key can access. WednesdayAI can also scan OpenRouter's free-model catalog with `openclaw models scan`.

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="401 Unauthorized">
    The key is invalid. Re-run onboarding with a fresh key from [openrouter.ai/keys](https://openrouter.ai/keys).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Model not available">
    Not all models are available on all tiers. Check [openrouter.ai/models](https://openrouter.ai/models) for your key's access.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Higher latency than a direct provider">
    OpenRouter adds a routing hop. Use it for experimentation; connect directly for latency-sensitive production.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>