SmartRouter — One API for All AI Models

The OpenAI API format has become the de facto standard for LLM APIs. Nearly every major provider now offers an OpenAI-compatible endpoint. This is the biggest unlock for avoiding vendor lock-in.

What 'OpenAI-Compatible' Means

An OpenAI-compatible API accepts the same request format as api.openai.com:

• Same endpoint structure: /v1/chat/completions, /v1/embeddings, /v1/models
• Same JSON schema: messages array with role and content
• Same authentication: Bearer token in Authorization header
• Same streaming: Server-Sent Events with the same event format

This means any code written for OpenAI works with any compatible provider by changing one URL.

The Compatible Provider Landscape

| Provider | Compatibility | Notes |

|----------|--------------|-------|

| OpenAI | 100% | The original standard |

| Anthropic | Via adapters | Claude-specific features need extra params |

| Google | Via Vertex AI adapter | Different auth mechanism |

| DeepSeek | 100% | Full OpenAI compatibility |

| Together AI | 100% | Open-source models via OpenAI API |

| Groq | 100% | Fastest inference, limited models |

Building a Provider-Agnostic Application

Step 1: Write all your code against the OpenAI API format

Step 2: Configure the API base URL as an environment variable

Step 3: Use SmartRouter as your API base URL — it routes to the best provider automatically

This gives you:

• Zero code changes when switching providers
• Automatic failover between providers
• Cost optimization through model selection
• One place to manage API keys and billing

Start with SmartRouter: https://smartrouter.online

Try SmartRouter free — 50+ models, one OpenAI-compatible API. Auto-routing, failover, cost optimization.

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