# Leanroute

> Leanroute is a Singapore-hosted AI and MCP gateway that unifies 113+ models across 14 curated providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, DeepSeek, Groq, Meta, Qwen, GLM, Doubao, Kimi, Sarvam, Krutrim, AWS Bedrock) behind a single OpenAI-compatible API (`https://api.leanroute.dev/v1`) and native Anthropic Messages API (`https://api.leanroute.dev/anthropic`). Unlike passthrough routers, Leanroute executes the MCP tool-calling agent loop at the gateway (`x-gateway-mcp-mode: proxy`), enabling MCP tools on any function-calling model (GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Groq, Qwen, GLM, Claude). It includes quality-tier cost arbitrage, automatic 5xx cross-provider failover, exact and semantic caching ($0 on cache hits), a 7-rule guardrail library (redact, block, or preview), and hard daily/monthly spend caps per organization and per key.

## Quick facts for agents & developers

- OpenAI-compatible base URL: `https://api.leanroute.dev/v1` (`POST /v1/chat/completions`, `POST /v1/embeddings`, `GET /v1/models`)
- Anthropic Messages base URL: `https://api.leanroute.dev/anthropic` (`POST /anthropic/v1/messages` — drop-in for Claude Code via `ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL` and `ANTHROPIC_MODEL`)
- Hosted MCP endpoint (Zero-install Streamable HTTP): `https://api.leanroute.dev/mcp` (Auth: `Authorization: Bearer gw_admin_*`)
- Local MCP server (stdio npm package): `npx -y @leanroute/mcp-server` (Registry ID: `dev.leanroute/mcp-server`)
- Programmatic Admin REST API: `https://api.leanroute.dev/platform/v1` (list/mint/revoke runtime keys, inspect usage, check credit balance, query live model pricing via `GET /platform/v1/pricing`)
- Two-class API key safety invariant: `gw_live_*` dispatches LLM/MCP inference traffic; `gw_admin_*` manages keys, usage, and pricing discovery but cannot top up credit or extract encrypted BYOK keys
- Gateway-run MCP on any model: pass `mcp_servers` array on non-streaming `POST /v1/chat/completions` (`stream: false`); server URLs are verified against your org allowlist (`/dashboard/mcp`)
- n8n community node: `n8n-nodes-leanroute` (drop-in Chat Model node for n8n AI Agent workflows)
- Pricing: Flat BYOK subscription ($15/mo Starter, $25/mo Pro, 14-day free trial without card, 0% token markup) or pay-as-you-go prepaid credits (5% deposit fee, 0% per-request markup)
- Data residency & compliance: Singapore-hosted (`ap-southeast-1`), PDPA/PDPO/APPI/DPDP aligned, optional no-persistence mode (`x-gateway-prompts-persisted: false`)

## Core documentation

- [Documentation hub](https://leanroute.dev/docs)
- [Developer API reference & error codes](https://leanroute.dev/docs/api)
- [Model catalog & live token pricing](https://leanroute.dev/docs/models)
- [MCP tool calling on any model](https://leanroute.dev/docs/mcp)
- [MCP server for agents (HTTP & stdio)](https://leanroute.dev/docs/mcp-server)
- [Gateway response & request headers (`x-gateway-*`)](https://leanroute.dev/docs/headers)
- [Guardrails library & custom regex](https://leanroute.dev/guardrails)
- [Interactive gateway playground (no signup)](https://leanroute.dev/playground)
- [Frequently asked questions](https://leanroute.dev/faq)

## Integration playbooks

- [All integrations hub (Cursor, Cline, Continue, Aider, Open WebUI, n8n)](https://leanroute.dev/docs/integrations)
- [OpenAI SDK (Python & TypeScript)](https://leanroute.dev/docs/integrations/openai-sdk)
- [Anthropic SDK & Claude Code cost optimization](https://leanroute.dev/docs/integrations/anthropic-sdk)
- [Vercel AI SDK](https://leanroute.dev/docs/integrations/vercel-ai-sdk)
- [LangChain](https://leanroute.dev/docs/integrations/langchain)
- [LlamaIndex](https://leanroute.dev/docs/integrations/llamaindex)
- [n8n AI Agent workflows (`n8n-nodes-leanroute`)](https://leanroute.dev/blog/n8n-community-node-leanroute)

