# Link an OpenRouter key from inside Big-AGI

> A button in the setup panel installs the OpenRouter key without copy-paste, and one account then reaches many AI services on one balance.

- Canonical: https://big-agi.com/docs/connect-openrouter
- Minimum tier: open  [Open ⊂ Free ⊂ Pro - a tier only ever ADDS to the Open baseline]
- Kind: provider · Last content update generation: 2026-07-27 · Review by: 2026-10-27
- Answers: Where do I create an OpenRouter key? · Does one account really reach many providers' models? · Why is a free model so slow in Big-AGI?

OpenRouter is the one AI service whose fastest route to a working key runs through Big-AGI. A button in the setup panel sends you to OpenRouter to authorise, then brings the key back and installs it. Nothing is copied or pasted.

## Linking the key, or creating one by hand

1. Open **Models** (`Ctrl + Shift + M`), press **More Services** if the **Setup AI Models** wizard is showing, then **Add** -> **OpenRouter**.
2. Press **Link OpenRouter Key**. You authorise at OpenRouter and return with the key already in place. The button relabels itself **Create New Key** once a valid key is present.
3. Prefer to do it yourself? Create one at [openrouter.ai/keys](https://openrouter.ai/keys) instead. The key reads `sk-or-v1-...` and the console shows it once - copy it before leaving the page.

On the hosted app the linking step opens a second window. A popup blocker will interrupt it, and the flow then continues as a full-page redirect.

## Where the key lands

A linked key drops into **API Key** on its own. A manual key goes into that same field. Either way, press **Models** and the fetched list appears below the panel ([add and manage your keys](/docs/connect-models)).

## The deposit that funds it

The account runs on [prepaid deposits](https://openrouter.ai/settings/credits) drawn down per request, and that deposited balance is the limit - unless auto top-up is on, which refills it and removes the limit you thought you had. **Add Credits** on that page takes major credit cards, AliPay, or USDC. Some models are published at no charge on a low daily cap, so a first answer needs no deposit; real use does.

## One account, many AI services

The catalogue here spans the major vendors on a single bill. Big-AGI shows a curated subset of it by default and hides the rest, so a model you expected can be present but hidden ([hiding models you never use](/docs/connect-models)). A no-charge model then answers slowly on purpose: Big-AGI spaces its own calls about five seconds apart for those. That is pacing, not a fault.

## Direct Connection

Direct Connection can be turned on once the key is in the browser. It starts off.

> **Direct Connection works only with your API key stored in the browser**, and with an AI service that permits direct browser calls (CORS). Where it cannot be used, requests route through the Big-AGI fast edge servers instead - everything still works, within the standard upload size and time limits.

## Related

- [Connect an AI service](/docs/connect-models)
- [What your provider does with your text](/docs/privacy-data-flow)