Quick setup
Open the kRouter dashboard at http://localhost:20128
Go to Providers → click Brave Search
Paste your API key, click Save
Test the connection
Use in your IDE
Point any OpenAI-compatible client at kRouter using your local API key.
# Endpoint
http://localhost:20128/v1
# API key (from Dashboard → API Keys)
sk-krouter-XXXX
# Model
brave/<model-id>How Brave Search billing works with kRouter
Brave Search is pay-per-token. You bring your own API key and kRouter routes to it, so you keep your own rate limits and billing relationship. kRouter authenticates it via apikey.
Through kRouter, Brave Search serves web search, exposed on /v1/search so an agent can look things up mid-conversation. Requests reach it through the same local OpenAI-compatible endpoint as every other provider, so switching to or from Brave Search is a one-line model change in your client rather than a rewrite.
Brave Search links
Brave Search FAQ
Is Brave Search free through kRouter?
Brave Search is pay-per-token: you bring your own API key and are billed by Brave Search at their rates. kRouter adds nothing on top and is free and MIT-licensed.
How do I use Brave Search with Claude Code or Cursor?
Connect Brave Search in the kRouter dashboard, then point your tool at kRouter's local endpoint (http://localhost:20128/v1) with a kRouter API key. Any OpenAI-compatible client works, and models are addressed as brave/<model>.
What happens when Brave Search is rate limited?
kRouter detects the limit, parks that account until its real reset time, and fails over to your next connected account or provider — so the request still completes instead of erroring.