jeremylongshore / openrouter-fallback-config
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mkdir -p .claude/skills/openrouter-fallback-config && curl -L -o skill.zip "https://fastmcp.me/Skills/Download/2756" && unzip -o skill.zip -d .claude/skills/openrouter-fallback-config && rm skill.zipProject Skills
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Configure model fallback chains for high availability. Use when building fault-tolerant LLM systems. Trigger with phrases like 'openrouter fallback', 'openrouter backup model', 'openrouter redundancy', 'model failover'.
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---
name: openrouter-fallback-config
description: |
Configure model fallback chains for reliability. Use when building resilient systems that need high availability. Trigger with phrases like 'openrouter fallback', 'model fallback', 'openrouter backup model', 'failover config'.
allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Grep
version: 1.0.0
license: MIT
author: Jeremy Longshore <jeremy@intentsolutions.io>
compatible-with: claude-code, codex, openclaw
tags: [saas, openrouter, backup]
---
# Openrouter Fallback Config
## Overview
This skill shows how to configure fallback model chains so requests automatically retry with alternative models when the primary model is unavailable or errors.
## Prerequisites
- OpenRouter integration
- Multiple models identified as primary and fallback options
## Instructions
1. **Use OpenRouter's native fallback**: Pass an array of model IDs in the `models` field (instead of `model`) — OpenRouter will try each in order until one succeeds
2. **Set per-model parameters**: Use the `route` field with `"fallback"` strategy to let OpenRouter handle failover automatically
3. **Implement client-side fallback**: For more control, catch 5xx or timeout errors and retry with the next model in your own fallback list
4. **Configure timeout thresholds**: Set `request_timeout` per attempt so slow models fail fast and the fallback triggers quickly
5. **Test the chain**: Temporarily use an invalid model ID as primary to verify your fallback chain activates correctly
## Output
- A fallback chain that transparently retries with alternative models
- Reduced downtime when individual models or providers have outages
- Logs showing which model ultimately served each request
## Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|-------|-------|-----|
| All fallbacks exhausted | Every model in the chain failed | Add more diverse fallbacks across providers; alert on full chain failure |
| Slow cascading retries | Each model timing out sequentially | Reduce per-model timeout to 10-15 seconds; use parallel fallback instead |
| Inconsistent responses | Different models in the chain have different capabilities | Ensure all fallback models support the features your prompt uses (e.g., tool calling) |
See `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/errors.md` for full error reference.
## Examples
See `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/examples.md` for runnable code samples.
## Resources
- [OpenRouter Documentation](https://openrouter.ai/docs)
- [OpenRouter Models](https://openrouter.ai/models)
- [OpenRouter API Reference](https://openrouter.ai/docs/api-reference)
- [OpenRouter Status](https://status.openrouter.ai)