CLIO Provider Configuration Guide

Complete reference for configuring AI providers in CLIO

Quick Reference

Provider	Short Name	Auth Type
GitHub Copilot	`github_copilot`	OAuth
OpenAI	`openai`	API Key
Google Gemini	`google`	API Key
DeepSeek	`deepseek`	API Key
OpenRouter	`openrouter`	API Key
Ollama Cloud	`ollama_cloud`	API Key
MiniMax	`minimax`	API Key
MiniMax Token Plan	`minimax_token`	API Key
Z.AI	`zai`	API Key
Z.AI Coding Plan	`zai_coding`	API Key
llama.cpp	`llama.cpp`	None
LM Studio	`lmstudio`	None
SAM	`sam`	API Key

Models change frequently. After configuring your provider, use /api models to see the current list of available models.

Configuration Commands

All provider configuration is done with the /api command inside CLIO:

# See all providers
/api providers

# Get details for a specific provider
/api providers github_copilot

# Switch provider
/api set provider <name>

# Set API key
/api set key <your-key>

# Set model
/api set model <model-name>

# List available models for your provider
/api models

# View current configuration
/api show

All /api set commands save globally. Add --session to override for the current session only:

/api set model gpt-4.1 --session       # This session only
/api set provider llama.cpp --session   # This session only

# Save configuration
/config save

Cloud Providers

GitHub Copilot

Best for: Users with existing Copilot subscription who want access to GPT, Claude, and MiniMax models.

Get Access:

Subscribe to GitHub Copilot at github.com/features/copilot
Ensure your subscription is active

Configure CLIO:

clio --new

# Login via browser OAuth
/api set provider github_copilot
/api login

# Follow the browser prompts to authenticate
# Token is stored securely and auto-refreshes

Available model families: GPT, Claude Opus and Sonnet, MiniMax, and more. Use /api models for the current list.

/api models           # See what's available
/api set model <name> # Switch models

Note: For an alternative option, consider using OpenRouter with MiniMax instead.

OpenAI

Best for: Direct OpenAI API access, latest models immediately

Get API Key:

Create account at platform.openai.com
Go to API Keys: platform.openai.com/api-keys
Create new secret key

Configure CLIO:

clio --new
/api set provider openai
/api set key sk-proj-...your-key...
/config save

Available model families: GPT, o-series reasoning models. Use /api models for the current list.

Google Gemini

Best for: Large context windows, multimodal tasks

Get API Key:

Go to aistudio.google.com
Click "Get API Key"
Create key for new or existing project

Configure CLIO:

clio --new
/api set provider google
/api set key AIza...your-key...
/config save

Available model families: Gemini Pro, Gemini Flash. Use /api models for the current list.

DeepSeek

Best for: Coding tasks, reasoning

Get API Key:

Create account at platform.deepseek.com
Go to API Keys section
Create new key

Configure CLIO:

clio --new
/api set provider deepseek
/api set key sk-...your-key...
/config save

Available model families: DeepSeek Coder, DeepSeek Chat, DeepSeek Reasoner. Use /api models for the current list.

OpenRouter

Best for: Access to many models via single API, comparing models

Get API Key:

Create account at openrouter.ai
Go to Keys section
Create new key

Configure CLIO:

clio --new
/api set provider openrouter
/api set key sk-or-...your-key...
/config save

Available models: OpenRouter provides access to hundreds of models from all major providers. Use /api models for the current list.

Models use the provider/model format:

/api set model openai/<model-name>
/api set model deepseek/<model-name>

Ollama Cloud

Best for: Access to open-source models (Qwen, Gemma, DeepSeek, etc.) with API convenience

Get API Key:

Create account at ollama.com
Go to your account settings
Create an API key

Configure CLIO:

clio --new
/api set provider ollama_cloud
/api set key <your-api-key>
/config save

Available model families: Qwen, Gemma, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama, and more. Use /api models for the current list.

Features:

Supports tools/function calling
Streaming responses
Reasoning models (for thinking-enabled models)

Example models:

Model	Size	Best For
gemma4:31b	31B	Balanced performance
qwen3:8b	8B	Fast, low memory
deepseek-v3.2	-	Coding, reasoning

MiniMax

Best for: High-throughput coding, large output windows, interleaved reasoning

Get API Key:

Create account at platform.minimax.io
Go to API Keys in your dashboard
Create new key

Configure CLIO (standard):

clio --new
/api set provider minimax
/api set key <your-api-key>
/config save

Configure CLIO (Token Plan):

clio --new
/api set provider minimax_token
/api set key <your-api-key>
/config save

The only difference between minimax and minimax_token is the API endpoint.

Available model families: MiniMax M2 series. Use /api models for the current list.

Sampling defaults: CLIO automatically applies MiniMax's recommended sampling parameters (temperature=1.0, top_p=0.95, top_k=40) when using this provider. These can be overridden per-session or globally:

/api set temperature 0.7        # Custom temperature
/api set temperature reset      # Revert to MiniMax default (1.0)

Reasoning: MiniMax M2 supports interleaved thinking natively. Enable display with /api set thinking on and control depth with /api set thinking_effort low|medium|high.

