Z.ai Coding Plan: Base URL, API Key and Setup

Table of Contents

• The endpoints, no preamble
• The official shortcut
• Claude Code, step by step
• Cline, Roo and OpenAI-compatible clients
• The error nobody diagnoses: "it works but nothing gets deducted"
• Which key to create, exactly
• Lite, Pro and Max: what actually changes
• Setup checklist
• Keep reading

The endpoints, no preamble

Tool	Base URL
Claude Code (Anthropic-compatible endpoint)	https://api.z.ai/api/anthropic
Cline, Roo, Kilo, VS Code (OpenAI-compatible)	https://api.z.ai/api/coding/paas/v4
Guided setup	npx @z_ai/coding-helper

In both cases the token is your GLM Coding Plan API key.

And here is the detail that costs money: they are not interchangeable. The /api/anthropic endpoint is the one Claude Code understands. The /api/coding/paas/v4 one is OpenAI-compatible. If you paste one where the other belongs, either it works but never draws down your quota, or it fails and the error message does not tell you why.

The official shortcut

Before configuring anything by hand:

npx @z_ai/coding-helper

Z.ai's helper walks you through installing and configuring the tool and the plan. If you are unsure which endpoint applies to you, this route removes the problem entirely: it writes the config for you.

Manual setup makes sense when you already know what you want, when you are automating setup across machines, or when the helper does not cover your client.

Claude Code, step by step

The idea is to point Claude Code at Z.ai instead of Anthropic:

• Base URL: https://api.z.ai/api/anthropic
• Token: your Coding Plan API key

The current details are in Z.ai's Claude Code documentation. I stress "current": if you copy a 2024 tutorial with a different URL, you will either spend quota in the wrong place or spend none at all.

Cline, Roo and OpenAI-compatible clients

In VS Code with Cline:

1. API Provider → OpenAI Compatible (or the "Z AI" provider if it shows in the list).
2. Base URL → https://api.z.ai/api/coding/paas/v4
3. API Key → your Coding Plan key.
4. Model → whichever GLM is active on your plan.

Z.ai's Cline documentation beats any old screenshot you find in a forum.

OpenCode, Roo and the rest follow the same pattern: coding endpoint + plan key.

The error nobody diagnoses: "it works but nothing gets deducted"

This is the most expensive failure and the quietest one, so it earns its own section.

There are two ways to get it wrong, and both produce the same symptom:

1. Wrong endpoint. If you paste the generic chat endpoint instead of the coding one, the request may work, but it does not come out of your subscription quota. Z.ai states this explicitly in its docs.

2. Wrong key. If you paid for the subscription but created a pay-as-you-go key instead of a Coding Plan key, your usage gets billed separately. You pay twice: for the subscription you are not using, and for the usage you are.

How to catch it: send a real prompt — not a "hello" — and watch usage in the console. If the number does not move, you have one of the two problems.

Which key to create, exactly

Once payment clears, go into the console (the tab is called something like API Keys or Billing; the exact name changes with each redesign, the concept does not):

1. Create a Coding Plan key. Not a standalone pay-as-you-go key.
2. Copy it once. Treat it like a password.
3. Do not push it to a repo, do not paste it in a Discord, do not leave it in a screenshot.

If you rotate the key later, you update the tool; you do not need to pay for the plan again.

Lite, Pro and Max: what actually changes

All three tiers use the same models. The only thing that changes is how much quota you get.

That makes the decision simpler than it looks: start on Lite monthly and scale when you genuinely run short. Two concrete warnings:

• Z.ai subscriptions are non-refundable once purchased.
• Do not marry Max annual on day one. The big number feels like "savings"; it is a commitment.

If you are weighing this plan against OpenCode's subscription, we break that down in Z.ai GLM vs OpenCode Go.

Setup checklist

1. Coding Plan key created (not pay-as-you-go).
2. Correct endpoint for your tool: /api/anthropic for Claude Code, /api/coding/paas/v4 for OpenAI clients.
3. A real prompt sent.
4. Usage verified in the console: if it does not drop, something is wrong.
5. One tool configured before you add the second.

Keep reading

• The full onboarding: How to use Z.ai (GLM) step by step
• Price comparison: Z.ai GLM vs OpenCode Go
• If your client is OpenCode: OpenCode install errors