OpenRouter Setup

Atom sends every automation through your OpenRouter account. Here’s the quickest way to get ready.

1. Create your account

  • Go to openrouter.ai and sign up (it’s free to start).
  • Verify your email so you can create keys and manage credits.

2. Add a small balance or limit

OpenRouter includes free trial credits when you sign up, so you can start testing Atom without adding funds.

  • Visit Settings → Credits and top up, or set a spending limit that fits your comfort level.
  • You can adjust it any time. Start low, watch usage, and scale as needed.

3. Generate a key

  • Head to Settings → Keys and create a key for Atom (it will look like sk-or-…).
  • Copy it immediately; OpenRouter only shows each key once.

4. Paste it into Atom

  • Atom prompts for the key after you sign in. Paste it and you’re ready.
  • Need to update later? Open Settings → OpenRouter API key inside Atom.

Keep an eye on usage

  • Dashboard: openrouter.ai/activity
  • Limits: set daily or monthly caps in Settings → Limits so spending always matches your plan.
  • If requests slow down, check the dashboard first. Low credit or rate limits are the usual culprits.

Get free tokens

  • OpenRouter lets you supply your own API keys. If you add an OpenAI key, Atom will route requests through that key instead of your OpenRouter balance.
  • OpenAI’s optional data sharing program grants complimentary daily tokens (up to 1 million on larger models and 10 million on smaller ones for most tiers) when you opt in from the OpenAI dashboard. Enable it under Settings → Data sharing in your OpenAI account and the allowance applies automatically to shared traffic.
  • Atom sends project structure (layer names, properties, expressions) through the API. Footage and rendered pixels remain on your machine, so sharing this metadata typically isn’t sensitive for motion work.

Quick fixes

  • Key says invalid: make sure it still exists and starts with sk-or-, then paste it again.
  • Requests stopped: top up credits or raise the limit; try again after a minute if you hit rate limits.
  • Costs creeping up: combine steps into one prompt and reuse conversations instead of starting fresh.

Need more detail? OpenRouter offers full docs and support at openrouter.ai/docs.