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Router One

Chatbox & Cherry Studio in China — one key, 30+ models

Chatbox and Cherry Studio are popular desktop LLM clients. Add Router One as a custom OpenAI-compatible provider and chat with GPT, Claude, Gemini and more — no VPN, paid in RMB, with one key.

Get your API key

One key, 30+ models

Add a single OpenAI-compatible provider and reach GPT, Claude, Gemini and more. Pay-as-you-go pricing as low as 10% of official list prices on select models.

Direct access, no VPN

Both apps talk to the OpenAI-compatible endpoint at https://api.router.one/v1. Review the published benchmark below before relying on any point-in-time network result.

Pay in RMB

Fund the wallet with a card or Alipay in one hosted checkout, or with USDT/USDC on six chains. No foreign credit card required.

Review the China latency benchmark

This setup guide does not make a separate latency promise. The published snapshot, last updated 2026-05-15, covers Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen on China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Mobile in a rolling 7-day window. It is not an SLA, and individual networks may vary; review the full method and caveats before judging fit for your workload.

Read the published benchmark

3-step setup

Add Router One as a custom OpenAI-compatible provider, paste your key, and pick a model. The steps below cover both Chatbox and Cherry Studio.

  1. 1Create a Router One API keySign up at router.one and create an API key in the dashboard. Fund the wallet with a card or Alipay on the hosted checkout, or with USDT/USDC — no foreign credit card required.
  2. 2Add an OpenAI-compatible providerIn Chatbox: Settings → Model Provider → OpenAI API, set API Host to https://api.router.one/v1 and paste your key. In Cherry Studio: Settings → Model Providers → add an OpenAI provider, set the API host to the same URL and paste your key.
  3. 3Pick a model and chatSelect a model (GPT, Claude, Gemini and more) and start chatting — requests route through Router One's China-reachable, OpenAI-compatible endpoint with no VPN.
provider settings
# Chatbox / Cherry Studio → OpenAI-compatible provider
API Host: https://api.router.one/v1
API Key:  sk-your-router-one-key

No low fixed cap for normal paid usage. Abuse prevention, per-account protection limits, and upstream constraints may still apply; if a request returns 429, check Dashboard -> Logs or contact support to raise limits.

FAQ

Do I need a VPN?

No proxy or VPN is required for the Router One endpoint. The benchmark below documents the dated network snapshot and its caveats.

Does this work for both Chatbox and Cherry Studio?

Yes — both Chatbox and Cherry Studio accept a custom OpenAI-compatible provider: set the API host to Router One and paste your key. Any other OpenAI-compatible client works the same way.

How does billing work?

Use prepaid wallet balance or a live subscription plan. Top up with a card or Alipay on one hosted checkout, or with USDT/USDC on six chains — usage outside plan coverage is metered per token.

Is my data stored?

Router One does not retain prompt or model-response bodies from direct API calls. It records request metadata for billing, usage tracking, and troubleshooting. Playground saves conversation history so users can revisit and continue their chats.

Choose the next step for your desktop client

This page covers Chatbox and Cherry Studio as desktop clients. Use the pages below to confirm the provider contract, select a model, find another client guide, or fund the wallet.

Provider setupConfirm the OpenAI-compatible provider settingsUse this when you need the base URL, authentication shape, or request contract behind the desktop-client fields.Model selectionChoose a live model from the catalogCompare current model IDs, capabilities, context windows, and posted pricing before adding a custom model.Self-hosted web UIServe a team through Open WebUIAdd the gateway as one OpenAI API connection and the model catalog appears for every user on your instance.Self-hosted chat UIRun LibreChat on the gatewayAdd the gateway as a custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint in librechat.yaml and pick catalog models for every user on your instance.Desktop and Docker RAG appSet up AnythingLLM's Generic OpenAI providerEnter the /v1 URL, key, exact model ID and context window in Settings → LLM or the Docker .env; keep the built-in embedder for document chat.Self-hosted knowledge-base appAdd Router One as a FastGPT model channelOne OpenAI-protocol channel in the bundled AI Proxy: /v1 base URL, exact model IDs, channel test, then one trace per node call.Browser extensionTranslate pages through Immersive TranslateThe custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint takes the full /chat/completions path; any chat model in the catalog becomes the translation engine.Other clientsBrowse SDK and client setup guidesMove to a dedicated guide for an SDK, coding tool, framework, or another client instead of adapting desktop-client steps.BillingFund the shared wallet with AlipayAlipay credits the prepaid Router One wallet that this desktop client uses for model requests.

Start using Chatbox & Cherry Studio in China

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