micsapp Openrouter Openai Compat
Overview
This skill explains how to use existing OpenAI SDK code with OpenRouter by changing only the base URL and API key, enabling access to 100+ models with minimal code changes.
Prerequisites
- Existing OpenAI SDK integration (Python or Node.js)
- OpenRouter API key
Instructions
- Swap the base URL: Change
base_urlfromhttps://api.openai.com/v1tohttps://openrouter.ai/api/v1in your OpenAI client initialization - Update the API key: Replace your OpenAI key with your OpenRouter
sk-or-...key - Update model IDs: Change model names to OpenRouter format (e.g.,
gpt-4becomesopenai/gpt-4or use any other provider's model) - Add OpenRouter-specific headers: Optionally set
HTTP-RefererandX-Titleheaders for better analytics tracking in the OpenRouter dashboard - Test compatibility: Run your existing test suite against OpenRouter; most endpoints work identically, but verify edge cases like streaming, tools, and embeddings
Output
- Existing OpenAI code working through OpenRouter with no logic changes
- Access to non-OpenAI models (Anthropic, Google, etc.) through the same SDK
- Side-by-side comparison showing the minimal changes needed
Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| 400 unsupported parameter | OpenRouter doesn't support a parameter your code sends | Remove or conditionally set parameters like logprobs or response_format based on the target model |
| Different embedding format | Embedding endpoints may behave differently | Use OpenRouter-specific embedding models or fall back to direct OpenAI for embeddings |
Missing organization header |
OpenRouter doesn't use org-level auth | Remove the organization parameter from client initialization |
See ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/errors.md for full error reference.
Examples
See ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/examples.md for runnable code samples.