OpenKey

Click-and-play Windows console chat client for free OpenRouter LLMs. Double-click the .exe, paste an OpenRouter API key once, and chat. Auto-rotates across free models on rate-limits. Single self-contained binary — runs from a USB stick.

Run from source

dotnet run --project src\OpenKey\OpenKey.csproj

Build single-file exe

dotnet publish src\OpenKey\OpenKey.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 ^
  --self-contained true ^
  -p:PublishSingleFile=true ^
  -p:IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract=true ^
  -p:EnableCompressionInSingleFile=true ^
  -p:PublishReadyToRun=true ^
  -o publish\

Output: publish\OpenKey.exe.

Commands

Command	Effect
/about	Show version, data dir, active model, developer
/models	Pick a free model with arrow keys (pinned until restart)
/model	Show current active model
/cls	Clear the screen and reprint the header
/help	List all commands
/reset	Wipe %APPDATA%\OpenKey\ and re-run first-run setup
/quit	Exit (alias: /exit)

Where data is stored

%APPDATA%\OpenKey\ (typically C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\OpenKey\). The API key is DPAPI-encrypted per Windows user — only the user who entered it on this PC can decrypt.

Get an OpenRouter API key

Sign up free at https://openrouter.ai/keys. OpenKey uses only free-tier models.

Docs

Full project docs in docs/. Start with docs/00-overview.md. Meta-rules for Claude sessions in CLAUDE.md.

Status

Desktop console exe available now. A browser (PWA) app and an Android app are planned.