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type: entityconfidence: highupdated: 2026-06-10hermes_version: v0.15.0sources: 10

Overview

OpenRouter is the most-recommended single key for Hermes: an aggregator that fronts hundreds of models (Anthropic, Google, Meta, DeepSeek, …) behind one OpenAI-compatible API. Provider id: openrouter. One OPENROUTER_API_KEY unlocks the main model and — importantly — the default auxiliary model path: vision, web summarization, and MoA tools default to Gemini Flash via OpenRouter, so an OpenRouter key "enables these tools automatically" even when your primary provider is Nous Portal, Codex, or a custom endpoint. It is also the only provider with sub-provider routing controls (model switching covers the broader switching machinery).

Characteristics

  • Setup: OPENROUTER_API_KEY in ~/.hermes/.env (keys look like sk-or-v1-...); OPENROUTER_BASE_URL overrides the endpoint
  • Model id format: vendor/model, e.g. anthropic/claude-sonnet-4, meta-llama/llama-3.1-70b-instruct; with an explicit provider prefix on the CLI: openrouter/meta-llama/llama-3.1-70b-instruct
  • Variant tags: :free, :extended, :fast suffixes are preserved across /model switches (added in version v0.9.0)
  • Provider routing (OpenRouter only): provider_routing in config.yaml — sort (price / throughput / latency), only, ignore, order, require_parameters, data_collection (allow/deny) — passed via extra_body.provider on every call
  • Catalog: live catalog refresh (v0.9.0); pulled from a remote manifest since version v0.12.0
  • Response caching: explicit cache control on supporting models (version v0.13.0); 1-hour cross-session Claude prompt cache also applies on OpenRouter (version v0.14.0)
  • Pareto Code router: min_coding_score knob routes to the cheapest model meeting your coding-quality bar (v0.14.0)
  • Sticky routing: session_id passed in extra_body for in-session provider stickiness (version v0.15.0)
  • Credential pools: multiple OpenRouter keys rotate on 429/402/401 (hermes auth add openrouter)

How to Use

# Set the key (auto-saves to ~/.hermes/.env)
hermes config set OPENROUTER_API_KEY sk-or-v1-your-key-here

# Pick a model interactively
hermes model

# Or per-session
hermes chat --model openrouter/meta-llama/llama-3.1-70b-instruct

Permanent config in ~/.hermes/config.yaml:

model:
  provider: openrouter
  default: anthropic/claude-sonnet-4

provider_routing:
  sort: "price"            # cheapest sub-provider first
  ignore: ["Together"]     # never route to these
  require_parameters: true # only sub-providers supporting all params (tools, temperature, ...)
  data_collection: "deny"

Add a second key to the pool:

hermes auth add openrouter --api-key sk-or-v1-your-second-key

Switch mid-session: /model openrouter:claude-sonnet-4. Aggregator-aware resolution keeps you on OpenRouter when the requested model is reachable through it.

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