> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.routeway.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Frequently Asked Questions

> Answers to common questions about Routeway — billing, models, APIs, and more.

## General

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What is Routeway?">
    Routeway is a unified API gateway that gives you access to 200+ AI models — from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, DeepSeek, MoonshotAI, and more — through a single endpoint and a single API key.

    Instead of managing separate accounts, SDKs, and billing across every provider, you point your existing OpenAI-compatible client at `https://api.routeway.ai/v1` and swap models by changing a single string.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How is Routeway different from calling providers directly?">
    When you call providers directly, you get one model per account, separate billing, separate keys, and separate SDKs to manage. With Routeway:

    * One API key and one base URL for everything
    * Switch between 200+ models without changing your client code
    * Single dashboard for usage, spend, and key management
    * Access models from providers you may not have a direct account with
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Is Routeway OpenAI-compatible?">
    Yes. Routeway is fully OpenAI-compatible. You can use the official OpenAI Python or Node.js SDK — just change `base_url` to `https://api.routeway.ai/v1` and swap your key. No other code changes required.

    Anthropic-style requests (`/v1/messages`) are also supported for models that expose that interface.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Which providers and models are available?">
    Browse the full list at [routeway.ai/models](https://routeway.ai/models) or fetch it live from the API:

    ```bash theme={null}
    curl https://api.routeway.ai/v1/models \
      -H "Authorization: Bearer $ROUTEWAY_API_KEY"
    ```

    Models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta (Llama), DeepSeek, MoonshotAI, and others are available. The catalog is updated regularly as new models are released.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Account & API Keys

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How do I get an API key?">
    1. Sign up or log in at [routeway.ai/dashboard](https://routeway.ai/dashboard)
    2. Open the **API Keys** tab
    3. Click **Create API Key**, give it a name, and confirm
    4. Copy and store the key securely — it won't be shown again

    See [Authentication](/getting-started/authentication) for full setup instructions.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What does a Routeway API key look like?">
    Routeway API keys start with `sk-` and are 32+ characters long. If your key doesn't match this format, you may be using a key from a different provider.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I create multiple API keys?">
    Yes. You can create as many keys as you need from the dashboard — for example, separate keys per project, environment, or team member. Each key can be named, monitored, and revoked independently.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What should I do if my API key is compromised?">
    Revoke it immediately from the **API Keys** section of the [dashboard](https://routeway.ai/dashboard) and create a new one. Check your recent usage in the **Activity** tab to see if there were any unexpected requests.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I restrict what a key can access?">
    Yes. Key-level controls are available in the dashboard — you can set spending limits and configure fallback behaviour per key. See [Budget Controls](/getting-started/billing#budget-controls).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Models

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What is the difference between free and paid models?">
    Free models have `:free` appended to their ID (e.g. `deepseek-r1:free`). They cost \$0.00 but are rate-limited to **20 requests/minute** and **200 requests/day**.

    Paid (PAYG) models have no suffix and are billed per token with no rate limits at the API level. They require a positive account balance.

    See [Available Models](/getting-started/models) for more detail.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Are free models reliable enough for production?">
    No — free models are intended for **development, testing, and experimentation only**. Before building anything serious on them, keep in mind:

    * **They can be removed at any time.** Free model availability depends on provider capacity and our ability to continue offering them. A model that exists today may be gone tomorrow without notice.
    * **They can be unstable.** Free tiers are lower priority in our routing stack, so you may see higher error rates, slower response times, and more frequent `502` upstream errors compared to PAYG models.
    * **Rate limits are strict and shared.** 20 RPM and 200 RPD are hard caps with no way to increase them. Under load, you'll hit these quickly.
    * **No SLA.** There are no uptime or latency guarantees on free models.

    If your project is moving beyond prototyping, switch to the PAYG equivalent (drop the `:free` suffix). The per-token cost on most models is low enough that real workloads are still very affordable.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="When does the free model rate limit reset?">
    The daily limit (200 RPD) resets at **00:00 UTC** each day. The per-minute limit (20 RPM) is a rolling window.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I know if a model supports vision, tools, or reasoning?">
    Each model in the `/v1/models` response includes a `capabilities` object:

    ```json theme={null}
    "capabilities": {
      "vision": true,
      "function_call": true,
      "reasoning": true
    }
    ```

    You can also filter by capability on the [Models Catalog](https://routeway.ai/models).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What are service tiers (flex and priority)?">
    Some models support optional processing tiers that change both cost and performance. These are **provider features** from OpenAI and Gemini — Routeway forwards your tier choice upstream and applies the price multiplier on your bill. Routeway does not run its own queue or priority system.

