Z.AI for GitHub Copilot Chat
Use Z.AI GLM models directly in GitHub Copilot Chat — no Copilot Pro/Enterprise subscription needed. Just bring your own API key (BYOK).
What Is This?
Z.AI for GitHub Copilot Chat is a VS Code extension that registers Z.AI GLM series models — including GLM-4.7, GLM-5, GLM-5.1, and GLM-4.5 — into GitHub Copilot Chat via the official VS Code Language Model Chat Provider API.
This lets you pick and use Z.AI GLM models directly from the Copilot Chat model picker, just like selecting GPT-4 or Claude — no extra Copilot Pro/Enterprise subscription required. Simply enter your Z.AI API key.
| Model |
Description |
Vision |
| GLM-4.7 |
Latest flagship GLM model with 200K context |
❌ |
| GLM-5 |
Next-generation GLM model |
❌ |
| GLM-5.1 |
Enhanced GLM-5 with improved reasoning |
❌ |
| GLM-4.5-Air |
Lightweight GLM for faster responses |
❌ |
| GLM-4.5-Flash |
Fastest GLM model for high-throughput use |
❌ |
| GLM-5V-Turbo |
Multimodal vision + coding base model |
✅ |
| GLM-4.6V |
Visual reasoning model |
✅ |
| GLM-4.6V-Flash |
Free vision model with tool calling |
✅ |
✨ Features
- BYOK — configure your Z.AI API key once, all models are available
- Live model list — fetches available models from Z.AI API on every startup
- Bundled fallback — works offline or if the API is unreachable, using a curated model table with accurate token limits
- Per-model token limits — precise context window and max output token values per model, not a single global cap
- Tool-calling support — forwards tool schemas using OpenAI-compatible chat completions
- Reasoning debug — opt-in
reasoning_content logging to the Z.AI output channel
- Diagnostics command — one-click markdown report showing exactly which models VS Code has registered
Requirements
- VS Code 1.120.0 or higher with the Language Model Chat Provider API
- GitHub Copilot Chat extension — install from marketplace (required — this extension only adds models into Copilot Chat)
- Sign in to GitHub Copilot Chat (a personal GitHub account is sufficient — no Copilot Pro/Enterprise needed for BYOK)
- A Z.AI API key — get one at z.ai
⚡ Quick Start
- Install GitHub Copilot Chat from the marketplace if you haven't already.
- Install this extension (or press
F5 in the repo to launch an Extension Development Host).
- Open GitHub Copilot Chat (click the Copilot icon in the sidebar or press
Cmd+Shift+I / Ctrl+Shift+I).
- Click the model picker (current model name) → Manage Models…
- Select Z.AI.
- Press
Enter to accept the default Group Name.
- Enter your Z.AI API Key when prompted — VS Code stores it securely as a secret.
- Choose the models you want available.
- Select any Z.AI model from the picker and start chatting.
💡 Tips:
- Registered models are automatically available in the Copilot Chat model picker — no extra setup needed.
- If a model appears in the Language Models view but not in the chat picker, hover its row and click the eye icon (👁) to enable visibility.
Commands
Once installed, Z.AI models appear directly in the GitHub Copilot Chat model picker — no special commands needed. The easiest way to manage your API key is via Settings → Language Models (gear icon ⚙).
For advanced usage, you can also run these commands via the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P):
| Command |
Description |
Z.AI: Manage Provider |
Manage API key, refresh models, or test connection |
Z.AI: Set API Key |
Store or update your Z.AI API key |
Z.AI: Diagnostics |
Show a markdown report of all registered Z.AI models |
Note: The native BYOK flow via Language Models (gear icon ⚙) is recommended.
Settings
| Setting |
Type |
Default |
Description |
zai.temperature |
number |
0.2 |
Sampling temperature for chat completions (0–2) |
zai.maxTokens |
number |
0 |
Max output token override — 0 uses the per-model bundled maximum |
zai.maxInputTokens |
number |
0 |
Context window override — 0 uses the per-model bundled context size |
zai.debugReasoning |
boolean |
false |
Write provider reasoning_content to Output → Z.AI for debugging |
Models
The extension fetches the live model list from:
https://api.z.ai/api/coding/paas/v4/models
Because the Z.AI API returns model IDs only, a bundled metadata table provides context window and max output tokens per model. If the live fetch fails, the bundled list is used as a fallback.
VS Code and Copilot read separate input/output metadata fields for UI display. GLM models can have very large output limits, so the extension advertises a small response reserve to keep the Language Models table, model picker tooltip, and chat context indicator consistent while still sending each model's full bundled max output limit to the Z.AI API.
Bundled model limits
| Model |
Context window |
Max output tokens |
Vision |
glm-4.7 |
200K (204,800) |
128K (131,072) |
❌ |
glm-5 |
200K (204,800) |
128K (131,072) |
❌ |
glm-5.1 |
200K (204,800) |
128K (131,072) |
❌ |
glm-4.5-air |
128K (131,072) |
96K (98,304) |
❌ |
glm-4.5-flash |
128K (131,072) |
96K (98,304) |
❌ |
glm-5v-turbo |
200K (204,800) |
128K (131,072) |
✅ |
glm-4.6v |
128K (131,072) |
32K (32,768) |
✅ |
glm-4.6v-flash |
128K (131,072) |
32K (32,768) |
✅ |
Set zai.maxInputTokens or zai.maxTokens to a non-zero value to override the bundled defaults globally.
All models use the OpenAI-compatible chat completions endpoint:
https://api.z.ai/api/coding/paas/v4/chat/completions
Development
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Compile TypeScript
npm run compile
# Watch mode
npm run watch
Press F5 in VS Code to launch an Extension Development Host with the extension loaded.
To package a .vsix for local install:
npm run package
Contributing
Issues and pull requests are welcome. Please open an issue first for significant changes so we can discuss the approach.
License
MIT — see LICENSE for details.
