diff --git a/src/client.rs b/src/client.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ef504ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/client.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,360 @@
+use async_trait::async_trait;
+use futures_util::StreamExt;
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+use serde_json::Value;
+use std::fmt;
+use std::time::Duration;
+use tokio::sync::mpsc;
+
+#[derive(thiserror::Error, Debug)]
+pub enum ClientError {
+    #[error("Authentication failed: invalid or revoked OpenRouter API key")]
+    Unauthorized,
+    #[error("Payment required: account balance exhausted")]
+    PaymentRequired,
+    #[error("Rate limited, retry after {0}s")]
+    RateLimited(u64),
+    #[error("Model unavailable: {0}")]
+    ModelUnavailable(String),
+    #[error("Server error ({status}): {message}")]
+    ServerError { status: u16, message: String },
+    #[error("Network error: {0}")]
+    Network(#[from] reqwest::Error),
+    #[error("Stream decoding error: {0}")]
+    StreamError(String),
+}
+
+#[async_trait]
+pub trait ModelClient: Send + Sync {
+    async fn complete(&self, model: &str, system: &str, user: &str) -> Result<String, ClientError>;
+
+    async fn complete_stream(
+        &self,
+        model: &str,
+        system: &str,
+        user: &str,
+        chunk_sender: mpsc::Sender<String>,
+    ) -> Result<String, ClientError>;
+}
+
+pub struct OpenRouterClient {
+    api_key: String,
+    base_url: String,
+    http: reqwest::Client,
+}
+
+impl fmt::Debug for OpenRouterClient {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> fmt::Result {
+        f.debug_struct("OpenRouterClient")
+            .field("api_key", &"[REDACTED]")
+            .field("base_url", &self.base_url)
+            .finish()
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Serialize)]
+struct ChatMessage<'a> {
+    role: &'a str,
+    content: &'a str,
+}
+
+#[derive(Serialize)]
+struct ChatCompletionRequest<'a> {
+    model: &'a str,
+    messages: Vec<ChatMessage<'a>>,
+    stream: bool,
+    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
+    max_tokens: Option<u32>,
+    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
+    temperature: Option<f32>,
+}
+
+#[derive(Deserialize)]
+struct ChatCompletionChoice {
+    message: Option<ChatCompletionMessage>,
+}
+
+#[derive(Deserialize)]
+struct ChatCompletionMessage {
+    content: Option<String>,
+}
+
+#[derive(Deserialize)]
+struct ChatCompletionResponse {
+    choices: Vec<ChatCompletionChoice>,
+}
+
+impl OpenRouterClient {
+    pub fn new(api_key: String) -> Self {
+        Self::with_base_url(api_key, "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1".to_string())
+    }
+
+    pub fn with_base_url(api_key: String, base_url: String) -> Self {
+        let http = reqwest::Client::builder()
+            .timeout(Duration::from_secs(60))
+            .connect_timeout(Duration::from_secs(10))
+            .build()
+            .unwrap_or_else(|_| reqwest::Client::new());
+
+        Self {
+            api_key,
+            base_url,
+            http,
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Parses an SSE formatted line into a token delta if available
+    pub fn parse_sse_line(line: &str) -> Option<String> {
+        let trimmed = line.trim();
+        if !trimmed.starts_with("data:") {
+            return None;
+        }
+
+        let payload = trimmed.strip_prefix("data:")?.trim();
+        if payload == "[DONE]" || payload.is_empty() {
+            return None;
+        }
+
+        if let Ok(json) = serde_json::from_str::<Value>(payload) {
+            if let Some(choices) = json.get("choices").and_then(|c| c.as_array()) {
+                if let Some(first) = choices.first() {
+                    // Try delta.content (streaming)
+                    if let Some(content) = first
+                        .get("delta")
+                        .and_then(|d| d.get("content"))
+                        .and_then(|c| c.as_str())
+                    {
+                        return Some(content.to_string());
+                    }
+                    // Try text fallback
+                    if let Some(text) = first.get("text").and_then(|t| t.as_str()) {
