Openclaw + FREE GLM 5 API : Full Step By Step Guide

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📖 Description

A full step-by-step guide on integrating the GLM-5 free API endpoint with OpenClaw. GLM-5 uses an advanced Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) architecture — activating only needed parameters for faster responses and lower cost with strong reasoning. The free API access is available via Modal Research until April 30th.

Channel: Codedigipt URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7xcoJs146s

🎯 Learning Objectives

By the end of this video, you will understand:

  • How to install OpenClaw on Windows, Mac, and Linux
  • How to configure a custom OpenAI-compatible API provider in OpenClaw
  • How to obtain a free GLM-5 API key from Modal Research
  • How to set the correct model ID (zai-org/GLM-5-FP8) and base URL
  • How to start the OpenClaw gateway service and access it via browser
  • How to troubleshoot common errors (context window too small, gateway port issues)
  • How to edit openclaw.json to fix context window settings (set to 32,000 tokens)

📋 Curriculum/Contents

Timestamp Topic
0:00 Introduction — GLM5 free API integration overview
0:30 Installing OpenClaw (Linux/Mac vs Windows cmd/PowerShell)
1:30 Running the onboard widget with openclaw onboard
2:00 Selecting “Quick Start” and “Full Reset” configuration
2:30 Choosing “Custom Provider” and entering the base URL
3:00 Generating an API key from Modal Research (Create Token)
3:30 Setting Model ID: zai-org/GLM-5-FP8 and alias GLM5
4:30 Skipping optional hooks/skills/channels setup
5:00 Gateway service install and browser access
5:30 Troubleshooting: “model context window too small” error
6:00 Fixing openclaw.json — setting context window to 32,000
7:00 Restarting gateway with openclaw gateway port 18789
7:30 Live demo: sending “hi” and receiving GLM-5 response

📝 Notes & Key Takeaways

Main Insights

  • GLM-5 is free until April 30th via Modal Research — no cost to experiment
  • OpenClaw is an AI agent framework that supports custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints
  • Base URL: https://api.us-west-2.modal.direct/v1
  • Model ID: zai-org/GLM-5-FP8 (FP8 quantized for efficiency)
  • The setup uses openclaw onboard wizard — select “Custom Provider” for third-party APIs
  • Common gotcha: default context window is set too small (4,096 tokens); fix to 16,000–32,000 in openclaw.json
  • Gateway command to restart: openclaw gateway port 18789

Actionable Points

  • Sign up at modal.com/glm-5-endpoint to get free API key
  • Install OpenClaw and run openclaw onboard
  • Set Base URL: https://api.us-west-2.modal.direct/v1
  • Set Model ID: zai-org/GLM-5-FP8
  • After setup, check ~/openclaw/openclaw.json and set contextWindow to 32000
  • Run openclaw gateway port 18789 to start gateway, then open browser

Personal Reflections

Add your own notes here after watching

⭐ Rating & Review

After completion:

  • Quality (1-5): _/5
  • Relevance (1-5): _/5
  • Would recommend: Yes / No
  • Best for: Developers wanting to run GLM-5 locally via OpenClaw with zero API cost

🏷️ Auto-Generated Tags

Content Analysis:

  • Type: video (YouTube tutorial)
  • Topics: AI, development, tools, automation
  • Complexity: Beginner-friendly — step-by-step with commands in description
  • Priority: Medium — free tier has expiry (April 30th), time-sensitive opportunity

Why These Tags:

  • AI + development — core topic is integrating an LLM API into an agent framework
  • tools — OpenClaw is a developer productivity tool
  • automation — agent-based workflows are the end goal
  • tutorial — pure walkthrough format with live demo
  • technical — involves CLI commands, JSON config edits, API keys

Suggested Bases Filters:

  • Find similar content: type = video AND tags contains "tutorial"
  • Find high-priority learning: priority = high AND status = inbox
  • AI tools collection: type = video AND tags contains "AI" AND tags contains "tools"

🔗 Related Topics & Further Research

Related Searches:

  • OpenClaw documentation and other supported models
  • GLM-5 vs GLM-4 benchmark comparisons
  • Other free LLM API endpoints (Groq, Together AI, Fireworks)
  • Modal Research platform — other hosted models available
  • OpenAI-compatible API wrappers for local/remote LLMs

Captured: 2026-03-05 Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7xcoJs146s Channel: Codedigipt

Connection to Other Notes:

  • Related to OpenClaw workspace governance analysis if previously captured
  • Links to any notes on free LLM APIs or agent frameworks