LowRouterBeta

Cline

Cline is a VS Code extension that runs a coding agent against an LLM provider. It supports any OpenAI-compatible endpoint.

Configure

  1. Install the Cline extension from the VS Code marketplace.
  2. Open the Cline sidebar.
  3. Click the gear icon, then Settings.
  4. Under API Provider, pick OpenAI Compatible.
  5. Fill in:
    • Base URL: https://api.lowrouter.ai/v1
    • API Key: your sk-lr-... token
    • Model ID: any LowRouter model ID, e.g. anthropic/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5 or auto/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5.
  6. Save and start a task.
  • Use a separate key for Cline. Cline can burn tokens fast on agentic tasks (read file → think → edit → re-read), and a dedicated key with a per-day limit caps that cheaply.
  • Pin the route with an explicit model ID for repeatable pricing. An auto/ ID keeps the model fixed but may serve it from a different provider or region, with the same output at a different per-token price, which can surprise you when you compare daily costs.
  • Read the diff every time. Cline makes real edits to your workspace. The dashboard’s transaction-detail page shows exactly what was sent (token counts, model, cost) but not the prompt or the response, so the diff in your editor is the source of truth.

Troubleshooting

  • “Model does not support tools”: not every model exposes tool use. Filter the model browser to models with function calling, or ask the API for the same set with GET /v1/models?function_calling=yes (the entries whose capabilities.function_calling is true). Pick one that has it: auto-routing never changes which model you get, so it cannot rescue a model that lacks tool support. A third of the catalogue makes no statement either way (list them, or ?function_calling=unknown on the API); treat a missing tag as “untested”, not as “unsupported”.
  • “Context window exceeded”: the file or selection you fed the agent is larger than the model’s context. Switch to a longer-context model or trim the context.
  • 401: confirm the API key.
  • Latency feels off: check the provider field on the transaction detail page. Cline doesn’t expose it; LowRouter does.