Routstr primary sources — 2026-05-02

Project status in this pass

• No canonical standalone Routstr whitepaper or litepaper surfaced.
• The clearest current sources of truth were the official repo README and the first-party docs portal covering overview, provider setup, and API behavior.
• The materials consistently frame Routstr as open AI-inference marketplace and payment infrastructure rather than as only a proxy in front of one model provider.

Primary-source snapshots

1) Core repository README

• URL: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Routstr/routstr-core/main/README.md
• Key excerpt:
  • The README says Routstr is a decentralized protocol for permissionless, private, and censorship-resistant AI inference.
  • It says the system combines Nostr for discovery and Cashu for private Bitcoin micropayments.
  • It also says Routstr Core is a FastAPI-based reverse proxy that sits in front of OpenAI-compatible APIs and handles pay-per-request billing.

2) Docs home / overview surface

• URL: https://docs.routstr.com/
• Key excerpt:
  • The docs home says Routstr enables an open marketplace where anyone can buy and sell compute using Bitcoin eCash.
  • It separates flows for clients, providers, and API consumers, with dedicated sections for deployment, discovery, pricing, dashboard operations, and API reference.
  • This makes Routstr look like a multi-sided network and operating stack, not just a developer utility.

3) Provider quick-start

• URL: https://docs.routstr.com/provider/quickstart/
• Key excerpt:
  • The provider guide says a Routstr node connects to upstream AI providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and OpenRouter.
  • It says the node accepts Bitcoin payments via Cashu eCash, serves AI requests to network clients, and lets the operator keep margins while Routstr handles billing, payments, and client management.
  • The guide also documents dashboard-based upstream setup, pricing controls, node identity, and withdrawal of profits.

4) API reference overview

• URL: https://docs.routstr.com/api/overview/
• Key excerpt:
  • The API overview says Routstr provides a complete OpenAI-compatible API with additional endpoints for payment management.
  • It supports standard bearer API keys and also permits Cashu eCash tokens directly in the Authorization header.
  • This supports the view that Routstr is intentionally compatible with existing AI SDK workflows while replacing or augmenting normal API billing with crypto-native payments.

5) Stateless per-request payment behavior

• URL: https://docs.routstr.com/api/overview/
• Key excerpt:
  • The API overview documents an X-Cashu header that lets clients attach an ecash token directly to a request.
  • It says the response returns change in an X-Cashu header and describes the flow as fully stateless, without session state or separate refund calls.
  • This is decisive evidence that Routstr is building machine-payment infrastructure for API access, not just a prepaid balance wallet.

6) Node-operations surface

• URL: https://docs.routstr.com/provider/quickstart/
• Key excerpt:
  • The provider docs describe dashboard controls for upstream credentials, pricing margin, total wallet, user balances, profit tracking, and withdrawal.
  • They also position future node-to-node routing as an intended evolution beyond simple upstream resale.
  • This broad operator surface makes Routstr look like compute-routing and marketplace middleware rather than a thin app-layer wrapper.

Working conclusion

Routstr is best cataloged as AI inference payments and compute-routing infrastructure. The decisive evidence in this pass was the combination of OpenAI-compatible request handling, Cashu-based per-request and balance-backed payment flows, Nostr discovery, provider-side upstream resale, dashboard pricing controls, and explicit open-marketplace framing in the first-party docs.