Overview
OpenRouter is a gateway: you pay OpenRouter, and it routes to Claude, GPT, Gemini, open models and more. Handy when you want to try many models without many accounts.
Some models are free to use (their names end in :free), with daily limits.
Get a key
- 1Go to openrouter.ai/keys and sign in with email, Google or GitHub.
- 2Choose Create Key, name it, and optionally set a credit limit for the key.
- 3Copy the key (it starts with
sk-or-). It is shown once. - 4Optional: add credit under Credits. Paid models need it, and it also lifts the daily limits on free models.
Cost. Credits are optional for free models and required for paid ones. Card top-ups carry a small fee. Set a limit on the key to cap spending.
Add it to Loom
- 1Open Loom, then Providers in the menu, and choose Add provider.
- 2Pick OpenRouter (the search box finds it).
- 3Fill in the fields in the table below.
- 4Choose Connect. Loom checks the key and says how many models it found. If it cannot check, it says so, and you can Save anyway and try a message.
- 5Open the model chip below the message box and pick a model.
| Field in Loom | What to put | Needed |
|---|---|---|
| API key | Paste the key you copied. Create one at openrouter.ai → Keys. | Yes |
| Endpoint | https://openrouter.ai/api/v1 | Pre-filled |
| Name | Anything you like. It is shown in the model picker | Optional |
At a glance
| Appears in Loom as | OpenRouter |
| Sign-in | Your key, sent as Authorization: Bearer |
| Models | Loom fetches the list from your account |
| Tools (connectors, search) | Depends on the model |
| Photos | Yes |
| PDFs | Yes |
Good to know
The model list is long. Use the search box in the model picker.
Known limit: Gemini 3 models through OpenRouter need an extra reasoning detail that Loom does not carry yet, so tool use may fail. Use Gemini directly for tool chats.
If something goes wrong
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| 402, “insufficient credits” | That model is paid. Add credit, or choose a model ending in :free. |
| 429 on a free model | You hit the free daily limit. Wait, or add credit. |