> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.aimlapi.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.aimlapi.com/quickstart/cli.md). # CLI Connect Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Cline, OpenClaude, OpenClaw, Hermes Agent, zero or ZCode to AI/ML API with one command using the aimlapi CLI. `aimlapi` is the AI/ML API command-line tool. It signs you in through the browser, creates an API key for you, and starts your coding agent already connected to AI/ML API: ```bash npx aimlapi claude ``` You don't copy a key or edit config files by hand. Usage is billed to your AI/ML API account like any other API request. ## Supported agents | Agent | Command | Default model | If the agent is missing | | ----------------------------- | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | | [Claude Code](#claude-code) | `aimlapi claude` | [`anthropic/claude-sonnet-5`](/api-references/text-models-llm/anthropic/claude-sonnet-5.md) | offers `npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code` | | [Codex](#codex) | `aimlapi codex` | [`openai/gpt-5.6-sol`](/api-references/text-models-llm/openai/gpt-5.6-sol.md) | offers `npm install -g @openai/codex` | | [OpenCode](#opencode) | `aimlapi opencode` | [`anthropic/claude-sonnet-5`](/api-references/text-models-llm/anthropic/claude-sonnet-5.md) | offers `npm install -g opencode-ai` | | [Cline](#cline) | `aimlapi cline` | [`anthropic/claude-sonnet-5`](/api-references/text-models-llm/anthropic/claude-sonnet-5.md) | offers `npm install -g cline` | | [OpenClaude](#openclaude) | `aimlapi openclaude` | [`anthropic/claude-sonnet-5`](/api-references/text-models-llm/anthropic/claude-sonnet-5.md) | offers `npm install -g @gitlawb/openclaude` | | [OpenClaw](#openclaw) | `aimlapi openclaw` | [`anthropic/claude-sonnet-5`](/api-references/text-models-llm/anthropic/claude-sonnet-5.md) | offers `npm install -g openclaw@latest` | | [Hermes Agent](#hermes-agent) | `aimlapi hermes` | [`anthropic/claude-sonnet-5`](/api-references/text-models-llm/anthropic/claude-sonnet-5.md) | prints the Hermes install command | | [zero](#zero) | `aimlapi zero` | [`anthropic/claude-sonnet-5`](/api-references/text-models-llm/anthropic/claude-sonnet-5.md) | offers `npm install -g @gitlawb/zero` | | [ZCode](#zcode) | `aimlapi zcode` | [`zhipu/glm-5.3`](/api-references/text-models-llm/zhipu/glm-5.3.md) | prints where to build it from source | Supported platforms: macOS, Linux and Windows, on x64 and arm64. ## Install You need an **AI/ML API account** with a positive balance. You can top up at . {% tabs %} {% tab title="npx (no install)" %} Needs Node.js 18+ and npm. ```bash npx aimlapi ``` {% endtab %} {% tab title="npm (global)" %} Needs Node.js 18+ and npm. ```bash npm i -g aimlapi aimlapi ``` {% endtab %} {% tab title="macOS / Linux (no Node)" %} ```bash curl -fsSL https://aimlapi.com/install.sh | sh ``` Installs `aimlapi` into `~/.local/bin`. If that directory is not on your `PATH`, the script prints the line to add to your shell's rc file (it never edits rc files). {% endtab %} {% tab title="Windows (no Node)" %} In PowerShell: ```powershell irm https://aimlapi.com/install.ps1 | iex ``` Installs `aimlapi` into `%LOCALAPPDATA%\aimlapi\bin` and adds that directory to your user `PATH`. Open a new terminal afterwards. {% endtab %} {% endtabs %} The command is called `aimlapi`, and the examples on this page use it. If you run the CLI through npx, use `npx aimlapi` in its place. * **Install scripts.** They download the same binary that `npm i -g aimlapi` installs from the npm registry, check its sha512 and install it without `sudo`. Settings (environment variables): `AIMLAPI_INSTALL_DIR` (another directory), `AIMLAPI_VERSION` (a specific version, default `latest`), `AIMLAPI_NPM_REGISTRY`, and on Windows `AIMLAPI_INSTALL_NO_MODIFY_PATH=1` (don't touch `PATH`). * **Alias.** The npm package `aimlapi-cli` is an alias of `aimlapi` with the same `aimlapi` command (`npx aimlapi-cli claude`, `npm i -g aimlapi-cli`). Install only one of the two globally. * **Updates.