Quickstart

Send one short chat request, then choose the integration guide for your editor, agent, or app.

1. Create your key #

1. Create an account and verify your email.
2. Open guided setup, choose your tool and model, and create a setup key. Eligible verified accounts receive $1 in test credit once.
3. Save your key. Guided setup can reveal it again until your first successful request. Keys created separately on API Keys are shown only once.

2. Make a request #

Use the commands for your shell. Replace YOUR_ROUTERPLEX_API_KEY with your key. You can replace claude-sonnet-4-6 with a chat model from the catalog that your key allows.

macOS / Linux — Bash or Zsh

export ROUTERPLEX_API_KEY='YOUR_ROUTERPLEX_API_KEY'
curl --fail-with-body https://api.routerplex.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ROUTERPLEX_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model":"claude-sonnet-4-6","max_tokens":256,"messages":[{"role":"user","content":"Reply with exactly: RouterPlex connected."}]}'

Windows — PowerShell

$env:ROUTERPLEX_API_KEY = 'YOUR_ROUTERPLEX_API_KEY'
$body = @{ model = 'claude-sonnet-4-6'; max_tokens = 256; messages = @(@{ role = 'user'; content = 'Reply with exactly: RouterPlex connected.' }) } | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 5
Invoke-RestMethod -Uri 'https://api.routerplex.com/v1/chat/completions' -Method Post -Headers @{ Authorization = "Bearer $env:ROUTERPLEX_API_KEY" } -ContentType 'application/json' -Body $body

PowerShell uses Invoke-RestMethod so these commands also work when curl is a PowerShell alias. Do not paste the Bash line continuations into PowerShell.

3. Confirm the result #

Look for RouterPlex connected. in choices[0].message.content, then check Usage for the request. Guided setup confirms a successful request automatically.

A 401 means the key is missing or invalid. A model error means the ID or key allowance does not match. A balance or budget error means you need available credit or a higher key budget. See Errors.

Keep building #

• Use the OpenAI SDKs or Anthropic SDK from your application.
• Choose an editor or agent for tool-specific instructions.
• Learn how to set environment variables for a new terminal, VS Code, or WSL.
• After the test credit is used, top up from $5 by card or $15 by crypto and keep the same key.

No code yet? Try the playground.