## Technical deep dives & benchmarks

- [Blog & engineering notes](https://leanroute.dev/blog)
- [LLM routing with Leanroute: tiers, policies, and failover](https://leanroute.dev/blog/llm-routing-with-leanroute)
- [MCP tool calling on any model, not just Claude](https://leanroute.dev/blog/mcp-passthrough-one-endpoint)
- [Cut Claude Code bills 60% by routing to DeepSeek and Groq](https://leanroute.dev/blog/cut-claude-code-bills-60-percent-multi-provider-routing)
- [Spend caps and rate limits for LLM APIs, per team and per key](https://leanroute.dev/blog/llm-spend-caps-and-rate-limits)
- [LLM guardrails at the gateway: PII, secrets, and prompt injection](https://leanroute.dev/blog/llm-guardrails-pii-secrets-prompt-injection)
- [Announcing `opa-sidecar-a2a`: Chain-aware agent authorization](https://leanroute.dev/blog/announcing-opa-sidecar-a2a-reference-implementation)

## Competitor comparisons

- [AI Gateway comparison hub](https://leanroute.dev/compare)
- [Leanroute vs OpenRouter](https://leanroute.dev/compare/openrouter)
- [Leanroute vs LiteLLM](https://leanroute.dev/compare/litellm)
- [Leanroute vs Portkey (Prisma AIRS)](https://leanroute.dev/compare/portkey)
- [Leanroute vs Cloudflare AI Gateway](https://leanroute.dev/compare/cloudflare-ai-gateway)
- [Leanroute vs Vercel AI Gateway](https://leanroute.dev/compare/vercel-ai)
- [Leanroute vs Bifrost](https://leanroute.dev/compare/bifrost)
- [Leanroute vs Kong AI Gateway](https://leanroute.dev/compare/kong)
- [Leanroute with AWS Bedrock (BYOK)](https://leanroute.dev/compare/aws-bedrock)
- [6 Best Portkey Alternatives in 2026 (Post-Palo Alto Acquisition)](https://leanroute.dev/blog/portkey-alternatives-after-palo-alto-acquisition)
- [5 Best LiteLLM Alternatives in 2026 (After CVE-2026-35029)](https://leanroute.dev/blog/litellm-alternatives-2026)
- [Bifrost vs OpenRouter vs Leanroute: Top Bifrost Alternatives](https://leanroute.dev/blog/bifrost-alternative-when-managed-beats-go)
- [OpenRouter Alternative in 2026: Flat BYOK and MCP on Any Model](https://leanroute.dev/blog/openrouter-alternative-byok)
- [Kong AI Gateway Alternative (2026): When a Managed BYOK Gateway Wins](https://leanroute.dev/blog/kong-ai-gateway-alternative-lean-managed)

## Machine-readable discovery

- [Full agent reference with code examples (`llms-full.txt`)](https://leanroute.dev/llms-full.txt)
- [OpenAPI 3.1 specification](https://leanroute.dev/openapi.json)
- [AI service catalog (`/.well-known/ai-catalog.json`)](https://leanroute.dev/.well-known/ai-catalog.json)
- [MCP registry server card (`/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json`)](https://leanroute.dev/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json)
- [Product changelog](https://leanroute.dev/changelog)

## Security, compliance & legal

- [Security posture & vulnerability disclosure (`/.well-known/security.txt`)](https://leanroute.dev/security)
- [Compliance & APAC/PDPA data residency](https://leanroute.dev/compliance)
- [Live service status](https://status.leanroute.dev/)
- [Terms of service](https://leanroute.dev/terms)
- [Privacy policy](https://leanroute.dev/privacy)