Learn OpenRouter

Master the unified API gateway for 200+ AI models. Learn to access Claude, GPT-4o, Gemini, Llama, and more through a single API — with smart routing, fallbacks, and competitive pricing.

Start Course → View All Lessons
6
Lessons
30+
Examples
~1.5hr
Total Time
100%
Free

What You'll Learn

By the end of this course, you'll be able to use OpenRouter to access any AI model through a single, unified API.

🔗

Unified API Access

Access 200+ AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, and Mistral through one API key and one endpoint.

💰

Smart Pricing

Compare model pricing, use free models for development, and optimize costs with automatic routing to the cheapest provider.

🔧

Tool Integration

Connect OpenRouter with Cline, Kilocode, Continue.dev, and any OpenAI-compatible tool for seamless AI development.

🛡

Production Ready

Implement fallback strategies, rate limit handling, usage monitoring, and secure API key management for production deployments.

Course Lessons

Follow the lessons in order or jump to any topic you need.

Beginner

1. Introduction

What is OpenRouter? Understand the unified API gateway, why you need it, supported providers, and how it compares to direct APIs.

10 min read →
 Beginner

2. Getting Started

Create your account, get your API key, make your first API call, understand credits and billing, and explore free models.

12 min read →
 Beginner

3. Models & Pricing

Explore available models, compare pricing, understand model categories, and learn to choose the right model for your task.

15 min read →
 Intermediate

4. API Usage

Master the OpenAI-compatible API with request/response examples in curl, Python, and Node.js. Streaming, function calling, and more.

18 min read →
 Intermediate

5. Integration

Use OpenRouter with Cline, Kilocode, Continue.dev, and any OpenAI-compatible tool. SDK setup and model routing.

15 min read →
 Advanced

6. Best Practices

Cost optimization, rate limit handling, fallback strategies, monitoring, security, and production deployment tips.

12 min read →

Prerequisites

What you need before starting this course.

Before You Begin:
  • Basic understanding of APIs (helpful but not required)
  • A free OpenRouter account at openrouter.ai
  • Familiarity with at least one programming language (Python or JavaScript recommended)
  • A terminal or code editor for making API calls