OpenRouter

OpenRouter provides a unified API that routes requests to many models behind a single endpoint and API key. It is OpenAI-compatible, so most OpenAI SDKs work by switching the base URL.

# Getting started

openclaw onboard --auth-choice openrouter-api-key

openclaw models set openrouter/<provider>/<model>

# Config example

{
  env: { OPENROUTER_API_KEY: "sk-or-..." },
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: { primary: "openrouter/auto" },
    },
  },
}

# Model references

Bundled fallback examples:

# Image generation

OpenRouter can also back the image_generate tool. Use an OpenRouter image model under agents.defaults.imageGenerationModel:

{
  env: { OPENROUTER_API_KEY: "sk-or-..." },
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      imageGenerationModel: {
        primary: "openrouter/google/gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview",
        timeoutMs: 180_000,
      },
    },
  },
}

OpenClaw sends image requests to OpenRouter's chat completions image API with modalities: ["image", "text"]. Gemini image models receive supported aspectRatio and resolution hints through OpenRouter's image_config. Use agents.defaults.imageGenerationModel.timeoutMs for slower OpenRouter image models; the image_generate tool's per-call timeoutMs parameter still wins.

# Video generation

OpenRouter can also back the video_generate tool through its asynchronous /videos API. Use an OpenRouter video model under agents.defaults.videoGenerationModel:

{
  env: { OPENROUTER_API_KEY: "sk-or-..." },
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      videoGenerationModel: {
        primary: "openrouter/google/veo-3.1-fast",
      },
    },
  },
}

OpenClaw submits text-to-video and image-to-video jobs to OpenRouter, polls the returned polling_url, and downloads the completed video from OpenRouter's unsigned_urls or the documented job content endpoint. Reference images are sent as first/last frame images by default; images tagged with reference_image are sent as OpenRouter input references. The bundled google/veo-3.1-fast default advertises the currently supported 4/6/8 second durations, 720P/1080P resolutions, and 16:9/9:16 aspect ratios. Video-to-video is not registered for OpenRouter because the upstream video generation API currently accepts text and image references.

# Text-to-speech

OpenRouter can also be used as a TTS provider through its OpenAI-compatible /audio/speech endpoint.

{
  messages: {
    tts: {
      auto: "always",
      provider: "openrouter",
      providers: {
        openrouter: {
          model: "hexgrad/kokoro-82m",
          voice: "af_alloy",
          responseFormat: "mp3",
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

If messages.tts.providers.openrouter.apiKey is omitted, TTS reuses models.providers.openrouter.apiKey, then OPENROUTER_API_KEY.

# Authentication and headers

OpenRouter uses a Bearer token with your API key under the hood.

On real OpenRouter requests (https://openrouter.ai/api/v1), OpenClaw also adds OpenRouter's documented app-attribution headers:

# Advanced configuration

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      models: {
        "openrouter/auto": {
          params: {
            responseCache: true,
            responseCacheTtlSeconds: 300,
          },
        },
      },
    },
  },
}

# Related