docs/getting-started/PROVIDERS-GUIDE.md
TL;DR: A provider is a connection to an AI service (like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google). You need at least one provider to use OmniRoute.
Think of a provider like a phone carrier. Just as you need a phone carrier to make calls, you need an AI provider to use AI models. OmniRoute is like a phone that works with all carriers — you can switch between them automatically.
| Type | What It Is | Examples | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | No payment required | Kiro, OpenCode Free, Pollinations | $0 |
| API Key | You need an API key | OpenAI, Anthropic, Google | Pay per use |
| OAuth | Login with your account | Claude Code, GitHub Copilot | Subscription |
| Web Cookie | Uses your browser session | ChatGPT Web, Gemini Web | $0 (uses your account) |
The first-run wizard offers an explicit Set up free providers card. It derives the current eligible list from OmniRoute's no-auth provider registry, then lets you review and deselect each provider before confirming. OmniRoute shows the provider's caution notice and a link to its site so you can review third-party terms, privacy, availability, and rate limits first.
This action is optional: finishing the wizard never creates free-provider connections silently. It creates only providers that are still missing, leaves existing customized connections untouched, and reports created, already-configured, and failed providers individually. You can safely retry only the failures after a partial result.
http://localhost:20128http://localhost:20128http://localhost:20128These providers offer free access with no credit card:
| Provider | Free Quota | Models | How to Connect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiro AI | 50 credits/month | Claude Sonnet 4.5, Haiku 4.5, Opus 4.6 | No auth needed |
| OpenCode Free | Unlimited | GPT-4o, Claude, Gemini | No auth needed |
| Pollinations | No key needed | GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Llama 4 | No auth needed |
| LongCat | 10M one-time | LongCat-2.0 | API key + KYC |
| Cloudflare AI | 10K neurons/day | 50+ models | No auth needed |
| NVIDIA NIM | ~40 RPM | 129 models | API key needed |
| Cerebras | 1M tokens/day | Qwen3 235B, GPT-OSS 120B | API key needed |
| Qwen | Unlimited | Qwen3-coder-plus/flash/next | No auth needed |
| Qoder | Unlimited | Kimi-K2, DeepSeek-R1, Qwen3-coder | No auth needed |
Tip: Connect multiple free providers for unlimited free AI with automatic fallback!
These providers offer high-quality models with API keys:
| Provider | Best Models | Cost | Free Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | GPT-5, GPT-4o | $2.50-$10/1M tokens | $5 free credits |
| Anthropic | Claude Opus 4.6, Sonnet 4.6 | $3-$15/1M tokens | $5 free credits |
| Gemini 2.5 Pro, Flash | $0.075-$1.25/1M tokens | 1,500 req/day free | |
| DeepSeek | DeepSeek V4 | $0.14-$0.28/1M tokens | 5M free tokens |
| Groq | Llama 4, Mixtral | $0.05-$0.27/1M tokens | 30 RPM free |
| xAI | Grok 3 | $0.30-$0.60/1M tokens | — |
Go to http://localhost:20128 in your browser.
Click Providers in the sidebar.
Click the + Add Provider button.
Browse the list or search for your provider. Click on it.
Click Test Connection to verify it works.
Your provider is now connected. You can use it with model: "auto" or specify the provider directly.
OmniRoute works best with multiple providers. This gives you:
Connect at least 3 providers for the best experience:
Then use model: "auto" and OmniRoute will automatically pick the best one for each request.
No! OmniRoute is free and open-source. You can use free providers (Kiro, OpenCode Free, Pollinations) without paying anything. You only pay if you choose to use paid providers.
Start with Kiro AI — it's free, requires no API key, and gives you access to Claude models. Then add more providers as needed.
Yes! That's the whole point of OmniRoute. Connect multiple providers and use model: "auto" to let OmniRoute pick the best one for each request.
OmniRoute automatically skips failed providers and tries the next one. You don't need to do anything.
Go to Providers → click on the provider → click Disconnect.
Yes! If you already have API keys for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, etc., you can use them in OmniRoute. Just paste them when connecting the provider.