Reseller Guide

Distribution on derouter.ai is a simple prepaid flow: top up your balance, create Client Keys with your own pricing, hand them out, keep the margin. Follow Xiaoming through a full example below — $200 topped up, one client priced at $100 (cost $60), 40% margin.

Walkthrough: Xiaoming's First Client Key

Step 1 — Top up $200

Sign up at /login, return to /api, click Top Up, pay $200 (crypto or card).

┌─────────────────────────────┐
│ Account Balance             │
│ $200.00                     │
│ Available: $200.00          │
└─────────────────────────────┘

Step 2 — Agree on a price with your client

Xiaoming agrees to sell Acme Corp $100 of API credit. His real cost from derouter.ai: $60. Those two numbers — client price and your cost— are everything you'll type next. There's no percentage field; margin is derived automatically.

Step 3 — Create the Client Key

On /api click Create Key. Label it acme-corp-prod, fill in client budget and your cost — the preview updates live:

Hit Create. Main balance drops $200 → $140, a new key appears in the list.

Step 4 — Send the key to your client

Copy the full API key and send it with a portal link:

Hi Acme,

Your API key:
sk-ant-1234567890abcdef...

To track usage, visit:
https://apikey.cloud

(Sign in with your email OTP, bind the key once.)

Clients self-service usage lookup at apikey.cloud — no derouter.ai account needed on their side.

Step 5 — The client binds and sees $100

Acme signs in with email OTP, pastes the key. The portal shows them $100, never the $60 cost.

Step 6 — Check your earnings

A week later, Xiaoming opens /api. Acme has spent $34.20; earned profit is already $13.68 (= $34.20 × 40%), and grows in real time as they keep calling the API.

Step 7 — Top up when the client runs low

A month in, Acme is running low and asks for $50 more. Xiaoming clicks [+] on the card and types $50 — the ratio locked at creation (40%) auto-computes the $30 debit. No mental math, no accidental repricing.

Confirm. Main balance −$30, client's new total $150, earned profit keeps growing as Acme consumes more.

FAQ & Advanced Topics

I want to distribute internally — no markup

Set Your Cost equal to Client Budget(same number). The system will label the key as “No markup (internal share)” — the key is simply a budget slice for a team member, not a resale.

Why can't I change the margin after creation?

Changing the margin would make the client's spent/remaining numbers jump retroactively, breaking their trust in the bill. If you need to reprice, create a new Client Key and ask the client to switch over.

What happens to leftover budget when I delete a Client Key?

The unspent cost portion is returned to your main balance instantly. Any budget the client already consumed is locked in — deletion doesn't refund past usage.

Can I change rate limits (RPM / concurrency)?

Not yet. All Client Keys ship with 60 RPM and 5 concurrent requests, hardcoded. Custom per-key limits are on the roadmap.

Can one key be shared across multiple clients?

Yes. Multiple client emails can bind the same Client Key on apikey.cloud and share the budget. Useful for a small team or a shared service account where you don't need per-person tracking.

How is margin calculated?

(client price − your cost) / client price. Example: ($100 − $60) / $100 = 40%. This is the “markup as a share of client price” formula, standard in reselling.

I also want to earn via referrals

Good news: you can run both distribution models in parallel. Share your referral link, and you earn tiered 5%–30% commission on every referee's consumption. See the Referral Program docs for details.

Where can I get help?

Reach out on Telegram or email support@derouter.ai.