+                        return Some(text.to_string());
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        None
+    }
+
+    fn check_status(status: reqwest::StatusCode, body: &str, headers: &reqwest::header::HeaderMap) -> Result<(), ClientError> {
+        match status.as_u16() {
+            200..=299 => Ok(()),
+            401 => Err(ClientError::Unauthorized),
+            402 => Err(ClientError::PaymentRequired),
+            429 => {
+                let retry_after = headers
+                    .get("retry-after")
+                    .and_then(|h| h.to_str().ok())
+                    .and_then(|s| s.parse::<u64>().ok())
+                    .unwrap_or(5);
+                Err(ClientError::RateLimited(retry_after))
+            }
+            404 => Err(ClientError::ModelUnavailable(format!("Model not found (404): {body}"))),
+            s if s >= 500 => Err(ClientError::ServerError {
+                status: s,
+                message: body.to_string(),
+            }),
+            s => Err(ClientError::ServerError {
+                status: s,
+                message: body.to_string(),
+            }),
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub async fn complete_with_params(
+        &self,
+        model: &str,
+        system: &str,
+        user: &str,
+        max_tokens: Option<u32>,
+        temperature: Option<f32>,
+    ) -> Result<String, ClientError> {
+        let endpoint = format!("{}/chat/completions", self.base_url.trim_end_matches('/'));
+
+        let body = ChatCompletionRequest {
+            model,
+            messages: vec![
+                ChatMessage {
+                    role: "system",
+                    content: system,
+                },
+                ChatMessage {
+                    role: "user",
+                    content: user,
+                },
+            ],
+            stream: false,
+            max_tokens,
+            temperature,
+        };
+
+        let res = self
+            .http
+            .post(&endpoint)
+            .header("Authorization", format!("Bearer {}", self.api_key))
+            .header("HTTP-Referer", "https://github.com/brokecrew/brokecrew")
+            .header("X-Title", "BrokeCrew")
+            .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
+            .json(&body)
+            .send()
+            .await?;
+
+        let status = res.status();
+        let headers = res.headers().clone();
+
+        if !status.is_success() {
+            let error_text = res.text().await.unwrap_or_default();
+            return Err(Self::check_status(status, &error_text, &headers).unwrap_err());
+        }
+
+        let resp_json: ChatCompletionResponse = res.json().await?;
+        let reply = resp_json
+            .choices
+            .into_iter()
+            .next()
+            .and_then(|c| c.message)
+            .and_then(|m| m.content)
+            .unwrap_or_default();
+
+        Ok(reply)
+    }
+}
+
+#[async_trait]
+impl ModelClient for OpenRouterClient {
+    async fn complete(&self, model: &str, system: &str, user: &str) -> Result<String, ClientError> {
+        self.complete_with_params(model, system, user, None, None).await
+    }
+
+    async fn complete_stream(
+        &self,
+        model: &str,
+        system: &str,
+        user: &str,
+        chunk_sender: mpsc::Sender<String>,
+    ) -> Result<String, ClientError> {
+        let endpoint = format!("{}/chat/completions", self.base_url.trim_end_matches('/'));
+
+        let body = ChatCompletionRequest {
+            model,
+            messages: vec![
+                ChatMessage {
+                    role: "system",
+                    content: system,
+                },
+                ChatMessage {
+                    role: "user",
+                    content: user,
+                },
+            ],
+            stream: true,
+            max_tokens: None,
+            temperature: None,
+        };
+
+        let res = self
+            .http
+            .post(&endpoint)
+            .header("Authorization", format!("Bearer {}", self.api_key))
+            .header("HTTP-Referer", "https://github.com/brokecrew/brokecrew")
+            .header("X-Title", "BrokeCrew")