** Once a day the CLI checks for a new release and prints a one-line notice (outside agent sessions it may also offer to update right away). `aimlapi update` updates it the way it was installed: with `npm i -g aimlapi@latest` (or `aimlapi-cli@latest`) for an npm install, or by downloading, verifying and replacing the binary for a script install. It only moves to a newer release. Through npx there is nothing to update; run `npx aimlapi@latest ` to get the newest version. To turn the check off, set `AIMLAPI_NO_UPDATE_CHECK=1`; it is also off when `CI=true`. {% hint style="info" %} For **Claude Code, Codex** and **Hermes Agent**, `--config` (see [Agent commands](#agent-commands)) saves the path of the `aimlapi` binary into the agent's config, so it needs an installed `aimlapi` (npm global or install script). A binary run through npx sits in a temporary cache that npm can delete at any time: under npx, `--config` for these agents stops with exit code `2` and asks you to run `npm i -g aimlapi` first. {% endhint %} ## Quick start {% stepper %} {% step %} ### Start your agent ```bash aimlapi claude ``` Other agents work the same way: `codex`, `opencode`, `cline`, `openclaude`, `openclaw`, `hermes`, `zero`, `zcode`. {% endstep %} {% step %} ### Install the agent (only if it's missing) If the agent isn't installed, `aimlapi` shows the exact install command and asks, for example: ``` Claude Code is not installed. Install it now? npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code [Y/n] ``` See [Missing agents](#missing-agents). {% endstep %} {% step %} ### Pick a model In an interactive terminal, the CLI shows a model picker with the agent's default preselected. To skip it, pass `--model `. Later runs reuse the model you picked last (the CLI tells you so); pass `--model` to choose another. {% endstep %} {% step %} ### Sign in (first run only) If no key is stored yet, the CLI opens your browser. **Sign in to AI/ML API** and **approve the aimlapi CLI**. On that page you can also set an optional **USD limit** for the new key. The key is created and saved on your computer. The CLI also prints the link, in case the browser doesn't open. {% endstep %} {% step %} ### Work The agent starts with AI/ML API as its provider. What the CLI writes, if anything, depends on the agent: see its section below. {% endstep %} {% endstepper %} ## Agent commands Every agent takes the same flags: ``` aimlapi [--model ] [--config | --undo] [--dry-run] [--yes] [-- ] ``` | Flag | What it does | | ---------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | *(none)* | Configures the agent for this run and starts it. | | `--model ` | The model to use. Without it, the CLI reuses the model you picked last for this agent; the first time, you get a picker in an interactive terminal, otherwise (no terminal, or `CI=true`) the default model. An id that isn't a preset is checked against the [catalog](#models). | | `--config` | Saves the configuration into the agent's own config files and exits, so the agent uses AI/ML API when you start it directly. | | `--undo` | Reverts what the CLI wrote into the agent's config files and puts back the values it replaced. Works even when the agent is no longer installed. | | `--force` | With `--undo`: restore files even if they were edited after the CLI wrote them. | | `--dry-run` | Prints what would happen (environment variables, file diffs, the command line) with secrets masked, and changes nothing. Combine it with `--config` or `--undo` to preview them. | | `--yes`, `-y` | Installs a missing agent with npm without asking. | | `-- ` | Everything after `--` is passed to the agent unchanged. | **What the CLI changes and keeps safe:** * The API key never appears on a command line. The agent gets it from a credential helper (`aimlapi key print`), from an environment variable of the agent process only, or from the agent's own config or credential store (mode `0600`), or, for OpenClaw, from aimlapi's credentials file. * Before writing any agent file, the CLI copies the original to `~/.aimlapi/backups///`. A repeated run that changes nothing writes nothing. * The CLI only changes the settings it owns. Other settings in the file stay as they are, and a value it replaces is restored by `--undo`. ### Missing agents When the agent isn't installed, `aimlapi` offers to install its official npm package and prints the exact command first. Press Enter (or type `y`) to install; the run then goes on with the model picker and the launch. * It asks only in an interactive terminal (and not when `CI` is set). `--yes` installs without asking, also in CI. * Without a terminal, with `CI` set, with `--dry-run`, or when you decline, it only prints the command and exits with code `4`. * npm runs in your environment without the CLI's variables (no API key) and never with `sudo`. On an `EACCES` error, the CLI suggests a user-writable npm prefix. If npm's global `bin` directory is not on your `PATH`, it names that directory. * **Hermes Agent** (installed by its own script) and **ZCode** (the `zcode` command is built from source) are not installed automatically: the CLI prints how to install them. Node.js isn't installed either. ### Model presets The picker offers the agent's presets first: * Anthropic: `anthropic/claude-sonnet-5`, `anthropic/claude-opus-5`, `anthropic/claude-opus-5.5`, `anthropic/claude-haiku-4.5`, for every agent except Codex and ZCode. * OpenAI: `openai/gpt-5.6-sol`, `openai/gpt-5.6-terra`, `openai/gpt-6-astra`, for Codex, OpenCode, Cline, OpenClaw, Hermes Agent and zero. * GLM: `zhipu/glm-5.3`, `z-ai/glm-5.3-flash`, `zhipu/glm-5.2`, `zhipu/glm-5.1`, `z-ai/glm-5-turbo`, for ZCode. You can pass any other model from `aimlapi models --agent ` with `--model`. ### Claude Code ```bash aimlapi claude aimlapi claude --model opus aimlapi claude -- -p "Explain the architecture of this project" ``` **Launch.