Zed Editor API: Add FreeTheAI as an OpenAI Compatible Provider

Zed adds FreeTheAI as an OpenAI compatible LLM provider for the agent panel.

Steps

Open Agent Settings
Press Ctrl+Shift+P (Cmd+Shift+P on Mac) and run agent: open settings.
Add the provider
Under LLM Providers press Add Provider, choose OpenAI, and enter the provider name, API URL, model ID, context window (for example 128000), and your key. Save.

Or use settings.json

The same provider in Zed's settings.json. Zed then reads the key from the FREETHEAI_API_KEY environment variable, or from the key you saved in Agent Settings.

json

{
  "language_models": {
    "openai_compatible": {
      "FreeTheAI": {
        "api_url": "https://api.freetheai.org/v1",
        "available_models": [
          { "name": "glm-5.3", "display_name": "GLM 5.3", "max_tokens": 128000 }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

How this guide was checked: Checked against Zed's docs (OpenAI-compatible endpoints) on 2026-09-29.

Troubleshooting

Where is Add Provider in Zed?

Press Ctrl+Shift+P (Cmd+Shift+P on Mac) and run agent: open settings. Under LLM Providers press Add Provider, choose OpenAI under compatible APIs, fill it in, and press Save Provider.

I do not see an Add Provider button. Why?

Your Zed is out of date. Update it, or add the provider to settings.json as shown above.

Why do I get a 401 error?

The key is wrong or incomplete. Paste the whole ftai_ key (53 characters).

Why do I get a 403 error?

A 403 usually means the account follows no provider of that model, or your email is not confirmed. Follow a provider on freetheai.org/providers, then try again.

The model is busy or the reply is empty. What should I do?

Try again, or switch to another model. freetheai.org/status shows which models are up.

Zed Editor API: Add FreeTheAI as an OpenAI Compatible Provider

Steps

Open Agent Settings

Add the provider