OpenRouter API Key Exposed
An OpenRouter API key is public. It spends your account's credit on any of the hundreds of models OpenRouter routes to, so anyone who copies it from your JavaScript can run inference on your bill until the credit runs out.
0% · n=47 · as of 20 September 2026 of sites UseShipReady scanned had this, counted across sites where this check completed.
Why it matters
An OpenRouter API key is public. It spends your account's credit on any of the hundreds of models OpenRouter routes to, so anyone who copies it from your JavaScript can run inference on your bill until the credit runs out.
How UseShipReady detects it
Detects credentials that reached the browser. Scans the page HTML and every linked JavaScript bundle for the literal shapes real provider keys take — `sk_live_`, `AKIA`, `ghp_`, a JWT with a service_role claim — rather than guessing from entropy. High-entropy string detection finds build hashes, CSS class names and base64 images on almost every site; provider prefixes are unambiguous, which is why this check reports only what it can name. A match is evidence, not inference: the value was served to anyone who loaded the page. Evidence records the variable NAME and a ten-character prefix, never the key, because a report that quoted the secret would republish it. Bundles are fetched once per scan and shared across pages, so a key present in a chunk loaded on ten routes is reported once.
Detection is deterministic. UseShipReady reports this only when it observes the condition directly, and prefers to miss a real problem over inventing one. Rule version 1.11.0.
How to fix it
This is the prompt UseShipReady puts in your report — written to be pasted straight into Cursor, Claude Code, or whichever assistant built the app.
Remove the OpenRouter API key from the frontend and revoke it in your OpenRouter dashboard. Call OpenRouter from your own backend (an API route or serverless function) so the key never ships to the browser, and set a credit limit on the new key.
Frequently asked questions
- What does "OpenRouter API Key Exposed" mean?
- An OpenRouter API key is public. It spends your account's credit on any of the hundreds of models OpenRouter routes to, so anyone who copies it from your JavaScript can run inference on your bill until the credit runs out.
- How serious is it?
- UseShipReady rates this critical. Fix before launch. On its own, this is enough to compromise the application.
- How common is this?
- Across the sites UseShipReady has scanned where this check completed, 0% · n=47 · as of 20 September 2026.
- How do I fix it?
- Paste the fix prompt on this page into Cursor, Claude Code or your AI editor. It is the same prompt UseShipReady puts in your report.
- Can I check my own site?
- Yes — UseShipReady scans up to ten pages of any public site for free and reports this alongside every other check. The free report lists every issue it finds and shows full evidence and a fix prompt for the critical and high-severity ones; medium and low findings are counted and unlock on Pro.
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