** Runs `claude --settings '' --model `. The inline settings contain an `env` block (base URL `https://api.aimlapi.com`, the model slots, tracking headers) and `apiKeyHelper`, which Claude Code runs to get the key from `aimlapi key print`. Settings on the command line take priority over your settings files, so no file is written. `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` and `ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN` are set to empty, so an Anthropic key exported in your shell is never sent to AI/ML API. **Model slots.** `--model` also accepts the Claude Code tier aliases: | Claude Code slot / alias | AI/ML API model | | ------------------------ | ---------------------------- | | `opus` | `anthropic/claude-opus-5.5` | | `sonnet` | `anthropic/claude-sonnet-5` | | `haiku` | `anthropic/claude-haiku-4.5` | | subagents | `anthropic/claude-sonnet-5` | **`--config`.** Merges the same `env` keys and `apiKeyHelper` into `~/.claude/settings.json` (or `$CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR/settings.json`). Needs an installed `aimlapi`, not npx. {% hint style="warning" %} After `aimlapi claude --config`, **every** Claude Code session goes through AI/ML API and is billed to your AI/ML API account, including a plain `claude` started from any terminal, until you run `aimlapi claude --undo`. {% endhint %} ### Codex ```bash aimlapi codex aimlapi codex --model openai/gpt-5.6-terra aimlapi codex -- exec "explain this repo" ``` **Launch.** Runs `codex` with `-c` overrides that add the model provider `aimlapi-cli` (Responses API at `https://api.aimlapi.com/v1`, tracking headers). Codex gets the key by running `aimlapi key print`. No file is written. **`--config`.** Writes a separate profile, `~/.codex/aimlapi.config.toml` (or `$CODEX_HOME/aimlapi.config.toml`), without the key. Your `config.toml` is never modified, and a plain `codex` works as before. Start Codex with the profile: ```bash aimlapi codex --config codex --profile aimlapi ``` **`--undo`** deletes the profile, or puts back a profile of yours that `--config` replaced. {% hint style="info" %} Codex **0.118.0** or newer gets the key from `aimlapi key print`; with an older Codex, the key is passed in `AIMLAPI_API_KEY` of the Codex process only, and the CLI prints a notice. `--config` needs Codex **0.131.0** or newer. To update Codex, run `npm install -g @openai/codex@latest`. {% endhint %} ### OpenCode ```bash aimlapi opencode aimlapi opencode --model openai/gpt-5.6-sol aimlapi opencode -- run "explain this repo" ``` **Launch.** Runs `opencode` with an inline config in `OPENCODE_CONFIG_CONTENT` (provider `aimlapi-cli`, shown as **AIMLAPI**, OpenAI-compatible at `https://api.aimlapi.com/v1`, the preset models) and the key in `AIMLAPI_API_KEY` of the OpenCode process only. No file is written. Models appear as `aimlapi-cli/`, for example `aimlapi-cli/anthropic/claude-sonnet-5`. **`--config`.** Adds the provider (without the key) to OpenCode's global config (`~/.config/opencode/opencode.json`, or `opencode.jsonc`, or `$OPENCODE_CONFIG`) and stores the key in OpenCode's credential store `auth.json` (mode `0600`). It sets the default `model` only if you have none; otherwise pick an `aimlapi-cli/…` model with `/models`. After `--config`, a launch keeps the stored key current. ### Cline ```bash aimlapi cline aimlapi cline --model openai/gpt-5.6-sol aimlapi cline -- "explain this repo" ``` **Every run** writes Cline's provider store `~/.cline/data/settings/providers.json` (mode `0600`), because Cline has no flag for a base URL: the built-in **OpenAI Compatible** provider gets `https://api.aimlapi.com/v1`, the key, the model and tracking headers, and becomes Cline's default. A launch then runs `cline -P openai-compatible -m `; `--config` stops after the write. {% hint style="warning" %} The Cline CLI, the Cline VS Code extension and the JetBrains plugin share this provider store. After any `aimlapi cline` run, all of them use AI/ML API by default until you run `aimlapi cline --undo`. Cline keeps only **one** OpenAI Compatible provider: if you had one for another endpoint, the CLI replaces it and `--undo` puts it back. If the VS Code extension is open, reload the window (Command Palette → **Developer: Reload Window**). {% endhint %} `aimlapi cline` needs the `cline` command even if you only use the VS Code extension. It finds the provider store the way Cline does (`CLINE_PROVIDER_SETTINGS_PATH`, `CLINE_DATA_DIR`, `CLINE_DIR`, and `--config ` / `--data-dir ` after `--`); run `--undo` with the same settings. ### OpenClaude ```bash aimlapi openclaude aimlapi openclaude --model opus ``` **Launch.