Quickstart

Make your first RouterBase request.

RouterBase exposes an OpenAI-compatible base URL, so you can use familiar SDKs and request shapes across the supported model catalog.

Before you start

You need a RouterBase API key and a model ID from the live model catalog.

Keep API keys server-side.

Store your key in an environment variable. Never commit it to a repository or expose it in browser code.

export ROUTERBASE_API_KEY="your_api_key"
export ROUTERBASE_MODEL="your_model_id"

Node.js

Install the official OpenAI JavaScript SDK:

npm install openai

Create index.mjs:

import OpenAI from "openai";

const client = new OpenAI({
  apiKey: process.env.ROUTERBASE_API_KEY,
  baseURL: "https://routerbase.com/v1",
});

const response = await client.chat.completions.create({
  model: process.env.ROUTERBASE_MODEL,
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Explain API routing in one sentence." }],
});

console.log(response.choices[0].message.content);

Run it with node index.mjs.

Python

Install the official OpenAI Python SDK:

python -m pip install openai

Create main.py:

import os
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key=os.environ["ROUTERBASE_API_KEY"],
    base_url="https://routerbase.com/v1",
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model=os.environ["ROUTERBASE_MODEL"],
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Explain API routing in one sentence."}],
)

print(response.choices[0].message.content)

Run it with python main.py.

cURL

Call the chat completions endpoint without installing an SDK:

curl https://routerbase.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ROUTERBASE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "'"$ROUTERBASE_MODEL"'",
    "messages": [
      {"role": "user", "content": "Explain API routing in one sentence."}
    ]
  }'

Find a model ID

Model availability changes over time. Use the live catalog or the models endpoint instead of hard-coding an ID copied from an old example.

Browse model catalog Models API reference

Next steps

Explore examplesNode.js, Python, Docker, Go, Ruby, and TypeScript runtimes. → Import a collectionUse OpenAPI, Postman, Bruno, or Insomnia. → Read the cookbookFollow focused tutorials and integration patterns. → Open the docsReview endpoints, request parameters, and guides. →