    * **Flex** — 50% cheaper with the same output quality. Time-to-first-token may occasionally be higher, but generation speed is unchanged. Great for cost-sensitive or high-volume usage.
    * **Priority** — 2× the standard price, with lower and more consistent TTFT. Good for user-facing apps where users are waiting on the first token.

    Set a tier with `service_tier: "flex"` in your request, or append `:flex` / `:priority` to the model ID (e.g. `gpt-5.6-luna:flex`). Currently available on select OpenAI and Gemini models only — check `capabilities.service_tiers` in the model metadata.

    See [Service Tiers](/guides/chat-completions/service-tiers) for details.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I know which endpoints a model supports?">
    The `endpoints` array in the model object lists all supported API paths, e.g.:

    ```json theme={null}
    "endpoints": ["/v1/chat/completions", "/v1/responses", "/v1/messages"]
    ```

    Not all models support all paths. Image models are only available on `/v1/images/generations` or `/v1/images/edits` and won't appear on chat completion routes.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A model shows available: false — what does that mean?">
    It means the model is temporarily unavailable for routing, usually due to an issue with the upstream provider. Check back shortly or switch to an alternative model. If a model you rely on has been unavailable for an extended period, reach out on [Discord](https://discord.gg/RjX2CpdPpd).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I use the Anthropic SDK with Routeway?">
    Yes, for models that list `/v1/messages` in their `endpoints`. Point the Anthropic SDK at `https://api.routeway.ai/v1/messages` and use your Routeway API key.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How frequently are new models added?">
    We add new models continuously as they are released by providers or requested by our community.

    To get notified immediately when a new model is added, you can join our [Discord Server](https://discord.gg/Mynq6vGVPE) and check the [#models](https://discord.com/channels/1231339329435996280/1411766223011582062) channel.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Billing & Pricing

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How does billing work?">
    Routeway uses **Pay-As-You-Go** pricing — you're charged only for the tokens you process, with no monthly commitment. Costs are split between input tokens (prompt + context) and output tokens (generated response), billed per 1 million tokens at rates that vary by model.

    See [How Billing Works](/getting-started/billing) for full details and cost examples.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What are tokens, and how many do I use?">
    Tokens are the chunks of text AI models process. In English, 1 token is roughly 4 characters or 0.75 words. A typical paragraph is around 100 tokens.

    As a rough guide:

    * 1,000 tokens ≈ 750 words
    * 1M tokens ≈ a full-length novel

    Exact tokenisation varies by model. Most providers publish tokeniser tools you can use to measure a specific prompt.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do I need to pre-load credits before using paid models?">
    No. Routeway is strictly Pay-As-You-Go — there are no pre-paid credit bundles to buy. Your account is charged based on actual usage, and you only need a valid payment method on file.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What payment methods are accepted?">
    Payments are processed by **Polar.sh** (fully PCI-compliant). Accepted methods:

    * Credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and more)
    * Automatic invoicing

    Routeway never stores or touches your card details directly.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do you support PayPal or other payment methods?">
    **PayPal is supported**, though it isn't available by default. For other payment methods, availability may vary — reach out to us and we'll let you know what's possible:

    * **Discord**: Join [discord.gg/RjX2CpdPpd](https://discord.gg/RjX2CpdPpd) and open a support ticket — this is the fastest way to reach us.
    * **Email**: [help@team.routeway.ai](mailto:help@team.routeway.ai)
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is the DeepSeek subscription?">
    Subscriptions give you a reserved monthly or biweekly DeepSeek token budget plus free daily model requests across all plans — useful if you want a predictable DeepSeek allowance.

    | Plan         | Biweekly             | Monthly              |
    | :----------- | :------------------- | :------------------- |
    | **Core**     | \$6.99 · 15M tokens  | \$15.99 · 35M tokens |
    | **Core Pro** | \$12.99 · 28M tokens | \$34.99 · 80M tokens |

    Core Pro also includes a 5% discount on all PAYG text usage. See [Billing](/getting-started/billing#deepseek-subscriptions).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens when my subscription tokens run out?">
    Usage automatically continues on PAYG unless you've disabled key fallback in the dashboard. You can turn this off per-key to hard-cap DeepSeek spend.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does prompt caching cost extra?">
    It depends on the model. Some models offer cache reads at a discounted rate with no write charge (e.g. Kimi K2.7 Code). Others bill both reads and writes, with write rates varying by TTL (e.g. Anthropic models: 5-minute and 1-hour tiers).