** Connects [OpenClaude](/integrations/openclaude.md) over AI/ML API's Anthropic-compatible route (`/v1/messages`): the base URL, model slots (the same as for [Claude Code](#claude-code)) and tracking headers are set in its environment, and the key in `ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN` of the OpenClaude process only. No file is written. OpenClaude's built-in `aimlapi.com` preset is not used, and `AIMLAPI_API_KEY` is removed from the session. **`--config`.** Writes the same variables, with the key, into the `env` of `~/.openclaude/settings.json` (or `$OPENCLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR/settings.json`, mode `0600`); after `--config`, a launch keeps the stored key current. Picking another provider with `/provider` later removes only part of these settings; to remove them, run `aimlapi openclaude --undo`. ### OpenClaw ```bash aimlapi openclaw aimlapi openclaw --config ``` [OpenClaw](/integrations/openclaw.md) has no per-run provider switch, so **every run** writes its config (`~/.openclaw/openclaw.json`, or the file `$OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH`, `$OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR` or a `--profile ` after `--` selects): the OpenAI-compatible provider `aimlapi-cli` with the preset models, and the default model `aimlapi-cli/`. A launch then starts `openclaw`; `--config` only writes. A running Gateway reloads the config by itself. The key is not copied into `openclaw.json`: OpenClaw reads it from the CLI's credentials file. So sign in with `aimlapi login` first (`AIMLAPI_API_KEY` alone is not enough, exit code `3`), and run `openclaw secrets reload` after you log in with a new key or log out. ### Hermes Agent ```bash aimlapi hermes aimlapi hermes --config ``` [Hermes Agent](/integrations/hermes.md) is installed with its own script, not npm (`curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash`; the CLI prints the Windows command). Hermes has no per-run provider switch, so the CLI adds named custom providers (OpenAI-compatible, the preset models) to Hermes' `config.yaml` (`~/.hermes`, `$HERMES_HOME`, or the active Hermes profile). The key is not copied: Hermes runs `aimlapi key print` to get it. * **Launch** writes the entry `aimlapi-cli-run` and starts `hermes --provider custom:aimlapi-cli-run -m `, so a plain `hermes` keeps its default. * **`--config`** writes the entry `aimlapi-cli` and makes it Hermes' default model. Needs an installed `aimlapi`, not npx. A running Hermes gateway needs `hermes gateway restart`. * **`--undo`** removes both entries and puts back the `model:` keys they replaced. Only those lines of `config.yaml` change. ### zero ```bash aimlapi zero aimlapi zero --config ``` [zero](/integrations/zero.md) has no flag for a provider, so **every run** writes the OpenAI-compatible provider profile `aimlapi-cli` into zero's config (`~/.config/zero/config.json`, or `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/zero/config.json`; on Windows `%AppData%\zero\config.json`). zero's built-in `aimlapi` preset is not used. The profile reads the key from `AIMLAPI_CLI_KEY`, so no key is written: a launch sets it for the zero process only. `--config` also makes the profile zero's default provider. {% hint style="warning" %} After `aimlapi zero --config`, `aimlapi zero` works as is, but a **plain `zero`** needs `AIMLAPI_CLI_KEY` in your shell. With an installed `aimlapi` (not npx), add this line to your shell profile: ```bash export AIMLAPI_CLI_KEY="$(aimlapi key print)" ``` Without it, zero silently uses another provider it has a key for. Don't export `AIMLAPI_API_KEY` for this: it overrides the key saved by `aimlapi login` for every `aimlapi` command. {% endhint %} ### ZCode ```bash aimlapi zcode aimlapi zcode --config ``` [ZCode](/integrations/zcode.md) is Z.ai's coding agent for GLM models. `aimlapi zcode` needs ZCode's terminal command `zcode`, which Z.ai does not publish as