Authentication

All API requests require authentication via an API key.

Bearer Token

For the /v1/chat/completions, /v1/models, and /v1/embeddings endpoints, authenticate using the Authorization: Bearer header.

Authorization: Bearer rh_your_api_key_here

Anthropic-style Auth

For the /v1/messages endpoint, authenticate using the x-api-key header. The standard Bearer token also works on this endpoint.

x-api-key: rh_your_api_key_here

Required Headers

Each endpoint requires specific headers for authentication and content negotiation.

SDK Configuration

Configure your preferred SDK or HTTP client to authenticate with RouterHub.

curl https://api.routerhub.ai/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ROUTERHUB_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4", "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hi"}]}'

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://api.routerhub.ai/v1",
    api_key="YOUR_API_KEY",
)

from anthropic import Anthropic

client = Anthropic(
    base_url="https://api.routerhub.ai",
    api_key="YOUR_API_KEY",
)

from langchain_openai import ChatOpenAI

llm = ChatOpenAI(
    base_url="https://api.routerhub.ai/v1",
    api_key="YOUR_API_KEY",
    model="anthropic/claude-sonnet-4",
)

Rate Limiting

RouterHub enforces cascading rate limits at three levels: api_key, project, and organization.

• Both RPM (requests per minute) and TPM (tokens per minute) are tracked.
• If any entity in the cascade exceeds its limit, the request is denied.
• Rate limit headers are returned in responses.

Error Responses

Authentication and rate limiting errors are returned in standard OpenAI error format.

401 Unauthorized

{
  "error": {
    "message": "Invalid API key",
    "type": "invalid_request_error",
    "code": "invalid_api_key"
  }
}

429 Rate Limited

{
  "error": {
    "message": "Rate limit exceeded",
    "type": "rate_limit_error",
    "code": "rate_limit_exceeded"
  }
}

503 Service Unavailable

{
  "error": {
    "message": "Auth service temporarily unavailable",
    "type": "server_error",
    "code": "service_unavailable"
  }
}