# Routstr Payment Proxy

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Routstr is a decentralized protocol for permissionless, private, and censorship-resistant AI inference. It combines Nostr for discovery and Cashu for private Bitcoin micropayments.

This repo contains Routstr Core: a FastAPI-based reverse proxy that sits in front of OpenAI-compatible APIs and handles pay-per-request billing.

## Start Here

- **Overview**: <https://docs.routstr.com/overview/>
- **Provider Guide**: <https://docs.routstr.com/provider/quickstart/>
- **User Guide**: <https://docs.routstr.com/user-guide/introduction/>

## Basic Usage

If you are a user/developer, you just point an OpenAI-compatible SDK at a Routstr node and pay with a Cashu token.

### OpenAI SDK

```python
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://api.routstr.com/v1",
    api_key="cashuBo2FteCJodHRwczovL21...",
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-5-nano",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "hello"}],
)

print(response.choices[0].message.content)
```

### cURL

```bash
curl https://api.routstr.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-cashu: cashuBo2FteCJodHRwczovL21..." \
  -d '{
    "model": "gpt-5-nano",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "hello"}]
  }'
```

## Quick Start (Docker)

If you are a node runner, start a Routstr Core instance using Docker Compose:

1. **Prepare your `.env`**:
   ```bash
   ADMIN_PASSWORD=mysecretpassword
   NAME="My AI Node"
   DESCRIPTION="Fast access to models"
   NSEC=yournsec
   RECEIVE_LN_ADDRESS=yourname@wallet.com
   ```

2. **Start the services**:
   ```bash
   docker compose up -d
   ```

3. **Configure**:
   Open [http://localhost:8000/admin/](http://localhost:8000/admin/) to connect your AI providers and set pricing.

For full instructions, see the **[Provider Quick Start Guide](https://docs.routstr.com/provider/quickstart/)**.

## Development

```bash
make setup
cp .env.example .env
fastapi run routstr
```