a package: [build it from source](https://github.com/zai-org/ZCode/blob/main/README.en.md#zcode-cli-distribution). The CLI adds the OpenAI-compatible provider `aimlapi-cli` (shown as **AI/ML API**) with the GLM presets; ZCode keeps the key in its provider config (mode `0600`). * **Launch** gives `zcode` a provider config of the CLI's own (`$ZCODE_PERSONAL_PROVIDER_CONFIG_FILE`), so your `~/.zcode` is not changed. A provider you add inside such a session is saved into that file and is gone after `--undo` or `logout`: add your own providers in a plain `zcode` session or the desktop app. `zcode --web` can't be started this way; use `--config`. * **`--config`** adds the provider to `~/.zcode/v2/provider_config.json` (or `$ZCODE_DATA_BASE_DIR/.zcode/v2`), shared by the ZCode desktop app, `zcode` and `zcode --web`, and makes its model the default. If the desktop app keeps its data in another folder, that copy is set up too. A running ZCode picks up the change by itself. ## Account commands ### `login` ```bash aimlapi login aimlapi login --device ``` `login` opens the browser, where you sign in and approve the aimlapi CLI. On the approval page you can set an optional **USD limit** for the new key and how often it resets. The key is saved to `~/.aimlapi/credentials` (file mode `0600`; on Windows `%APPDATA%\aimlapi\credentials`). You don't have to run `login` first: in an interactive terminal, agent commands start the same sign-in when no key is stored. The **device code** flow (`--device`) prints a link that you open and approve on any device. The CLI picks it automatically over SSH, on Linux without a graphical display, and when it can't open a browser or a local port. If you log in again, the stored key is replaced, but the previous key stays active. You can revoke it on the [API Keys page](https://aimlapi.com/app/keys). ### `logout` ```bash aimlapi logout ``` Revokes the stored key on the server and removes it from your computer. Agent configs that hold a copy of that key (OpenCode, Cline, OpenClaude, ZCode) are reverted as `aimlapi --undo` would, and the agent config backups are deleted. If the server refuses or can't be reached, the key is still removed locally but may remain active: revoke it on the [API Keys page](https://aimlapi.com/app/keys). `logout` doesn't change `AIMLAPI_API_KEY`. ### `status` ```bash aimlapi status aimlapi status --json ``` Shows your account balance and the spend and limit of the API key in use. The key itself is only shown masked. ### `models` ```bash aimlapi models aimlapi models --agent claude aimlapi models --agent codex --json ``` Lists AI/ML API chat models from the public catalog. No login is needed. * Without `--agent`, you get every chat model and the agents that can use it. * With `--agent `, you get only the models that agent can use: served on the agent's API and supporting tool calling. The agent's presets come first, with the default model and the model slots marked. * With `--json`, the output is machine-readable. ### `update` ```bash aimlapi update aimlapi --version ``` Updates `aimlapi` to the latest version, through npm or, for a script install, by replacing the binary (see [Install](#install)). ## Set up from your agent You can also let your coding agent set itself up. Paste this into any of the supported agents: ``` Read https://docs.aimlapi.com/quickstart/cli/aimlapi-setup.md and follow it to connect this agent to AI/ML API. ``` The agent signs you in through the browser (you approve; you never paste a key into the chat), shows what it will change with `--dry-run`, applies it after you confirm, and tells you how to undo it. To install it as a Claude Code skill instead (then just ask Claude Code to "set up AI/ML API"), download the file with its frontmatter: ```bash mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/aimlapi-setup curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aimlapi/api-docs/main/skills/aimlapi-setup/SKILL.md -o ~/.claude/skills/aimlapi-setup/SKILL.md ``` ## Troubleshooting
Headless server, SSH session or CI Over SSH, the CLI uses the device code flow automatically. You can also force it with `aimlapi login --device`, then open the printed link on any device. In a non-interactive session (no terminal, or `CI=true`), agent commands don't start a sign-in, don't show the model picker and don't ask to install a missing agent (pass `--yes` for that). Log in beforehand with `aimlapi login`, or provide a key through the environment: ```bash export AIMLAPI_API_KEY= ``` Without a key, the command exits with code `3`. OpenClaw needs `aimlapi login`; the variable alone is not enough for it.
