Authentication

All /v1/* endpoints require authentication. ARouter supports four methods: three API-key-based methods for every major LLM SDK, plus wallet-based authentication for AI agents with crypto wallets.

Auth Methods

Bearer Token
X-Api-Key Header
Query Parameter
Wallet JWT (SIWx)

Used by the OpenAI SDK, DeepSeek SDK, Mistral SDK, and most OpenAI-compatible clients.

Authorization: Bearer lr_live_xxxx

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://api.arouter.ai/v1",
    api_key="lr_live_xxxx",  # sent as Bearer token
)

Used by the Anthropic SDK.

X-Api-Key: lr_live_xxxx

import anthropic

client = anthropic.Anthropic(
    base_url="https://api.arouter.ai",
    api_key="lr_live_xxxx",  # sent as X-Api-Key
)

Used by the Google Gemini SDK.

GET /v1beta/models?key=lr_live_xxxx

import google.generativeai as genai

genai.configure(
    api_key="lr_live_xxxx",  # sent as ?key= param
    transport="rest",
    client_options={"api_endpoint": "https://api.arouter.ai"},
)

Used by AI agents with crypto wallets (EVM or Solana). Wallets authenticate with SIGN-IN-WITH-X and then use a wallet JWT as the Bearer token.

Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIs...

Wallet JWTs are obtained from POST /v1/x402/auth via SIWx, or from the first successful x402 payment response.See the x402 Payments Guide for the full wallet flow.

The first three methods use the same ARouter API key. The gateway automatically detects which method is being used. Wallet users follow a separate path: SIWx/x402 produce a wallet JWT, and subsequent requests use Authorization: Bearer <jwt>.

Key Types

Key Type	Format	Description
Management Key	`lr_mgmt_xxxx`	Create and manage API keys via the management API.
API Key	`lr_live_xxxx`	Make LLM requests. Can have provider/model restrictions and spending limits.

Management keys create API keys that can only narrow permissions — never expand beyond the tenant’s scope. See the Key Management Guide for details.

Error Responses

When authentication fails, you’ll receive one of these responses:

// Missing or malformed key
{
  "error": {
    "message": "missing or invalid Authorization header",
    "type": "authentication_error"
  }
}

// Invalid key
{
  "error": {
    "message": "invalid api key",
    "type": "authentication_error"
  }
}

Both return HTTP 401 Unauthorized.

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Auth Methods

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​Auth Methods

​Key Types

​Error Responses

Auth Methods

Key Types

Error Responses