+            .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
+            .json(&body)
+            .send()
+            .await?;
+
+        let status = res.status();
+        let headers = res.headers().clone();
+
+        if !status.is_success() {
+            let error_text = res.text().await.unwrap_or_default();
+            return Err(Self::check_status(status, &error_text, &headers).unwrap_err());
+        }
+
+        let mut stream = res.bytes_stream();
+        let mut full_text = String::new();
+        let mut buffer = String::new();
+
+        while let Some(item) = stream.next().await {
+            let bytes = item.map_err(|e| ClientError::Network(e))?;
+            let chunk_str = String::from_utf8_lossy(&bytes);
+            buffer.push_str(&chunk_str);
+
+            while let Some(pos) = buffer.find('\n') {
+                let line = buffer[..pos].trim().to_string();
+                buffer.drain(..=pos);
+
+                if let Some(delta) = Self::parse_sse_line(&line) {
+                    full_text.push_str(&delta);
+                    let _ = chunk_sender.send(delta).await;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Parse remaining buffer if any
+        if !buffer.trim().is_empty() {
+            if let Some(delta) = Self::parse_sse_line(&buffer) {
+                full_text.push_str(&delta);
+                let _ = chunk_sender.send(delta).await;
+            }
+        }
+
+        Ok(full_text)
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_parse_sse_line_delta() {
+        let line = r#"data: {"choices":[{"delta":{"content":"Hello world"}}]}"#;
+        let delta = OpenRouterClient::parse_sse_line(line);
+        assert_eq!(delta, Some("Hello world".to_string()));
+
+        let done_line = "data: [DONE]";
+        assert_eq!(OpenRouterClient::parse_sse_line(done_line), None);
+
+        let ping_line = ": ping";
+        assert_eq!(OpenRouterClient::parse_sse_line(ping_line), None);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_api_key_redaction_in_debug() {
+        let client = OpenRouterClient::new("sk-or-v1-secret-key-123456789".to_string());
+        let debug_str = format!("{:?}", client);
+        assert!(!debug_str.contains("sk-or-v1-secret-key-123456789"));
+        assert!(debug_str.contains("[REDACTED]"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_check_status_mappings() {
+        let mut headers = reqwest::header::HeaderMap::new();
+        headers.insert("retry-after", reqwest::header::HeaderValue::from_static("12"));
+
+        let err_401 = OpenRouterClient::check_status(reqwest::StatusCode::UNAUTHORIZED, "bad key", &headers).unwrap_err();
+        match err_401 {
+            ClientError::Unauthorized => (),
+            _ => panic!("Expected Unauthorized, got {:?}", err_401),
+        }
+
+        let err_402 = OpenRouterClient::check_status(reqwest::StatusCode::PAYMENT_REQUIRED, "low balance", &headers).unwrap_err();
+        match err_402 {
+            ClientError::PaymentRequired => (),
+            _ => panic!("Expected PaymentRequired, got {:?}", err_402),
+        }
+
+        let err_429 = OpenRouterClient::check_status(reqwest::StatusCode::TOO_MANY_REQUESTS, "rate limited", &headers).unwrap_err();
+        match err_429 {
+            ClientError::RateLimited(secs) => assert_eq!(secs, 12),
+            _ => panic!("Expected RateLimited(12), got {:?}", err_429),
+        }
+
+        let err_503 = OpenRouterClient::check_status(reqwest::StatusCode::SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE, "outage", &headers).unwrap_err();
+        match err_503 {
+            ClientError::ServerError { status, .. } => assert_eq!(status, 503),
+            _ => panic!("Expected ServerError 503, got {:?}", err_503),
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index 59f87f3..e62adcd 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 //! BrokeCrew: A Rust-Native Multi-Model AI Team Library
 
 pub mod budget;
+pub mod client;
 pub mod persona;
 
 pub use budget::{BudgetExceeded, BudgetStatus, BudgetTracker, CreditTier};
+pub use client::{ClientError, ModelClient, OpenRouterClient};
 pub use persona::{DispatchResult, ModelAttempt, ModelCandidate, Persona, PersonaRegistry, Tier};