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

# Make Your First Request with Inferoute

> Send your first chat completion request through Inferoute's unified API and understand the response fields, provider routing, and common errors.

Inferoute provides a unified OpenAI-compatible endpoint that routes your requests across LLM providers automatically. This guide walks you through sending your first chat completion request, reading the response, and handling common errors.

## Prerequisites

* A Inferoute API key (find it in the [dashboard](https://app.inferoute.ai/keys))
* One of: Python with the `openai` library, Node.js with the `openai` package, or `curl`

## Send your first request

<Steps>
  <Step title="Install the client library">
    Install the OpenAI SDK for your language. Inferoute is fully compatible with it — you only need to set the `base_url`.

    <CodeGroup>
      ```bash pip theme={null}
      pip install openai
      ```

      ```bash npm theme={null}
      npm install openai
      ```
    </CodeGroup>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure the client">
    Point the client at Inferoute's base URL and supply your API key.

    <CodeGroup>
      ```python python theme={null}
      from openai import OpenAI

      client = OpenAI(
          api_key="th-your-api-key",
          base_url="https://api.inferoute.ai/v1",
      )
      ```

      ```javascript node.js theme={null}
      import OpenAI from "openai";

      const client = new OpenAI({
        apiKey: "th-your-api-key",
        baseURL: "https://api.inferoute.ai/v1",
      });
      ```
    </CodeGroup>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Send a chat completion">
    Make a request using any model available through Inferoute. The `model` field accepts provider-prefixed names like `openai/gpt-4o`.

    <CodeGroup>
      ```python python theme={null}
      response = client.chat.completions.create(
          model="openai/gpt-4o-mini",
          messages=[
              {"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant."},
              {"role": "user", "content": "What is the capital of France?"},
          ],
      )

      print(response.choices[0].message.content)
      ```

      ```javascript node.js theme={null}
      const response = await client.chat.completions.create({
        model: "openai/gpt-4o-mini",
        messages: [
          { role: "system", content: "You are a helpful assistant." },
          { role: "user", content: "What is the capital of France?" },
        ],
      });

      console.log(response.choices[0].message.content);
      ```

      ```bash curl theme={null}
      curl https://api.inferoute.ai/v1/chat/completions \
        -H "Authorization: Bearer th-your-api-key" \
        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
        -d '{
          "model": "openai/gpt-4o-mini",
          "messages": [
            {"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant."},
            {"role": "user", "content": "What is the capital of France?"}
          ]
        }'
      ```
    </CodeGroup>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Read the response">
    A successful request returns a JSON object that mirrors the OpenAI chat completion format.

    ```json response theme={null}
    {
      "id": "chatcmpl-th-01j9z3xkbfqe5m7nw4v2p6r8c",
      "object": "chat.completion",
      "created": 1748131200,
      "model": "openai/gpt-4o-mini-2024-07-18",
      "choices": [
        {
          "index": 0,
          "message": {
            "role": "assistant",
            "content": "The capital of France is Paris."
          },
          "finish_reason": "stop"
        }
      ],
      "usage": {
        "prompt_tokens": 26,
        "completion_tokens": 9,
        "total_tokens": 35
      }
    }
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Response fields explained

| Field                        | Description                                                                                                                         |
| ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `id`                         | A unique identifier for this completion request, useful for support and debugging.                                                  |
| `model`                      | The exact provider model that served the request. This may differ from what you requested if Inferoute applied routing or fallback. |
| `choices`                    | An array of generated responses. Most requests return one choice unless you set `n > 1`.                                            |
| `choices[0].message.content` | The text of the assistant's reply.                                                                                                  |
| `choices[0].finish_reason`   | Why the model stopped generating: `stop` (natural end), `length` (hit `max_tokens`), or `content_filter`.                           |
| `usage`                      | Token counts for the request. You are billed based on these figures against the provider that served the request.                   |

<Tip>
  Every response from Inferoute includes an `X-Inferoute-Provider` response header that tells you which underlying provider handled the request (for example, `openai` or `anthropic`). You can log this header to track provider distribution across your application.
</Tip>

## Troubleshooting

### 401 Unauthorized

Your API key is missing, malformed, or revoked.

* Confirm the key starts with `th-` and has no trailing whitespace.
* Check the [API Keys](https://app.inferoute.ai/keys) page to ensure the key is active.
* Verify you are setting the `Authorization: Bearer <key>` header, not `X-API-Key`.

### 429 Too Many Requests

You have exceeded your rate limit or monthly usage cap.

* Review your current limits on the [Usage](https://app.inferoute.ai/usage) page.
* Implement exponential backoff and retry logic in your application.
* Contact support to request a limit increase if needed.

### 500 Provider Error

The upstream LLM provider returned an error or was unavailable.

* Inferoute automatically retries with a backup provider when one is configured. See [Fallback Routing](/docs/guides/fallback-routing) to set this up.
* If the error persists, check the [Inferoute status page](https://status.inferoute.ai) for active provider incidents.
* The response body includes a `provider` field indicating which provider failed, which can help with debugging.