How to Access GLM-4.6: China’s Answer to Claude 4.5

GLM-4.6 takes a major leap beyond GLM-4.5 — bigger context, smarter reasoning, faster efficiency. But many users still ask: how do you actually access and use it?
This guide shows the easiest, most efficient ways to unlock GLM-4.6’s full power.

GLM-4.6 vs GLM-4.5: What’s New ?

Higher Context Window than GLM 4.5

GLM-4.6 (Reasoning) marks a major step forward from GLM-4.5. It expands the context window from 128K to 200K tokens for more complex, multi-step tasks.

Metric	GLM-4.6 (Reasoning)	GLM-4.5 (Reasoning)
Context Window	200 k tokens (≈ 300 A4 pages, 12 pt Arial)	128 k tokens (≈ 192 A4 pages, 12 pt Arial)
Release Date	September 2025	July 2025
Parameters	357 B total, 32 B active at inference	355 B total, 32 B active at inference

Higher Token Usage Effeciency than GLM 4.5

Although GLM-4.6 greatly expands its context window to 200K tokens, it simultaneously improves efficiency—using over 30% fewer tokens on average than GLM-4.5, and achieving the lowest consumption rate among comparable models. This means longer inputs no longer come at the cost of higher computation.

Stronger Code, Reasoning, Agent Ability than GLM 4.5

It also delivers stronger coding ability across real-world environments like Claude Code and Roo Code; and shows clear gains in reasoning with built-in tool use. The model also powers more capable agents and produces writing that reads smoother and more human-aligned—making it both smarter in logic and more natural in expression.

What Can You Do With GLM-4.6?

1.AI-assisted coding

Generate a single-page to-do list web app using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (no frameworks). It should support adding tasks, marking tasks as done, deleting tasks, and persist tasks in browser localStorage. Also provide comments in code and a short README explaining how to run it.

2.Intelligent agent

You are an agent that can make web searches during inference. Search for the latest 2025 AI benchmarks, compare GPT-4, GLM-4.6, and Claude, and generate a summary table with source citations.

3.Content creation / role play

You are a 19th-century explorer writing a journal. Describe your journey through an uncharted jungle using vivid sensory language and historical tone.

4. Office automation (PPT / report / layout)

Produce a 1-slide PowerPoint outline for a startup pitch. For each slide, give a title, three bullet points, and suggestions for visuals or charts.

How to Access GLM 4.6?

GLM 4.6 offers multiple access methods to accommodate different user needs and technical requirements.

The official website currently uses a monthly subscription model. If you just want to use it practically rather than paying for unused time, you can try Novita AI, which offers both lower prices and highly stable support services.

1. Web Interface (Easiest for Beginners)

2. API Access (For Developers)

Novita AI provides APIs with 204K context, and costs of $0.6/input and $2.2/output, supporting structured output and function calling, which delivers strong support for maximizing GLM 4.6’s code agent potential.

Novita AI

Step 1: Log In and Access the Model Library

Log in to your account and click on the Model Library button.

Step 2: Choose Your Model

Browse through the available options and select the model that suits your needs.

Step 3: Start Your Free Trial

Begin your free trial to explore the capabilities of the selected model.

Step 4: Get Your API Key

To authenticate with the API, we will provide you with a new API key. Entering the “Settings“ page, you can copy the API key as indicated in the image.

Step 5: Install the API

Install API using the package manager specific to your programming language.

After installation, import the necessary libraries into your development environment. Initialize the API with your API key to start interacting with Novita AI LLM. This is an example of using chat completions API for python users.

