glm-launch 2026.6.4

Wrap claude/codex/opencode with Z.ai GLM settings

glm-launch

A Python CLI tool that wraps LLM coding tools (claude, codex, opencode) with GLM settings. Instead of running a local proxy, it configures environment variables and config files, then exec's the underlying binary directly.

Requires Python 3.13+.

Usage

# 1. Set your Z.AI auth token
export GLM_AUTH_TOKEN="your-zai-api-key"

# 2. Launch Claude Code routed through Z.AI (defaults to glm-5.2)
uv run glm-launch              # bare command defaults to `claude`
uv run glm-launch claude       # same thing, explicit

# Pick a different model
uv run glm-launch claude --model glm-5.1        # long-horizon flagship
uv run glm-launch claude --model glm-5-turbo    # fast
uv run glm-launch claude --model glm-4.5-air    # cheap

# Bootstrap your current shell so a plain `claude` uses Z.AI
eval "$(uv run glm-launch shell)"
claude

# See available models (built-in list, or --remote for the live API list)
uv run glm-launch models
uv run glm-launch models --remote

# Sanity-check connectivity / latency
uv run glm-launch bench

Examples use the installed glm-launch entrypoint. Before uv sync you can run the script directly with uv run src/main.py … — the two are interchangeable.

Installation

uv sync

This installs a glm-launch entrypoint. Run commands via uv run glm-launch <command>, or uv tool install . to get glm-launch on your PATH directly. You can also run the script without installing via uv run src/main.py <command>.

Run without cloning (uvx)

glm-launch is on PyPI, so you can run it directly with uvx (uv tool run) — no clone or manual install needed.

# From PyPI
uvx glm-launch launch claude

# Or straight from GitHub
uvx --from git+https://github.com/jefftriplett/glm-launch glm-launch launch claude

# Pin to a tag/branch/commit
uvx --from git+https://github.com/jefftriplett/glm-launch@main glm-launch models

Commands

launch claude

Launch Claude Code with GLM environment settings. Sets Anthropic env vars to route requests through Z.AI's Anthropic-compatible endpoint, then exec's the claude binary.

The launch prefix is optional: glm-launch claude is equivalent to glm-launch launch claude, and a bare glm-launch defaults to claude. The same applies to codex and opencode.

uv run glm-launch launch claude

Options:

Flag	Env var	Default	Description
--model / -m	—	glm-5.2	Model name passed to claude --model
--base-url	GLM_BASE_URL	https://api.z.ai/api/anthropic	API endpoint
--api-key	GLM_API_KEY	""	API key
--auth-token	GLM_AUTH_TOKEN	(required)	Z.AI auth token
--api-timeout-ms	API_TIMEOUT_MS	3000000	Request timeout in milliseconds
--default-haiku-model	ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL	glm-4.5-air	Model for Haiku-tier requests
--default-sonnet-model	ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL	glm-5.2	Model for Sonnet-tier requests
--default-opus-model	ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL	glm-5.2	Model for Opus-tier requests
--subagent-model	CLAUDE_CODE_SUBAGENT_MODEL	glm-4.5-air	Model used for spawned subagents
--effort-level	CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVEL	max	Effort level for the agent loop
--attribution-header	CLAUDE_CODE_ATTRIBUTION_HEADER	0	Attribution header toggle (0 disables it)
--auto-compact-window	CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_COMPACT_WINDOW	200000	Auto-compact context window in tokens (empty to leave unset)

The following env vars are set before exec'ing claude:

• ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL — from --base-url / GLM_BASE_URL
• ANTHROPIC_API_KEY — from --api-key / GLM_API_KEY
• ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN — from --auth-token / GLM_AUTH_TOKEN
• API_TIMEOUT_MS — from --api-timeout-ms / API_TIMEOUT_MS
• ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL — from --default-haiku-model
• ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL — from --default-sonnet-model
• ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL — from --default-opus-model
• CLAUDE_CODE_SUBAGENT_MODEL — from --subagent-model
• CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVEL — from --effort-level
• CLAUDE_CODE_ATTRIBUTION_HEADER — from --attribution-header
• CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_COMPACT_WINDOW — from --auto-compact-window (only when non-empty)