"… is not installed" The agent isn't on your `PATH`. In a terminal the CLI offers to install it (see [Missing agents](#missing-agents)); otherwise it prints the install command and exits with code `4`. For Cline, the `cline` command is needed even if you use the VS Code extension; for ZCode, the `zcode` command, not only the desktop app.
"--config … runs from a temporary package-runner cache (npx)" `--config` for Claude Code, Codex or Hermes Agent was run through npx. Install `aimlapi` (`npm i -g aimlapi` or an [install script](#install)) and run `aimlapi --config` again.
A different key than expected is used `AIMLAPI_API_KEY` in your environment overrides the key saved by `aimlapi login` for every command. Unset it to use the saved key. Run `aimlapi status` to see which key is in use (masked).
Corporate proxy The CLI's own requests (login, `models`, `status`, updates) respect the standard proxy variables: ```bash export HTTPS_PROXY=http://proxy.example.com:8080 export NO_PROXY=localhost,127.0.0.1 ``` Agents started by `aimlapi` inherit your environment; check your agent's documentation for its own proxy support. The browser sign-in returns to a local address (`127.0.0.1`). If your browser can't reach it, use `aimlapi login --device`.
Restoring an agent's configuration To revert what the CLI wrote into an agent's config, preview it first: ```bash aimlapi claude --undo --dry-run ``` Then restore it: ```bash aimlapi claude --undo ``` Every other agent works the same way. A file in which you have since replaced the CLI's settings by hand is left as it is (`--force` restores it anyway). The CLI also copies the original of every file before it changes it, to `~/.aimlapi/backups///` (Windows: `%APPDATA%\aimlapi\backups\\\`). Each backup has a `manifest.json` and the original files under `files/`. Backups can contain credentials that were in the original files, so treat them as secrets. To remove the CLI itself, run `--undo` for every configured agent first (Claude Code, Codex and Hermes Agent configs point at the `aimlapi` binary), then `npm uninstall -g aimlapi`, or delete the binary if you used an install script.
Windows The CLI keeps its files in `%APPDATA%\aimlapi` and runs the agent as a child process, forwarding Ctrl+C and the agent's exit code. The examples on this page use POSIX shell syntax; in PowerShell set variables with `$env:NAME = "value"`. OpenClaw refuses a credentials file whose permissions it can't verify as private, which is likely if you point `AIMLAPI_CONFIG_DIR` at a shared folder.
### Exit codes | Code | Meaning | | ---- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `0` | Success. | | `1` | General error (network, file, server, agent too old). | | `2` | Invalid arguments, flags or environment values (for example, `--config` run through npx). | | `3` | Authentication: not logged in, the key is invalid or rejected, or the sign-in was denied. | | `4` | The coding agent is not installed, or its installation failed. | When the agent starts, its own exit code is returned when it finishes. ### Environment variables | Variable | Effect | | ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `AIMLAPI_API_KEY` | API key to use instead of the one saved by `aimlapi login`, for every command. | | `AIMLAPI_CONFIG_DIR` | Directory for credentials and backups (default `~/.aimlapi`; Windows `%APPDATA%\aimlapi`). | | `AIMLAPI_BASE_URL` | Overrides the API host (default `https://api.aimlapi.com`). | | `AIMLAPI_NO_UPDATE_CHECK` | Set to `1` to turn off the daily new-version check. | | `AIMLAPI_CLI_KEY` | The key variable of zero's `aimlapi-cli` profile (see [zero](#zero)). | | `CI` | When `true`: no model picker, no inline sign-in, no install prompt, no update check. | | `HTTPS_PROXY`, `NO_PROXY` | Proxy for the CLI's own requests. | | `AIMLAPI_INSTALL_DIR`, `AIMLAPI_VERSION` | Install scripts only: target directory and version (see [Install](#install)). | --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.aimlapi.com/quickstart/cli.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.