    Some models have no caching at all. Check `pricing.caching` in the model's API response, or see the [Billing — Prompt Caching](/getting-started/billing#prompt-caching) section for examples.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I avoid unexpected charges?">
    Set a **hard spending limit** from the [dashboard](https://routeway.ai/dashboard). Once your monthly threshold is hit, the API returns `429` errors for that key until the limit resets or is raised. See [Budget Controls](/getting-started/billing#budget-controls).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I monitor my usage and spend?">
    The [dashboard](https://routeway.ai/dashboard) shows real-time usage, token breakdowns by model, and historical spend. You can also query it programmatically via the Account API endpoints (`/v1/account/balance`, `/v1/account/activity`).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I get a refund?">
    Because Routeway is Pay-As-You-Go and you only pay for usage already consumed, refunds are not available for processed tokens. If you believe you were charged in error, contact support at [help@team.routeway.ai](mailto:help@team.routeway.ai) or on [Discord](https://discord.gg/RjX2CpdPpd).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## API & Integration

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Which endpoints does Routeway support?">
    | Endpoint                      | Purpose                                |
    | :---------------------------- | :------------------------------------- |
    | `POST /v1/chat/completions`   | Text generation (OpenAI-compatible)    |
    | `POST /v1/responses`          | OpenAI Responses API                   |
    | `POST /v1/messages`           | Anthropic-style messages               |
    | `POST /v1/images/generations` | Image generation from a text prompt    |
    | `POST /v1/images/edits`       | Image editing with a mask and prompt   |
    | `GET /v1/models`              | List all available models with pricing |

    Not every model is available on every endpoint — check the model's `endpoints` array.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I'm getting a 401 error — what's wrong?">
    A `401` means your API key is missing, invalid, or revoked. Check that:

    * You're passing the key as `Authorization: Bearer <your-key>`
    * The key starts with `clsk-` and was copied in full
    * The key hasn't been deleted in the dashboard

    See [Authentication](/getting-started/authentication) and [Error Handling](/getting-started/errors).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I'm getting a 429 error — what does that mean?">
    A `429` means you've hit a rate limit or spending cap:

    * **Free models**: 20 RPM / 200 RPD limit reached — wait for the reset or switch to a PAYG model
    * **Hard spending limit**: your monthly cap was hit — raise or remove it in the dashboard
    * **Key-level limit**: a per-key restriction was triggered — check your key settings

    See [Rate Limits](/getting-started/rate-limits).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I'm getting a 502 error — is Routeway down?">
    A `502` means the upstream AI provider returned an error or timed out. This is usually temporary. Retry with exponential backoff, or switch to an equivalent model from a different provider. If the issue persists, check [Discord](https://discord.gg/RjX2CpdPpd) for status updates.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does Routeway support streaming?">
    Yes. Pass `"stream": true` in your request body. The response will be delivered as server-sent events (SSE), identical to OpenAI's streaming format. To receive usage data in a streaming response, add `"stream_options": {"include_usage": true}`.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does Routeway support function / tool calling?">
    Yes, for models where `capabilities.function_call` is `true`. The request and response format is identical to OpenAI's tool-calling spec.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I use Routeway with LangChain, LlamaIndex, or other frameworks?">
    Yes. Any framework that supports a custom OpenAI base URL will work. Set `base_url` (or equivalent) to `https://api.routeway.ai/v1` and use your Routeway API key. No other changes needed.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I use Routeway with chat UIs like Lobe Chat or Cline?">
    Yes. See the [Integrations Overview](/integrations/overview) page for step-by-step setup guides for Lobe Chat, JanitorAI, ChubAI, Cline, Roo Code, and more.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Still stuck?

Can't find what you're looking for? Reach out:

* **Discord**: [discord.gg/RjX2CpdPpd](https://discord.gg/RjX2CpdPpd) — fastest response
* **Email**: [help@team.routeway.ai](mailto:help@team.routeway.ai)

When reporting an issue, include the `trace_id` from the error response — it lets us find your request instantly.