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Portkey provides a robust and secure gateway to integrate various Large Language Models (LLMs) into applications, including OpenRouter’s unified API. With Portkey, take advantage of features like fast AI gateway access, observability, prompt management, and more, while securely managing API keys through Model Catalog.

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Quick Start

Get OpenRouter working in 3 steps: 
from portkey_ai import Portkey

# 1. Install: pip install portkey-ai
# 2. Add @openrouter provider in model catalog
# 3. Use it:

portkey = Portkey(api_key="PORTKEY_API_KEY")

response = portkey.chat.completions.create(
    model="@openrouter/openai/gpt-4o",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Say this is a test"}]
)

print(response.choices[0].message.content)
Tip: You can also set provider="@openrouter" in Portkey() and use just model="openai/gpt-4o" in the request.

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Add Provider in Model Catalog

  1. Go to Model Catalog → Add Provider
  2. Select OpenRouter
  3. Choose existing credentials or create new by entering your OpenRouter API key
  4. Name your provider (e.g., openrouter-prod)

Complete Setup Guide →

See all setup options, code examples, and detailed instructions

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OpenRouter Tool Calling

Tool calling lets models trigger external tools based on conversation context. You define available functions, the model chooses when to use them, and your application executes them and returns results. Portkey supports OpenRouter tool calling and makes it interoperable across multiple providers. With Portkey Prompts, you can templatize your prompts and tool schemas.

OpenRouter Tool Calling

View OpenRouter’s tool calling documentation
from portkey_ai import Portkey

portkey = Portkey(
    api_key="PORTKEY_API_KEY",
    provider="@openrouter"
)

tools = [{
    "type": "function",
    "function": {
        "name": "getWeather",
        "description": "Get the current weather",
        "parameters": {
            "type": "object",
            "properties": {
                "location": {"type": "string", "description": "City and state"},
                "unit": {"type": "string", "enum": ["celsius", "fahrenheit"]}
            },
            "required": ["location"]
        }
    }
}]

response = portkey.chat.completions.create(
    model="openai/gpt-4o",
    messages=[
        {"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant."},
        {"role": "user", "content": "What's the weather like in Delhi?"}
    ],
    tools=tools,
    tool_choice="auto"
)

print(response.choices[0].finish_reason)

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Next Steps

Add Metadata

Add metadata to your OpenRouter requests

Gateway Configs

Add gateway configs to your OpenRouter requests

Tracing

Trace your OpenRouter requests

Fallbacks

Setup fallback strategies with OpenRouter
For complete SDK documentation:

SDK Reference

Complete Portkey SDK documentation
Last modified on February 9, 2026