Getting started
What ModelRiver is, how projects and workflows fit together, and how to try it for free.
5 articles
- What is ModelRiver, and why not just call OpenAI directly?ModelRiver is one API in front of 13 AI providers, with failover, structured outputs, logs and spend limits. See when it beats calling a provider directly.
- How is ModelRiver different from a regular AI gateway?An AI gateway routes calls to providers. ModelRiver also delivers results over WebSocket, runs backend pipelines, sends webhooks and remembers chats.
- How is ModelRiver different from an orchestration framework like LangChain?Orchestration frameworks are libraries you run yourself. ModelRiver is a hosted service joining a gateway, pipelines, webhooks, WebSocket delivery and sessions.
- What's the difference between a project and a workflow?A ModelRiver project holds your providers, keys and logs. A workflow is a named AI setup your app calls. Learn how they fit together and how to organize them.
- Can I try ModelRiver without paying for AI calls?Try ModelRiver for free: the Free plan needs no card, and test mode returns sample responses without calling a provider. Here's how to test your integration.