Z.AI GLM API key setup

Get your key

1. Open the Z.AI GLM API keys page: z.ai/subscribe?ic=FD6ODRFLIG partner link
2. Create an account and generate an API key.
3. Paste it into the Dracon BYOK provider keys, stored encrypted (AES-256-GCM), used browser-direct, works in every Dracon tool.

Get the key and test it

1. Open the Z.AI GLM API keys page: z.ai/manage-apikey/apikey-list Create a key and copy the secret straight away.
2. Point your client at this provider's base URL: https://api.z.ai/api/paas/v4 It speaks the OpenAI-compatible shape, so an OpenAI SDK client works against it with no adapter: only the base URL and the key change.
3. Prove the endpoint answers before you trust it. Send one call with no Authorization header: a live endpoint answers 401 Unauthorized, because it is waiting for a bearer key. The wording of that error differs by provider (some say invalid_api_key, others incorrect_api_key or Token is invalid), so read the 401 as the signal, not the error text.
4. Paste the key into the Dracon BYOK provider keys ; stored encrypted, used browser-direct, no relay.
5. Compare other provider plans when this subscription does not match your usage or budget.

Test the key

Both examples read the key from the ZAI_API_KEY environment variable, so the key stays out of the command line.

export ZAI_API_KEY="<YOUR_API_KEY>"

curl https://api.z.ai/api/paas/v4/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ZAI_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model":"glm-4.6","messages":[{"role":"user","content":"hi"}]}'

import os
from openai import OpenAI

# export ZAI_API_KEY="<YOUR_API_KEY>" first
client = OpenAI(
    api_key=os.environ["ZAI_API_KEY"],
    base_url="https://api.z.ai/api/paas/v4",
)
resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="glm-4.6",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "hi"}],
)
print(resp.choices[0].message.content)

Free tier

Yes. Z.ai chat is available free with current GLM access; the API and coding plans are paid with separate limits. no credit card required

Rate limits: Lite: 10,000 credits / week. Pro: 6× Lite usage. Max: 14× Lite usage. The plan supports 20+ agent tools; exact model access and limits can change.

Paid plans compared

Every tier Z.AI GLM publishes, with the price and the limit as the vendor states them, last checked 2026-10-26. Confirm with the provider before you buy. You pay them directly, no Dracon markup.

Official plan source: z.ai/subscribe

Connection details

Base URL

https://api.z.ai/api/paas/v4

API shape

OpenAI-compatible

Env var

ZAI_API_KEY

Models

glm-4.6, glm-4.5-air

Model lineup

GLM-5.3, GLM-5.3-Flash, GLM-5.2, GLM-5-Turbo

Our verdicts on this kind of provider

Independent comparisons we keep current as pricing and free tiers shift. A guide is setup; a verdict is whether it's worth setting up.

• 22 of the 45 AI providers have a free tier. Only 7 are actually useful.
• Free AI rate limits, compared: which free tiers can do real work
• The AI price war: who cut what in July 2026