​
Getting Started with Routstr

Welcome to Routstr! This guide will help you get started using the Routstr platform to access AI models from various providers through our OpenAI-compatible API.

​
What is Routstr?

Routstr is a decentralized marketplace for AI model inference. It connects you to a network of model providers who host and serve various AI models. Key benefits include:

  • Access to diverse models: Find the right model for your specific use case
  • Pay-as-you-go pricing: Only pay for what you use with Cashu tokens or Lightning payments
  • No accounts needed: No signup or registration required
  • Privacy-focused: Your data stays secure with options like Tor routing

​
Purchasing Cashu Tokens

To use the Routstr API, you’ll need to purchase Cashu tokens:

  1. Visit Routstr.com
  2. Make a Lightning payment to receive your Cashu token
  3. Use the token as your API key for authorization

No account creation or personal information is required.

​
Making Your First API Request

You can start making requests to the Routstr API using standard HTTP requests. The API is compatible with the OpenAI API format:

curl -X POST https://api.routstr.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer cashuA1DkpMbgQ9VkL6U..." \
  -d '{
    "model": "gpt-4",
    "messages": [
      {
        "role": "user", 
        "content": "Hello"
      }
    ]
  }'

The response will include the model’s output:

{
  "id": "chatcmpl-123abc",
  "object": "chat.completion",
  "created": 1677652288,
  "model": "gpt-4",
  "choices": [
    {
      "message": {
        "role": "assistant",
        "content": "Hello! How can I assist you today?"
      },
      "finish_reason": "stop"
    }
  ],
  "usage": {
    "prompt_tokens": 3,
    "completion_tokens": 7,
    "total_tokens": 10
  }
}

​
Using Different Models

You can specify different models in your requests:

curl -X POST https://api.routstr.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer cashuA1DkpMbgQ9VkL6U..." \
  -d '{
    "model": "llama-3-70b-chat",
    "messages": [
      {
        "role": "user", 
        "content": "What is the capital of France?"
      }
    ]
  }'

If you don’t specify a model, Routstr will automatically select an appropriate model based on your request.

​
Managing Costs

Routstr offers a transparent pay-as-you-go pricing model:

  1. Pay per token: Different models have different pricing per input/output token
  2. No subscription required: Only pay for what you use
  3. Token balance: Your Cashu token contains pre-paid credits
  4. Usage tracking: The API response includes token usage information

​
Privacy Features

If privacy is important to you, Routstr offers several options:

# Route through Tor
curl --socks5-hostname 127.0.0.1:9050 -X POST https://api.routstr.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer cashuA1DkpMbgQ9VkL6U..." \
  -d '{
    "model": "gpt-4",
    "messages": [
      {
        "role": "user", 
        "content": "Hello"
      }
    ]
  }'

See our Privacy Features page for more details.

​
Using with OpenAI Libraries

Since Routstr’s API is compatible with the OpenAI format, you can use it with existing OpenAI client libraries:

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://api.routstr.com/v1",
    api_key="cashuA1DkpMbgQ9VkL6U..."
)

completion = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-4",
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}
    ]
)

print(completion.choices[0].message)

​
Next Steps

Now that you’re set up, explore these resources: