VS Code Copilot Free API: Add FreeTheAI Models (BYOK)

VS Code chat adds FreeTheAI through its Custom Endpoint provider (bring your own key). It works even without a Copilot plan.

Website API reference

Before you start

Create a free account and an API key. Create an account
Check in once a day to unlock the free models. Daily check-in
Pick a model ID from the models page. Browse models

Settings

Provider: Custom Endpoint
API type: Chat Completions
url: https://api.freetheai.org/v1/chat/completions
API key: your FreeTheAI key (ftai_..., 53 characters)

Steps

Open the language models
In the chat model picker, press the gear (Manage Language Models), or run Chat: Manage Language Models.
Add a Custom Endpoint
Press Add Models, choose Custom Endpoint, enter a group name (FreeTheAI) and your key, and choose Chat Completions.

Describe the models

VS Code opens chatLanguageModels.json. Fill in the models and save:

json

[
  {
    "name": "FreeTheAI",
    "vendor": "customendpoint",
    "apiKey": "ftai_your_key_here",
    "apiType": "chat-completions",
    "models": [
      {
        "id": "fta/zai/glm-5.3",
        "name": "GLM 5.3",
        "url": "https://api.freetheai.org/v1/chat/completions",
        "toolCalling": true,
        "vision": false,
        "maxInputTokens": 200000,
        "maxOutputTokens": 32000
      }
    ]
  }
]

Pick the model
Choose GLM 5.3 in the chat model picker. Restart VS Code if it does not show up.

How this guide was checked: Checked against the VS Code language models docs (Custom Endpoint provider) on 2026-09-29.

Tips

If VS Code already wrote an apiKey value (a reference to its secret storage), keep that line instead of pasting your key.
Without a GitHub sign-in, set chat.utilityModel and chat.utilitySmallModel to a FreeTheAI model so titles and commit messages work.
Bring your own key covers chat and agent mode, not inline code completions.

Troubleshooting

I used the old "OpenAI Compatible" provider. Does it still work?

It is deprecated. Add FreeTheAI again with the Custom Endpoint provider and the chat-completions API type.

Common errors

401: the key is wrong or incomplete. Paste the whole key.
403: check in for today, or confirm your email.
404: the model ID or URL is wrong.
429: daily limit reached, or too many requests at once.

More guides: Coding tools

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