Connect OpenRouter directly

2 minute read · Chats & Local Agents

Use OpenRouter for direct text conversations and specialized generation models. This connection has its own account, API key, model catalog and usage information. It does not require OpenCode or another local coding agent to be installed.

• Add your account
• Find the right kind of model
• Text chat and coding agents are different
• Read usage and recover deliberately

Add your account#

1. Open Settings → AI providers and choose OpenRouter.
2. Add an account and start its connection flow.
3. Enter your OpenRouter key in the protected API key field, then choose Continue.
4. In a conversation, choose OpenRouter and the intended account. Open the model picker and choose a model for the result you want.
5. Submit one small request and read its result. A saved connection or loaded catalog alone is not proof that a paid request will succeed.

Your provider controls model access, credit, pricing and availability. Vortex does not include OpenRouter credit. Keep the key in settings; do not send it to a chat.

Find the right kind of model#

Use the categories under model search to filter text, images, video, speech, audio and other supported tasks. Search and category filters work together. Choose All models, or select the active category again, to clear the category filter. Favorites and provider/account selection remain separate choices.

A model's advertised capabilities determine its controls and acceptable files. Selecting a category does not make every model support every input format or parameter.

Text chat and coding agents are different#

Direct text requests use the conversation and explicitly attached supported files. They do not launch OpenCode or expose local coding-agent tools. Use OpenCode, Cursor or another coding agent when the task needs to read and change a local project through agent tools.

Specialized models use the generation workflow and saved Versions.

Read usage and recover deliberately#

Check the account usage information where available. Missing or expired information is not an unlimited balance. An error can describe provider credit, unsupported inputs or a failed generation job. Read it before submitting another paid request.

An accepted video job can continue by checking its saved job ID. Reading that job's status is different from submitting a new generation. A failed or uncertain request is not automatically repeated as a new paid submission.

Next: create media, versions and references, provider usage.