What model ID format does Hermes use with OpenRouter?

When OpenRouter is the inference provider, use the format provider/model-name — for example anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6, openai/gpt-5.5, or deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro.

Can I bring my own OpenRouter key to OpenClaw Launch?

Yes. OpenClaw Launch Hermes deploys support BYOK. Paste your OPENROUTER_API_KEY in the configurator and all inference routes through your account.

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Hermes Agent + OpenRouter: One Key for 200+ AI Models

Q: Is OpenRouter the default provider for Hermes Agent?

Yes. Hermes Agent uses OpenRouter as its default fallback aggregator. If no other provider is configured, Hermes reads OPENROUTER_API_KEY automatically.

OpenRouter is Hermes Agent's default fallback aggregator — one API key that routes to Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Grok, Kimi, GLM, and dozens more without managing separate credentials for each provider.

What Is OpenRouter?

OpenRouter is a unified AI model gateway. It exposes an OpenAI-compatible API and routes requests to the underlying provider — Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, DeepSeek, xAI, Moonshot, and many others — based on the model ID you specify. You maintain one billing relationship and one API key regardless of how many providers you use.

Hermes Agent is built with OpenRouter as its default fallback aggregator. If no other provider is configured, Hermes reads OPENROUTER_API_KEY and routes inference there automatically. This makes OpenRouter the easiest zero-friction path to getting a wide range of models working with Hermes.

Popular Models Available via OpenRouter with Hermes

Model ID	Provider	Best For
`anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6`	Anthropic	Best all-round agent model
`anthropic/claude-opus-4.6`	Anthropic	Deep reasoning, 1M context
`openai/gpt-5.5`	OpenAI	Latest GPT flagship
`google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview`	Google	Long context, multimodal
`deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro`	DeepSeek	Strong coding, very low cost
`x-ai/grok-4.20`	xAI	Real-time knowledge, reasoning
`moonshotai/kimi-k2.6`	Moonshot	Long context, research tasks

OpenRouter supports 200+ models. The full list is at openrouter.ai/models.

Option 1: Hermes Agent on OpenClaw Launch (Easiest)

OpenClaw Launch uses OpenRouter automatically for all managed Hermes deployments. You don't need to touch any API keys unless you want BYOK billing.

Go to openclawlaunch.com/hermes-hosting and start a Hermes deploy.
Pick any model from the dropdown — Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Grok, and others all route through OpenRouter automatically.
Connect your channel and click Deploy. Done.

Tip: switch between any OpenRouter-available model at runtime using the /model command in chat — no redeploy needed.

Option 2: OpenRouter with Self-Hosted Hermes

Set the OPENROUTER_API_KEY env var and point Hermes at the openrouter provider. Since OpenRouter is the default fallback, this is the simplest self-hosted path:

export OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-or-...

# Tell Hermes to use OpenRouter and set a default model
hermes inference set openrouter
hermes model set anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6

# Or edit /opt/data/config.yaml:
# inference:
#   provider: openrouter
# model:
#   default: anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6

Get your OpenRouter API key from openrouter.ai/keys. No minimum spend — you pay per token used.

Model ID Format

When using OpenRouter as the inference provider, model IDs follow the format provider/model-name. Examples:

anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6
anthropic/claude-opus-4.6
openai/gpt-5.5
openai/gpt-5.4-mini
google/gemini-3.1-pro-preview
deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro
x-ai/grok-4.20
moonshotai/kimi-k2.6

You can switch to any of these at runtime from any connected channel:

/model deepseek/deepseek-v4-pro
/model anthropic/claude-opus-4.6
/model x-ai/grok-4.20

OpenRouter vs Provider-Direct for Hermes

Feature	OpenRouter	Provider Direct
API keys needed	One key for everything	One key per provider
Models accessible	200+ across all major providers	One provider's models only
Latency	One extra proxy hop	Direct, lowest latency
Billing	Unified OpenRouter dashboard	Per-provider billing pages
Model switching	Any model, same key	Different key per provider

OpenRouter is the best default for Hermes users who want flexibility. Use a provider-direct key only if you're committed to one provider and want the lowest possible latency on every request.

BYOK on OpenClaw Launch

If you have your own OpenRouter key with credits, you can bring it to OpenClaw Launch Hermes deployments. In the configurator, choose BYOK and paste your OPENROUTER_API_KEY. All inference routes through your OpenRouter account with full usage visibility on your OpenRouter dashboard.

What's Next?

Hermes Agent + Claude — Deep dive into using Claude specifically with Hermes
Hermes Agent + GPT-5.5 — Route GPT-5.5 through OpenRouter with Hermes
Hermes Agent + DeepSeek — DeepSeek V4 Pro and Flash via OpenRouter or direct
Hermes Agent + MCP — Extend Hermes with Model Context Protocol servers