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OpenRouter provides access to multiple AI models through a single API, including several free models perfect for code analysis with Vibrant CLI.

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Why OpenRouter?

  • Free models available - No credit card required for free tier models
  • Multiple models - Automatically fallback to different models if one fails
  • Simple setup - Single API key for access to multiple providers
  • Good quality - Free models perform well for code analysis tasks

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Get an API key

1

Create an account

Visit openrouter.ai and sign up for a free account.
2

Get your API key

Navigate to Keys and create a new API key.
3

Copy your key

Your key will look like sk-or-v1-.... Keep it secure.

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Setup

Set the environment variable in your shell: 
export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="sk-or-v1-..."
To make it permanent, add it to your shell profile: 
# Add this line to your shell profile
export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="sk-or-v1-..."

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Option 2: .env file

Create a .env file in your project directory:
.env
OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-v1-...
Add .env to your .gitignore to avoid committing your API key to version control.

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Option 3: Configuration file

Create a vibrant.config.js file:
vibrant.config.js
module.exports = {
  provider: 'openrouter',
  // API key will be read from environment variable
};

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Usage

Run Vibrant with AI analysis: 
# Auto-detect provider (if OPENROUTER_API_KEY is set)
vibrant . --ai

# Explicitly specify OpenRouter
vibrant . --ai --provider openrouter

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Free models

Vibrant automatically tries these free OpenRouter models in order:
  • Context: 128k tokens
  • Quality: Excellent for code analysis
  • Speed: Fast
  • Best for: General code analysis
  • Context: 32k tokens
  • Quality: Good
  • Speed: Very fast
  • Best for: Quick analysis of smaller codebases
  • Context: 32k tokens
  • Quality: Excellent reasoning
  • Speed: Medium
  • Best for: Complex pattern detection
  • Context: 8k tokens
  • Quality: Good
  • Speed: Fast
  • Best for: Small files and quick checks
If one model fails or hits rate limits, Vibrant automatically tries the next available model. You’ll see which model is being used in the output.

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Pricing

Free tier models:
  • Cost: $0.00 per request
  • Rate limits: Varies by model (typically generous for free models)
  • Usage limits: Fair use policy applies
Paid models are also available if you add credits to your OpenRouter account.

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Example output

When using OpenRouter, you’ll see which model is being tried: 
vibrant . --ai --provider openrouter

🔮 Vibrant Analysis
─────────────────────

📡 AI Analysis (openrouter)
   Trying model: arcee-ai/trinity-large-preview:free...

✔ Analysis complete

📋 Summary:
The codebase contains 3 security issues and 5 code quality warnings.
Primary concerns are hardcoded credentials and empty error handlers.

🔍 Key Findings:
  • API keys hardcoded in src/api.ts
  • Empty catch blocks in src/utils.ts
  • Excessive console.log statements

💡 Recommendations:
  • Move secrets to environment variables
  • Implement proper error handling
  • Remove debug logging before production

✕ 3 errors · ⚠ 5 warnings · 48 files · 12s

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Troubleshooting

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Error: API key not found

OpenRouter API key not found. Set OPENROUTER_API_KEY environment variable.
Solution: Make sure you’ve set the OPENROUTER_API_KEY environment variable: 
export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="sk-or-v1-..."

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Error: All models failed

All OpenRouter models failed. Last error: rate limit exceeded
Solution: Free models have rate limits. Try again in a few minutes or use a different provider: 
vibrant . --ai --provider gemini

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Model fallback

If you see multiple “model failed” messages, Vibrant is automatically trying different models: 
⚠ arcee-ai/trinity-large-preview:free failed: rate limit...
   Trying model: stepfun/step-3-5-flash:free...
✔ Analysis complete
This is normal behavior and ensures your analysis completes successfully.

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Best practices

1

Use .env for local development

Keep your API key in a .env file and add it to .gitignore.
2

Use environment variables in CI/CD

Set OPENROUTER_API_KEY as a secret in your CI/CD pipeline.
3

Set a default provider

Add provider: 'openrouter' to vibrant.config.js to avoid typing --provider every time.

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Next steps

AI providers overview

Compare all available providers

Google Gemini setup

Try Google’s free tier for faster analysis

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