GLM-5.2 API — Zhipu Flagship Quickstart
GLM-5.2 is Zhipu AI / Z.ai's mid-2026 flagship: long-horizon coding & agents, solid 1M-token context, MIT open weights for local deploy — and OpenAI-compatible cloud access via ChinaModelAPI.
Direct answer (July 2026)
Current flagship = GLM-5.2 (not GLM-4.x). Use model="glm-5.2" against https://api.chinamodelapi.com/v1. Official product surface: z.ai / chat.z.ai; weights on Hugging Face (zai-org/GLM-5.2).
Sources: Z.ai blog “GLM-5.2: Built for Long-Horizon Tasks” (2026-06-16); SCMP / industry coverage of open-weight release.
What changed vs older GLM lines
- GLM-5.2 — flagship long-horizon SWE & agents, ~1M context, open weights
- GLM-5.1 — previous 5.x step (still useful for cost/latency A/B)
- Older marketing labels like GLM-4.5 / 4-Plus are superseded for “latest” positioning — prefer 5.2 in product copy and defaults
Strengths
- Long multi-step coding loops / harness-style agents
- Competitive open-weight frontier quality at lower $ than closed US APIs
- Self-host option when data must stay on-prem
- Bilingual ZH/EN product UX remains strong
Python
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI(api_key="YOUR_KEY", base_url="https://api.chinamodelapi.com/v1")
resp = client.chat.completions.create(
model="glm-5.2",
messages=[
{"role": "system", "content": "You are a senior software engineer. Plan then implement."},
{"role": "user", "content": "Add retry + timeout to this HTTP client and write tests."},
],
temperature=0.2,
)
print(resp.choices[0].message.content)Node.js
import OpenAI from "openai";
const client = new OpenAI({
apiKey: process.env.CHINAMODELAPI_KEY,
baseURL: "https://api.chinamodelapi.com/v1",
});
const resp = await client.chat.completions.create({
model: "glm-5.2",
messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Refactor this service for idempotent webhooks." }],
});
console.log(resp.choices[0].message.content);Routing tip
Default production coding/agent traffic to glm-5.2. Keep short bulk classification on cheaper IDs if your dashboard exposes a Flash tier. For extreme multi-doc packs, also evaluate Kimi K3.
FAQ
Is the latest GLM still 4.5?
No. As of mid-2026 the flagship is GLM-5.2 (after GLM-5 / 5.1). Site content should default to 5.2.
Is GLM-5.2 open source?
Zhipu published open weights (commonly described as MIT) for local inference; cloud API remains the easy path via OpenAI-compatible gateways like ChinaModelAPI.
Context window?
GLM-5.2 is marketed with a solid 1M-token context for long-horizon work. Confirm live limits in your provider dashboard.
GLM-5.2 vs Kimi K3?
Both are 2026 Chinese frontier lines. GLM-5.2 is widely used for open-weight coding/agents; Kimi K3 is Moonshot’s 2.8T-class 1M-context multimodal flagship. Benchmark on your eval set.