Getting started

Maintainers register or claim public GitHub repositories, then create OpenRouter API keys funded by donated compute. Each compute key is an OpenRouter-compatible credential with a dollar limit you set from the project balance — the secret is shown once, never stored.

Register or claim a project

Sign in with GitHub and register a public repository, or claim an existing unclaimed project page. opub confirms you have admin or maintain access on the exact repository before a compute key can be created.

If a project page already exists and is unclaimed, it will show an Unclaimed label. Signing in and visiting the project page will offer a claim button if GitHub public discovery confirms the repository for your account.

Fund first, then key

A compute key reserves balance from the project balance. The project needs donated balance before you can create a key — the key creation form shows your current balance and how much is unallocated (not reserved by an existing active or pending key).

If the project balance is empty, the project page is the right place to share with donors. The compute meter and project metrics are public.

Create a compute key

Choose a name and a dollar limit. The limit is reserved from unallocated project balance at the moment of creation. The one-time provider credential (an OpenRouter API key) is shown immediately and only once — copy it before leaving the page.

The dollar limit is reserved from the project balance. Spending through the key reduces that reserved amount; disabling the key returns any unspent reserved balance to the project.

Naming: Use a descriptive name that identifies the local workflow or machine. Names must be 2–64 alphanumeric characters (dots, underscores, and hyphens allowed). Example: maintainer-dev, ci-review, laptop-claude.

The key is an OpenRouter-compatible API key funded by donated compute for opub's allowed model providers. Use it directly with any compatible tool, or run it through the opub CLI (open source) for session linking.