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key="<Your API Key>",
    base_url="https://api.novita.ai/openai"
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="zai-org/glm-4.6",
    messages=[
        {"role": "system", "content": "You are a helpful assistant."},
        {"role": "user", "content": "Hello, how are you?"}
    ],
    max_tokens=131072,
    temperature=0.7
)

print(response.choices[0].message.content)

3. Local Deployment (Advanced Users)

Requirements:

• GLM-4.5: Significant GPU resources (Maybe need about 700B VRAM)
• GLM-4.5-Air: 16GB GPU memory (12GB with INT4 quantization)

Installation Steps:

1. Download model weights from HuggingFace or ModelScope
2. Choose inference framework: vLLM or SGLang supported
3. Follow deployment guide in the official GitHub repository

4. Integration

Using CLI like Trae,Claude Code, Qwen Code

If you want to use Novita AI’s top models (like Qwen3-Coder, Kimi K2, DeepSeek R1) for AI coding assistance in your local environment or IDE, the process is simple: get your API Key, install the tool, configure environment variables, and start coding.

For detailed setup commands and examples, check the official tutorials:

• Trae : Step-by-Step Guide to Access AI Models in Your IDE
• Claude Code:How to Use Kimi-K2 in Claude Code on Windows, Mac, and Linux
• Qwen Code:How to Use OpenAI Compatible API in Qwen Code (60s Setup!)

Multi-Agent Workflows with OpenAI Agents SDK

Build advanced multi-agent systems by integrating Novita AI with the OpenAI Agents SDK:

• Plug-and-play: Use Novita AI’s LLMs in any OpenAI Agents workflow.
• Supports handoffs, routing, and tool use: Design agents that can delegate, triage, or run functions, all powered by Novita AI’s models.
• Python integration: Simply set the SDK endpoint to https://api.novita.ai/v3/openai and use your API key.

Connect API on Third-Party Platforms

OpenAI-Compatible API: Enjoy hassle-free migration and integration with tools such as Cline and Cursor, designed for the OpenAI API standard.

Hugging Face: Use Modeis in Spaces, pipelines, or with the Transformers library via Novita AI endpoints.

Agent & Orchestration Frameworks: Easily connect Novita AI with partner platforms like Continue, AnythingLLM,LangChain, Dify and Langflow through official connectors and step-by-step integration guides.

Tips For Accessing GLM 4.6

1. Core Configuration

• Use "model": "glm-4.6" to specify the correct version.
• The messages array defines dialogue flow: each entry has a role ("user" or "assistant") and content (text). Alternate roles for multi-turn conversations.
• Control output with max_tokens (recommendation: 4096) and temperature (e.g., 0.6 for stability, higher for creativity).
• Enable "stream": true for chunked streaming responses.
• Activate reasoning mode via "thinking": {"type": "enabled"} to include step-by-step thought processes.

2. Performance and Reliability

• Use top_p for nucleus sampling and presence_penalty to reduce repetition.
• Validate payloads to prevent errors like HTTP 400.
• Apply exponential backoff on errors such as 429 (rate limit exceeded) to avoid server overload.
• Handle edge cases—timeouts, empty outputs, or broken responses—with fallback logic.

3. Optimization and Context Control

• Write clear, concise prompts to improve model accuracy.
• Use system messages to establish task context and guide behavior.
• Log conversations for auditing, debugging, and performance analysis.
• Adjust parameters iteratively to reach the desired tone, length, and reasoning depth.

4. Security and Access Management

• Keep API keys private in production environments.
• Avoid embedding them in front-end or client-side code.
• Monitor usage to stay within rate limits, typically defined by tokens per minute or daily request caps.
• Regularly check Zhipu AI documentation for updated limits and new parameters.

GLM-4.6 pushes the Zhipu AI ecosystem into a new performance tier—handling longer contexts, reasoning more deeply, and running more efficiently than its predecessor. Combined with versatile access paths and developer-friendly APIs, it stands as one of the most capable reasoning-driven models available.
By mastering the access methods and configuration tips outlined here, users can unlock GLM-4.6’s full potential across coding, content creation, intelligent agents, and enterprise automation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Novita AI is an AI cloud platform that offers developers an easy way to deploy AI models using our simple API, while also providing an affordable and reliable GPU cloud for building and scaling.

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