Quickstart

Two paths to your first FreeRouter request. Pick the one that matches where you're starting from — both end with live traffic flowing through a routing rule you control.

Just want to tinker first? Drop a FreeRouter key routed at your own OpenRouter key into .env and run npm install && npm start — chat in under five minutes on a free default model, then swap the same app to OpenRouter with two config values.
Download & run demo from GitHub

Choose your path

Starting fresh

Not using a gateway yet? Sign up, pick one or more gateways, add your provider keys, set a routing rule, and integrate with your code. About 10 minutes, step by step.

Best for: new projects and first-time LLM setups.

Migrating from a gateway

Already calling OpenAI, OpenRouter, Anthropic, or another gateway? Swap the base URL and the key — endpoints, bodies, and streaming stay identical. Includes a migration-assistant wizard that drafts an agent prompt.

Best for: moving existing code to FreeRouter.

Which one am I?

If you…	Start with	You'll need
Have no gateway account yet, or are starting a new project	Starting fresh	An email address (FreeRouter signup) — gateway accounts come in step 2
Already call an LLM API from code you want to keep	Migrating	Your current base URL / SDK setup and your gateway's API key (it becomes a provider key)

How FreeRouter fits (both paths)

Both paths run through the same three dashboard steps — account, provider key, FreeRouter key — written out once in Getting Started. Your app then sends one fr_live_... key and a routing rule decides which gateway serves each request.

Other starting points

You want to…	Go to
Set up an account, provider key and FreeRouter key for the first time	Getting Started
Swap base URL + key in the SDK you already use (OpenAI, Anthropic, Claude Code, Vercel AI SDK, LangChain, LiteLLM, Responses, Gemini)	Use your SDK
Fix a 401 / 402 / 404 / 502 on your first request	Troubleshooting
Know what changes behind the proxy — headers, limits, unsupported endpoints	What's different

After either path

Hit the key card's Test key button in the dashboard to send a tiny live completion through your routing rule.
Confirm routing with the X-FreeRouter-Provider response header and GET /v1/models.
Watch spend and errors on the Usage & Spend page, then tune your rule on the Routing Rules page. Anything failing: Troubleshooting.

Next Quickstart — Starting fresh