When a project already uses the OpenAI SDK shape, the lowest-friction way to test a relay service is to change two things only:
- the API base URL
- the API key
AI ROUTER provides an OpenAI-compatible ChatGPT API relay endpoint at:
https://api.ai-router.dev/v1
That means a small prototype, coding-agent workflow, internal tool, or automation script can keep the same request pattern while using a relay account that exposes API key management, usage tracking, quota, balance, and subscription status.
cURL smoke test
curl https://api.ai-router.dev/v1/chat/completions \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $AI_ROUTER_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"model": "gpt-5.4-mini",
"messages": [
{ "role": "user", "content": "Reply with a short API smoke test." }
]
}'
Python
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(
api_key=os.environ["AI_ROUTER_API_KEY"],
base_url="https://api.ai-router.dev/v1",
)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model="gpt-5.4-mini",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Write one test sentence."}],
)
print(response.choices[0].message.content)
Node.js
import OpenAI from "openai";
const client = new OpenAI({
apiKey: process.env.AI_ROUTER_API_KEY,
baseURL: "https://api.ai-router.dev/v1",
});
const response = await client.chat.completions.create({
model: "gpt-5.4-mini",
messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Write one test sentence." }],
});
console.log(response.choices[0].message.content);
What to check before scaling
- Confirm the model name is available in your account.
- Start with a small daily or weekly quota plan.
- Watch API key usage, balance, quota, and subscription status from the dashboard.
- Keep retry and timeout handling in your application code.
- Avoid treating any relay as an official OpenAI service unless the provider explicitly says so.
I also published curl, Python, and Node.js examples here:
https://github.com/airouter-dev/chatgpt-api-relay-examples
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