Z AI (formerly Zhipu AI) offers the groundbreaking GLM-4.5 series, featuring hybrid reasoning capabilities and agentic AI design. Released in July 2025, these models excel in unified reasoning, coding, and intelligent agent applications while maintaining open-source accessibility under MIT license. Website: https://z.ai/model-api (International) | https://open.bigmodel.cn/ (China)

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Getting an API Key

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International Users

  1. Sign Up/Sign In: Go to https://z.ai/model-api. Create an account or sign in.
  2. Navigate to API Keys: Access your account dashboard and find the API keys section.
  3. Create a Key: Generate a new API key for your application.
  4. Copy the Key: Copy the API key immediately and store it securely.

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China Mainland Users

  1. Sign Up/Sign In: Go to https://open.bigmodel.cn/. Create an account or sign in.
  2. Navigate to API Keys: Access your account dashboard and find the API keys section.
  3. Create a Key: Generate a new API key for your application.
  4. Copy the Key: Copy the API key immediately and store it securely.

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Supported Models

Z AI provides different model catalogs based on your selected region:

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GLM-4.5 Series

  • GLM-4.5 - Flagship model with 355B total parameters, 32B active parameters
  • GLM-4.5-Air - Compact model with 106B total parameters, 12B active parameters

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GLM-4.5 Hybrid Reasoning Models

  • GLM-4.5 (Thinking Mode) - Advanced reasoning with step-by-step analysis
  • GLM-4.5-Air (Thinking Mode) - Efficient reasoning for mainstream hardware
All models feature:
  • 128,000 token context window for extensive document processing
  • Mixture of Experts (MoE) architecture for optimal performance
  • Agent-native design integrating reasoning, coding, and tool usage
  • Open-source availability under MIT license

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Configuration in Cline

  1. Open Cline Settings: Click the settings icon (⚙️) in the Cline panel.
  2. Select Provider: Choose “Z AI” from the “API Provider” dropdown.
  3. Select Region: Choose your region:
    • “International” for global access
    • “China” for mainland China access
  4. Enter API Key: Paste your Z AI API key into the “Z AI API Key” field.
  5. Select Model: Choose your desired model from the “Model” dropdown.

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Z AI’s Hybrid Intelligence

Z AI’s GLM-4.5 series introduces revolutionary capabilities that set it apart from conventional language models:

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Hybrid Reasoning Architecture

GLM-4.5 operates in two distinct modes:
  • Thinking Mode: Designed for complex reasoning tasks and tool usage, engaging in deeper analytical processes
  • Non-Thinking Mode: Provides immediate responses for straightforward queries, optimizing efficiency
This dual-mode architecture represents an “agent-native” design philosophy that adapts processing intensity based on query complexity.

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Exceptional Performance

GLM-4.5 achieves a comprehensive score of 63.2 across 12 benchmarks spanning agentic tasks, reasoning, and coding challenges, securing 3rd place among all proprietary and open-source models. GLM-4.5-Air maintains competitive performance with a score of 59.8 while delivering superior efficiency.

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Mixture of Experts Excellence

The sophisticated MoE architecture optimizes performance while maintaining computational efficiency:
  • GLM-4.5: 355B total parameters with 32B active parameters
  • GLM-4.5-Air: 106B total parameters with 12B active parameters

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Extended Context Capabilities

The 128,000-token context window enables comprehensive understanding of lengthy documents and codebases, with real-world testing confirming effective processing of nearly 2,000-line codebases while maintaining remarkable performance.

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Open-Source Leadership

Released under MIT license, GLM-4.5 provides researchers and developers with access to state-of-the-art capabilities without proprietary restrictions, including base models, hybrid reasoning versions, and optimized FP8 variants.

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Regional Optimization

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API Endpoints

  • International: Uses https://api.z.ai/api/paas/v4
  • China: Uses https://open.bigmodel.cn/api/paas/v4

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Model Availability

The region setting determines both API endpoint and available models, with automatic filtering to ensure compatibility with your selected region.

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Special Features

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Agentic Capabilities

GLM-4.5’s unified architecture makes it particularly suitable for complex intelligent agent applications requiring integrated reasoning, coding, and tool utilization capabilities.

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Comprehensive Benchmarking

Performance evaluation encompasses:
  • 3 agentic task benchmarks
  • 7 reasoning benchmarks
  • 2 coding benchmarks
This comprehensive assessment demonstrates versatility across diverse AI applications.

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Developer Integration

Models support integration through multiple frameworks:
  • transformers
  • vLLM
  • SGLang
Complete with dedicated model code, tool parser, and reasoning parser implementations.

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Performance Comparisons

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vs Claude 4 Sonnet

GLM-4.5 shows competitive performance in agentic coding and reasoning tasks, though Claude Sonnet 4 maintains advantages in coding success rates and autonomous multi-feature application development.

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vs GPT-4.5

GLM-4.5 ranks competitively in reasoning and agent benchmarks, with GPT-4.5 generally leading in raw task accuracy on professional benchmarks like MMLU and AIME.

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Tips and Notes

  • Region Selection: Choose the appropriate region for optimal performance and compliance with local regulations.
  • Model Selection: GLM-4.5 for maximum performance, GLM-4.5-Air for efficiency and mainstream hardware compatibility.
  • Context Advantage: Large 128K context window enables processing of substantial codebases and documents.
  • Open Source Benefits: MIT license enables both commercial use and secondary development.
  • Agentic Applications: Particularly strong for applications requiring reasoning, coding, and tool usage integration.
  • Hybrid Reasoning: Use Thinking Mode for complex problems, Non-Thinking Mode for simple queries.
  • API Compatibility: OpenAI-compatible API provides streaming responses and usage reporting.
  • Framework Support: Multiple integration options available for different deployment scenarios.