Set up free AI with an OpenRouter key
Create a free OpenRouter key, paste it into Bricklayer chat, and pick a free model, in about five minutes.
Updated November 8, 2026
Bricklayer chat is built into the editor. Give it an OpenRouter key and it can use any of OpenRouter's free models. No terminal, nothing else to install.
1. Create a key
- Go to openrouter.ai and sign up. You do not need a card.
- Open openrouter.ai/keys and click Create Key.
- Name it something like "Bricklayer" and copy the key. Keep that tab open until you paste it.
2. Add it to Bricklayer
- Open Bricklayer's AI setup, or run Bricklayer: Choose AI Agent (Ctrl+I).
- Choose Bricklayer chat.
- Paste the key when asked.
Your key is stored on your computer and sent only to OpenRouter. How keys are stored.
3. Pick a free model
Free models have IDs that end in :free. Not every free model is good at building games, so start with the OpenRouter model guide, which ranks them by how much real building each can carry.
Write down a second model ID now. Free endpoints get busy and are sometimes retired without notice, and having a backup ready turns an outage into a ten-second switch.
The limits
| Zero balance | After a one-time $10 credit purchase | |
|---|---|---|
| Requests per minute | 20 | 20 |
| Requests per day | 50 | 1,000 |
The $10 is optional and is not a subscription: those credits never expire. Fifty requests a day is enough to learn and to build small features if you keep each request focused.
Good to know
- Assume free endpoints may log your prompts. Do not paste anything private into them.
- Hit a limit? See "Rate limited" or 429 errors.
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