Examples:

# Use defaults (glm-5.2, Z.AI endpoint)
uv run glm-launch launch claude

# Flagship reasoning/coding model (the default)
uv run glm-launch launch claude --model glm-5.2

# Long-horizon agentic flagship
uv run glm-launch launch claude --model glm-5.1

# Fast, speed-optimized GLM-5 variant
uv run glm-launch launch claude --model glm-5-turbo

# Lightweight, low-cost model for cheaper runs
uv run glm-launch launch claude --model glm-4.5-air

# Tune the model tiers independently (e.g. cheap subagents, flagship main)
uv run glm-launch launch claude \
  --model glm-5.2 \
  --subagent-model glm-4.5-air \
  --default-haiku-model glm-4.5-air

# Pass extra args through to claude
uv run glm-launch launch claude -- --verbose

# Override via env vars
GLM_AUTH_TOKEN="my-token" uv run glm-launch launch claude

Run uv run glm-launch models to see all valid model names (or --remote for the live list).

If claude is not on your PATH, the tool falls back to ~/.claude/local/claude.

launch codex

Launch Codex with the --oss flag for local Ollama usage.

uv run glm-launch launch codex

Options:

Flag	Default	Description
--model / -m	—	Model name passed to codex -m

Examples:

# Launch with default settings
uv run glm-launch launch codex

# Specify a model
uv run glm-launch launch codex --model "some-model"

# Pass extra args through to codex
uv run glm-launch launch codex -- --some-flag

launch opencode

Launch opencode after writing provider config. Writes an Ollama-compatible provider to ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json and updates the recent model state at ~/.local/state/opencode/model.json, then exec's the opencode binary.

uv run glm-launch launch opencode --model "some-model"

Options:

Flag	Env var	Default	Description
--model / -m	—	—	Model name to configure in opencode
--base-url	GLM_BASE_URL	(required)	Base URL for the API endpoint

Examples:

# Launch with a model
GLM_BASE_URL="http://localhost:11434/v1" uv run glm-launch launch opencode --model "llama3"

# Pass extra args through to opencode
uv run glm-launch launch opencode --model "llama3" -- --some-flag

shell

Print export lines that bootstrap your current shell with the GLM env vars — without launching anything. Eval the output and a plain claude (or any Anthropic SDK tool) will talk to Z.AI.

eval "$(uv run glm-launch shell)"
claude

Accepts the same model/auth options as launch claude (--model, --auth-token, --default-*-model, etc.). Secrets are shell-quoted; empty values are skipped. Sets ANTHROPIC_MODEL plus all the ANTHROPIC_* / CLAUDE_CODE_* vars listed under launch claude.

# Inspect what would be exported
uv run glm-launch shell

# Bootstrap with a specific model
eval "$(uv run glm-launch shell --model glm-5.1)"

models

List Z.AI GLM models. By default prints a built-in, annotated list; --remote fetches the live list from the Z.AI PaaS endpoint.

# Built-in list (no token needed)
uv run glm-launch models

# Live list from the API (needs GLM_AUTH_TOKEN)
uv run glm-launch models --remote

Options:

Flag	Env var	Default	Description
--remote / -r	—	false	Fetch the live list from the Z.AI API
--models-url	GLM_MODELS_URL	https://api.z.ai/api/paas/v4/models	PaaS models endpoint (used with --remote)
--auth-token	GLM_AUTH_TOKEN	—	Auth token (required with --remote)
--timeout	—	30.0	Request timeout in seconds

The live endpoint is the OpenAI-compatible PaaS base (/api/paas/v4/models) and uses Authorization: Bearer <token> — distinct from the Anthropic-style chat base (/api/anthropic) used by launch claude and bench.

bench

Time a single /v1/messages round-trip against the configured GLM endpoint. Useful as a sanity check that your auth token, base URL, and chosen model are reachable.

uv run glm-launch bench

Options:

Flag	Env var	Default	Description
--model / -m	—	glm-5.2	Model to benchmark
--base-url	GLM_BASE_URL	https://api.z.ai/api/anthropic	API endpoint
--auth-token	GLM_AUTH_TOKEN	(required)	Auth token for the endpoint
--timeout	—	30.0	Request timeout in seconds

Sends a minimal 32-token request and prints the round-trip time. Exits non-zero on HTTP error or timeout.

