Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to the questions developers and operators ask most often. Each section is self-contained — link directly to the slug in your own docs if it’s useful.

Is LowRouter compatible with the OpenAI SDK?

Yes. Set the base_url (Python) or baseURL (TypeScript) to https://lowrouter.ai/api/v1 and use your LowRouter API key. The SDK calls work unchanged. Detailed examples are on the OpenAI SDK Python and TypeScript pages.

Is LowRouter compatible with the Anthropic SDK?

Yes — point the SDK at https://lowrouter.ai/api/v1/anthropic and use a LowRouter API key. See Anthropic SDK.

How is the CO₂ estimate calculated?

energy = ((α × P_active) + β) × tokens, then carbon = energy × grid intensity. The full formula, coefficients, data sources, and confidence bands are on the methodology page. The formula comes from EcoLogits v0.4; the grid intensities come from the IEA.

Are the eco numbers real-time?

No. The grid intensity is an annual regional average. Real-time carbon-aware routing is a roadmap feature, not a current one. See limits.

What happens if a provider is down?

The auto-router marks that provider’s slot temporarily unavailable and dispatches to the next eligible upstream in the same region. It does not fail across regions silently — if the only eligible upstream was the one that’s down and you’ve pinned a region, the request returns 503. See routing.

How is pricing structured?

Pre-paid credits. The cost of a request is upstream price × tokens + platform fee × tokens. Both components are visible per model on the model browser and per request on the dashboard. Failed requests that produced no upstream charge cost zero credits. Full details: credits and billing.

Do you store my prompts?

No. We log token counts, model, provider, region, latency, and the eco estimate per request. We do not store prompt or response content. The full per-request schema is in usage accounting.

How do I keep requests in the EU?

Two options:

• Per-request: send "route": {"region": "eu-west"} in the body.
• Per-key: pin the key to eu-west in Dashboard → Keys.

The per-key option survives client misconfiguration, so prefer it for production. Details on the routing and API key management pages.

What’s the rate limit?

Three layers: per-key (the daily/monthly credit limits you set), per-account (default 600 RPM, 64 concurrent), and per-IP (auth and anonymous). Higher quotas are available on request. Full picture: rate limits.

Can I use LowRouter from the browser?

Not with the API key directly — that exposes the key to every page visitor. Mint short-lived tokens server-side and proxy requests through your backend. The pattern is the same as for OpenAI; both SDKs warn against dangerouslyAllowBrowser. See OpenAI SDK TypeScript.

Are there free credits?

No. Trying things out costs the same as production usage. See philosophy / principles in practice for why.

Can I get an invoice with my company details?

Yes. Set the legal name, billing address, and VAT number under Dashboard → Settings → Billing. Invoices issued from that point onwards carry the company details. Past invoices can be re-issued via support. See credits and billing.

How do I look up a request after the fact?

Every response carries a lowrouter.generation_id. Pass it to GET /api/v1/generation/{id} to get the full record, or open it on the dashboard. The full record includes the resolved model, the provider, the region, the eco numbers, and the routing trace. See per-request metadata and discovery endpoints.

How do I rotate a leaked key?

Create a new key, deploy it everywhere, then delete the old one. The deletion takes effect on the next request — no caching delay. Full guidance: API key management.

Does LowRouter charge a free trial?

We do not run a free trial. Top up the smallest amount that makes sense for an evaluation; remaining credit can be refunded within 14 days under EU consumer law (see credits and billing).

Why don’t I see an eco estimate on some requests?

When the resolved model’s parameter count is unknown or unverified, we omit the eco field rather than fabricate a number. The methodology page explains the confidence bands; the limits page covers the cases where eco is deliberately absent (embedding requests, agent steps with no tokens, mid-stream upstream errors).

Is there an SLA?

Production accounts have a posted SLA on the dashboard footer. The default account does not — best-effort.

Can I get a Data Processing Agreement?

Yes. Contact us via the email on the legal page.

Is the source code open?

The platform’s repository is at github.com/carbonifer/lowrouter. Public components are licensed under the terms in the repository.

I found a bug — where do I report it?

github.com/carbonifer/lowrouter/issues, ideally with a request ID from the X-Request-ID header on a representative request. See errors.