OpenRouter Balance
A VS Code extension that displays your OpenRouter account balance in the
status bar and, when clicked, shows account activity (spend, requests, token
volume, and available balance).
Features
- Shows the balance in the status bar (on the right) with the official
OpenRouter icon and the value in US dollars (
$/US$ depending on the
language).
- Color-coded indicator based on the balance: green (normal), amber (low), and
red (critical), configurable.
- Clicking the indicator opens a panel with the account activity (total
spend, requests, token volume, and available balance), equivalent to the
OpenRouter
/activity page.
- The key is stored securely in the operating system keychain (VS Code
SecretStorage) and is never written in plain text.
Prerequisites
- An OpenRouter management key, created at
https://openrouter.ai/settings/management-keys (format
sk-or-v1-...).
- The management key is required because the balance endpoint
(
GET /api/v1/credits) and the activity endpoint (POST /api/v1/analytics/query)
require administrative permissions.
Installation and usage
- Install the extension.
- Open the command palette (
Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) and run
"OpenRouter: Set management key".
- Paste your management key. It is saved to the secure keychain.
- The balance appears in the status bar and is updated periodically.
Available commands
| Command |
Description |
OpenRouter: Set management key |
Configures the management key. |
OpenRouter: Clear management key |
Removes the stored key. |
OpenRouter: Show activity |
Opens the activity panel. |
OpenRouter: Refresh balance now |
Forces an immediate refresh. |
Configuration
| Property |
Default |
Description |
openrouter.refreshIntervalMinutes |
15 |
Interval (minutes) between checks. |
openrouter.lowBalanceThreshold |
5 |
Threshold (USD) for the amber balance. |
openrouter.criticalBalanceThreshold |
1 |
Threshold (USD) for the red balance. |
Key security
The management key is stored in the VS Code SecretStorage (operating system
keychain/credential store). This prevents technical leakage of the key
(plain-text files, accidental Git commits, distribution inside the .vsix
package).
⚠️ Important limitation: SecretStorage does not prevent human leakage. If
you share the key manually, it will be exposed. Best practices:
About the activity
The activity is fetched online from the official analytics endpoint
POST /api/v1/analytics/query, returning the aggregated account totals for the
last 30 days: total spend (USD), request count, and token volume. The balance
comes from GET /api/v1/credits.
The OpenRouter API does not expose an endpoint to list individual generations;
the analytics endpoint provides the official aggregated activity data and
requires a management key.
Development
npm install # install dependencies
npm run compile # compile TypeScript
npm test # run unit tests
To debug: press F5 (Extension Development Host).
Publishing
npm install -g @vscode/vsce
vsce package # generates the .vsix file
vsce publish # publishes to the Marketplace
License
MIT