Check Quota (Token Plan only):

/api quota

Z.AI

Best for: GLM-5.1 flagship model, vision, reasoning, long-horizon tasks (8-hour autonomous execution)

Get API Key:

Create account at z.ai
Go to API Keys in your dashboard
Create new key

Configure CLIO:

clio --new
/api set provider zai
/api set key <your-api-key>
/config save

Available models:

Model	Context	Output	Pricing (1M tokens)
GLM-5.1	200K	128K	$1.40 / $4.40
GLM-5	200K	128K	$1.00 / $3.20
GLM-5-Turbo	200K	128K	$1.20 / $4.00
GLM-4.7	200K	128K	$0.60 / $2.20
GLM-4.7-FlashX	200K	128K	$0.07 / $0.40
GLM-4.7-Flash	200K	128K	FREE
GLM-4.6	200K	128K	$0.60 / $2.20
GLM-4.5	128K	96K	$0.60 / $2.20
GLM-4.5-X	128K	96K	$2.20 / $8.90
GLM-4.5-Air	128K	96K	$0.20 / $1.10
GLM-4.5-AirX	128K	96K	$1.10 / $4.50
GLM-4.5-Flash	200K	96K	FREE
GLM-4-32B	128K	16K	$0.10 / $0.10

Vision models:

Model	Context	Output	Pricing (1M tokens)
GLM-5V-Turbo	200K	128K	$1.20 / $4.00
GLM-4.6V	128K	32K	$0.30 / $0.90
GLM-4.6V-FlashX	128K	32K	$0.04 / $0.40
GLM-4.6V-Flash	128K	32K	FREE
GLM-4.5V	64K	16K	$0.60 / $1.80

OCR: GLM-OCR ($0.03 / 1M tokens)

Reasoning: GLM-4.5+ supports chain-of-thought reasoning. Enable with /api set thinking on and control depth with /api set thinking_effort low|medium|high.

Z.AI Coding Plan

Best for: Free coding assistance with GLM-4.7, GLM-5.1, and GLM-5 models

Get Access:

Create account at z.ai
Subscribe to a coding plan (Lite from $18/month)
Get your API key from the coding plan dashboard

Configure CLIO:

clio --new
/api set provider zai_coding
/api set key <your-coding-plan-key>
/config save

Available models: GLM-5.1, GLM-5-Turbo, GLM-4.7, GLM-4.5-Air (all included in plan)

Note: Coding plan provides quota-based access (not API billing). Limits: 80-1,600 prompts per 5 hours depending on plan. See coding plan docs for details.

Local Providers

Local providers run entirely on your machine - no internet required, no API costs.

llama.cpp

Best for: Privacy-focused users, offline use, running open-source models

Requirements:

Sufficient RAM/VRAM for your chosen model
llama.cpp compiled and running

Setup llama.cpp:

# Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/ggerganov/llama.cpp.git
cd llama.cpp && make

# Download a model (GGUF format)
# Visit: https://huggingface.co/models?search=gguf

# Start the server
./llama-server -m /path/to/model.gguf --port 8080

Configure CLIO:

clio --new
/api set provider llama.cpp
/api show

No API key needed - connects to http://localhost:8080 by default.

Custom Port:

/api set api_base http://localhost:9000/v1/chat/completions

LM Studio

Best for: GUI-based model management, easy setup for beginners

Requirements:

LM Studio installed
Downloaded model running

Setup LM Studio:

Download from lmstudio.ai
Install and launch
Download a model from the built-in browser
Start the local server (default port: 1234)

Configure CLIO:

clio --new
/api set provider lmstudio
/api show

No API key needed - connects to http://localhost:1234 by default.

SAM (Synthetic Autonomic Mind)

Best for: Users running SAM locally for enhanced capabilities

Requirements:

SAM server running locally
SAM API token (if configured)

Configure CLIO:

clio --new
/api set provider sam
/api set key <sam-token-if-required>
/config save

Default endpoint: http://localhost:8080/v1/chat/completions

Common Tasks

Switching Providers

You can switch providers at any time:

# Switch to a different provider
/api set provider openai
/api set key sk-...
/config save

# Switch back
/api set provider github_copilot
/api login

Checking Current Configuration

/api show

Shows: current provider, model, API base URL, and authentication status.

Using Different Models

# List available models
/api models

# Change model
/api set model <model-name>

# For OpenRouter, use full model path
/api set model provider/model-name

Troubleshooting

"API authentication failed"

Verify your API key is correct
For GitHub Copilot: run /api login again
Check subscription status with provider

"Connection refused" (local providers)

Ensure local server is running
Check port number matches configuration
Verify with: curl http://localhost:8080/health

"Model not found"

Check exact model name with /api models
Some providers require full path (e.g., openrouter/deepseek/model-name)

Environment Variables

You can also configure CLIO via environment variables:

export CLIO_PROVIDER=openai
export CLIO_API_KEY=sk-...
export CLIO_MODEL=model-name

Configuration precedence: /api set commands > environment variables > defaults

Provider Comparison

Feature	GitHub Copilot	OpenAI	Google	DeepSeek	Local
Setup Ease
Model Variety
Privacy	Cloud	Cloud	Cloud	Cloud
Offline	No	No	No	No	Yes

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CLIO Provider Configuration Guide

Quick Reference

Configuration Commands

Cloud Providers

GitHub Copilot

OpenAI

Google Gemini

DeepSeek

OpenRouter

Ollama Cloud

MiniMax

Z.AI

Z.AI Coding Plan

Local Providers

llama.cpp

LM Studio

SAM (Synthetic Autonomic Mind)

Common Tasks

Switching Providers

Checking Current Configuration

Using Different Models

Troubleshooting

Environment Variables

Provider Comparison

See Also

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CLIO Provider Configuration Guide

Quick Reference

Configuration Commands

Cloud Providers

GitHub Copilot

OpenAI

Google Gemini

DeepSeek

OpenRouter

Ollama Cloud

MiniMax

Z.AI

Z.AI Coding Plan

Local Providers

llama.cpp

LM Studio

SAM (Synthetic Autonomic Mind)

Common Tasks

Switching Providers

Checking Current Configuration

Using Different Models

Troubleshooting

Environment Variables

Provider Comparison

See Also