# OpenRouter Model Reference

Quick reference for choosing the right AI model for News Agent.

## Recommended Models

### Best Overall: `google/gemini-flash-1.5-8b`
- **Cost:** ~$0.05-0.15/day
- **Quality:** Excellent
- **Speed:** Very fast
- **Best for:** Production use, daily digests

### Best Free: `google/gemini-2.0-flash-exp:free`
- **Cost:** FREE
- **Quality:** Good (experimental)
- **Speed:** Fast
- **Best for:** Testing, low-budget setups
- **Note:** Experimental, may change

### Budget Option: `meta-llama/llama-3.1-8b-instruct:free`
- **Cost:** FREE
- **Quality:** Decent
- **Speed:** Moderate
- **Best for:** Testing, development

### High Quality: `anthropic/claude-3.5-haiku`
- **Cost:** ~$0.10-0.25/day
- **Quality:** Excellent
- **Speed:** Fast
- **Best for:** When quality matters most

### OpenAI Option: `openai/gpt-4o-mini`
- **Cost:** ~$0.08-0.20/day
- **Quality:** Very good
- **Speed:** Fast
- **Best for:** Balanced quality/cost

## How to Change Model

Edit `config.yaml`:

```yaml
ai:
  model: "google/gemini-flash-1.5-8b"  # Change this line
```

## Full Model List

See all available models at: https://openrouter.ai/models

Filter by:
- **Free models** - Search for `:free` suffix
- **Context length** - Important for long articles
- **Supported features** - JSON mode, function calling, etc.

## Cost Comparison (Daily Estimates)

Based on processing ~50 articles/day with 15 summaries:

| Model | Daily Cost | Monthly Cost | Quality |
|-------|-----------|--------------|---------|
| `google/gemini-2.0-flash-exp:free` | $0.00 | $0.00 | Good |
| `meta-llama/llama-3.1-8b-instruct:free` | $0.00 | $0.00 | Decent |
| `google/gemini-flash-1.5-8b` | $0.05-0.15 | $1.50-4.50 | Excellent |
| `openai/gpt-4o-mini` | $0.08-0.20 | $2.40-6.00 | Very Good |
| `anthropic/claude-3.5-haiku` | $0.10-0.25 | $3.00-7.50 | Excellent |
| `openai/gpt-4o` | $0.50-1.50 | $15-45 | Outstanding |

*Costs vary based on article length and quantity*

## Testing a New Model

1. Update `config.yaml`:
   ```yaml
   ai:
     model: "new-model-name"
   ```

2. Run a test:
   ```bash
   source .venv/bin/activate
   python -m src.main
   ```

3. Check quality of summaries in the email

4. Monitor costs at: https://openrouter.ai/activity

## Model Selection Tips

### Choose FREE models if:
- You're testing the system
- Cost is a major concern
- Article quality/accuracy is less critical

### Choose PAID models if:
- You want best quality summaries
- You need reliable daily digests
- You value accurate relevance scoring

### Performance vs Cost:
- **Gemini Flash 1.5-8b** - Best balance
- **Claude Haiku** - Best quality for cost
- **GPT-4o-mini** - Good all-rounder
- **Free models** - Testing/development

## Troubleshooting

### Error: "No endpoints found for [model]"

The model name is incorrect or not available on OpenRouter.

**Solution:**
1. Check model name at: https://openrouter.ai/models
2. Copy exact model ID (e.g., `google/gemini-flash-1.5-8b`)
3. Update `config.yaml`
4. Restart the service

### Model Seems Slow

Some models are slower than others.

**Solutions:**
- Try `google/gemini-flash-1.5-8b` (fastest)
- Reduce `max_articles` in config (process fewer articles)
- Use cheaper/faster models for filtering, premium for summarization

### Poor Summary Quality

The model might not be good at summarization.

**Solutions:**
- Try `anthropic/claude-3.5-haiku` (excellent summarization)
- Adjust prompts in `src/ai/prompts.py`
- Increase temperature for more creative summaries
- Try different models

### High Costs

You're using an expensive model or processing too many articles.

**Solutions:**
1. Switch to cheaper model (Gemini Flash or free options)
2. Increase `min_score` to filter more aggressively
3. Reduce `max_articles` limit
4. Monitor usage: https://openrouter.ai/activity

## Advanced: Using Different Models for Different Tasks

You could modify the code to use:
- **Fast/cheap model** for filtering (scoring articles)
- **High-quality model** for summarization

Edit `src/main.py` to instantiate different clients for different tasks.

## Need Help?

- **Model pricing:** https://openrouter.ai/models (click model for details)
- **API docs:** https://openrouter.ai/docs
- **Check costs:** https://openrouter.ai/activity
- **Model comparison:** Test different models and compare results