One API Gateway Can Unify OpenAI, Claude, and Gemini Without Multi-SDK Overhead

A software developer writing for DEV Community argues that using a single OpenAI-compatible API gateway is a more efficient approach than integrating OpenAI, Claude, and Gemini through their separate native SDKs. The author estimates that building a three-SDK integration took roughly two weeks, while switching to a compatible gateway reduced the effort to a single afternoon. The core advantage is that a unified request format allows the same streaming handlers, retry logic, and evaluation harnesses to work across all three model providers without modification. However, the author cautions that 'OpenAI-compatible' only describes the request body format, not the actual model availability, and recommends querying the gateway's model-listing endpoint directly before committing to any provider. The piece highlights Infrai as one gateway that exposes its capability manifest publicly, including request schemas and billing metadata, without requiring an account.