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Overview

OpenRouterLLMService provides access to OpenRouter’s language models through an OpenAI-compatible interface. It inherits from OpenAILLMService and supports streaming responses, function calling, and context management with access to multiple model providers through a single API.

OpenRouter LLM API Reference

Pipecat’s API methods for OpenRouter integration

Example Implementation

Complete example with function calling

OpenRouter Documentation

Official OpenRouter API documentation and features

OpenRouter Platform

Access multiple model providers and manage API keys

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Installation

To use OpenRouter services, install the required dependencies: 
pip install "pipecat-ai[openrouter]"

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Prerequisites

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OpenRouter Account Setup

Before using OpenRouter LLM services, you need:
  1. OpenRouter Account: Sign up at OpenRouter
  2. API Key: Generate an API key from your account dashboard
  3. Model Selection: Choose from hundreds of available models from different providers
  4. Credits: Add credits to your account for model usage

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Required Environment Variables

  • OPENROUTER_API_KEY: Your OpenRouter API key for authentication

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Configuration

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api_key
str
default:"None"
OpenRouter API key for authentication. If not provided, the client will attempt to read from environment variables.
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model
str
default:"openai/gpt-4o-2024-11-20"
Model identifier to use. Uses the provider/model format.
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base_url
str
default:"https://openrouter.ai/api/v1"
Base URL for OpenRouter API endpoint.

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InputParams

This service uses the same input parameters as OpenAILLMService. See OpenAI LLM for details.

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Usage

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Basic Setup

import os
from pipecat.services.openrouter import OpenRouterLLMService

llm = OpenRouterLLMService(
    api_key=os.getenv("OPENROUTER_API_KEY"),
    model="openai/gpt-4o-2024-11-20",
)

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With a Different Provider Model

from pipecat.services.openrouter import OpenRouterLLMService

llm = OpenRouterLLMService(
    api_key=os.getenv("OPENROUTER_API_KEY"),
    model="anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-20250514",
    params=OpenRouterLLMService.InputParams(
        temperature=0.7,
        max_completion_tokens=1024,
    ),
)

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Notes

  • OpenRouter model identifiers use the provider/model format (e.g., openai/gpt-4o, anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-20250514, google/gemini-pro).
  • When using Gemini models through OpenRouter, the service automatically handles the constraint that only one system message is allowed by converting additional system messages to user messages.