Example output:

  glm-5.2 via https://api.z.ai/api/anthropic
  OK (200) in 412ms

doctor

Check your environment for correct setup. Reports on environment variables, binary availability, and config files.

uv run glm-launch doctor

Checks performed:

• Environment variables — Whether GLM_BASE_URL, GLM_API_KEY, GLM_AUTH_TOKEN, API_TIMEOUT_MS, and the ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_*_MODEL vars are set. Secrets are masked in output.
• Binaries — Whether claude, codex, and opencode are found on PATH (with fallback to ~/.claude/local/claude for claude).
• Config files — Whether ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json and ~/.local/state/opencode/model.json exist.

Exits with code 1 if any binary is missing, 0 otherwise.

Example output:

Environment variables:
  GLM_BASE_URL: (not set)
  GLM_API_KEY: (not set)
  GLM_AUTH_TOKEN: (not set)
  API_TIMEOUT_MS: (not set)
  ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL: (not set)
  ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL: (not set)
  ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL: (not set)

Binaries:
  claude: /usr/local/bin/claude
  codex: /usr/local/bin/codex
  opencode: /usr/local/bin/opencode

Config files:
  /home/user/.config/opencode/opencode.json: exists
  /home/user/.local/state/opencode/model.json: not found

All checks passed.

Environment variables

Variable	Used by	Description
GLM_BASE_URL	launch claude, launch opencode, shell	API base URL
GLM_API_KEY	launch claude, shell	API key
GLM_AUTH_TOKEN	launch claude, shell, bench, models --remote	Z.AI auth token (required)
GLM_MODELS_URL	models --remote	PaaS models endpoint
API_TIMEOUT_MS	launch claude, shell	Request timeout in milliseconds
ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL	launch claude, shell	Model for Haiku-tier requests
ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL	launch claude, shell	Model for Sonnet-tier requests
ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL	launch claude, shell	Model for Opus-tier requests
CLAUDE_CODE_SUBAGENT_MODEL	launch claude, shell	Model used for spawned subagents
CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVEL	launch claude, shell	Effort level for the agent loop
CLAUDE_CODE_ATTRIBUTION_HEADER	launch claude, shell	Attribution header toggle (0 disables it)
CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_COMPACT_WINDOW	launch claude, shell	Auto-compact context window in tokens

How it works

Each provider follows the same pattern:

1. Resolve the binary on PATH (with optional fallback path)
2. Set up configuration (env vars for claude, config files for opencode, flags for codex)
3. os.execvpe() the binary — fully replacing the glm process with the underlying tool for direct stdio passthrough

For Claude specifically, Z.AI exposes an Anthropic-compatible endpoint at https://api.z.ai/api/anthropic, so no local proxy is needed. The CLI sets the standard ANTHROPIC_* env vars and Claude Code talks directly to Z.AI.

Development

Common tasks are wrapped in a justfile. Run just with no arguments to list them.

Recipe	Description
just bootstrap	Upgrade pip/uv, then uv sync
just sync	uv sync the project dependencies
just lock	uv lock the dependency versions
just build	uv build the wheel and sdist
just bump *ARGS	Bump the CalVer version with bumpver (e.g. just bump)
just bump-dry *ARGS	Preview a version bump without writing changes
just release *ARGS	Bump, relock, and push the tag — CI then publishes to PyPI
just lint *ARGS	Run the prek hooks (defaults to --all-files)
just fmt	Format the justfile itself
just demo	Smoke-test the CLI by listing models

Versioning follows CalVer (YYYY.MM.INC1), and lint hooks (ruff, pyupgrade, validate-pyproject) are configured in .pre-commit-config.yaml and run with prek.

Releases are automated. Run just release to bump the CalVer version, relock, and push the tag in one step. Pushing a YYYY.MM.INC1 tag triggers the GitHub Actions release workflow, which builds and publishes to PyPI via trusted publishing (OIDC, no API token). A plain git push never publishes — only the tag does.