zagent

The open-source, GLM-native terminal coding agent.

Run GLM straight from your terminal — a headless one-shot for scripts and CI, or a full interactive TUI — on your own GLM Coding Plan.

English · 中文

npx zagent -p "Add a --json flag to cli.py and update the tests"

Unofficial. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Z.ai. zagent ships no Z.ai binaries — it drives the ZCode runtime you already installed, on your own account.

What is zagent?

zagent turns your GLM Coding Plan into a first-class terminal coding agent. It speaks the ZCode runtime's protocol directly, so you get the same GLM engine Z.ai ships in its desktop app — scriptable, headless, and in the terminal where you already work.

• 🚀 Headless or interactive — zagent -p "…" --json for scripts, CI and pipelines; or a full TUI.
• 🔌 Your plan, your machine — runs on your own GLM Coding Plan and installed runtime. Nothing bundled, nothing phoned home.
• 🧰 Batteries included — quota, sessions, diffs, memory, scheduled prompts, and plugins, all from the CLI.
• 🖥️ Cross-platform — discovers your runtime on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
• 🪶 Tiny & honest — a thin protocol client; your prompts and credentials never leave your machine except to your own provider.

Quick start

npm install -g zagent          # or run ad-hoc: npx zagent
zagent doctor                  # checks your runtime + Coding Plan setup
zagent -p "Explain this repo"  # headless one-shot
zagent                         # interactive TUI

Requirements

• Node.js ≥ 22.5
• A GLM Coding Plan and your own installed ZCode runtime — the third-party zcode-app-cli (required for the interactive TUI) or the ZCode desktop bundle (headless).

Authentication — your GLM Coding Plan

zagent runs on your GLM Coding Plan subscription — not a metered pay-per-token API key. Provide your Coding Plan credential once and zagent writes a local, 0600 config:

export ZAI_API_KEY=<your GLM Coding Plan credential>   # or reuse ~/.config/ccz/.api_key
zagent doctor --fix                                    # writes ~/.zcode/cli/config.json

zagent doctor tells you exactly what's missing. Your credential stays on your machine and is sent only to your own provider endpoint.

Commands

Command	What it does
zagent -p "…" [--json]	Headless one-shot (retry-safe)
zagent	Interactive TUI
zagent onboard	First-run: checks + live smoke + guidance
zagent doctor [--fix]	Runtime / Coding-Plan / config diagnosis
zagent models [query]	Search the model catalog
zagent quota [balance|preview|reset]	Coding-Plan usage
zagent sessions	Your task store, in the terminal
zagent diff [sessionId]	Per-turn / per-file changes
zagent memory show|index|append	Runtime-compatible memory
zagent cron add|list|tick	Scheduled prompts
zagent plugins	Manage local plugins

za is a short alias for zagent.

How it works

zagent is a thin, protocol-first client. It discovers a compatible runtime — ZCODE_RUNTIME first, then zcode-app-cli, then the ZCode desktop bundle per OS — and drives it over its native protocol. It ships no runtime binaries and uses your Coding Plan. Running it can make real requests and execute tools with your permissions, so use trusted workspaces and review changes.

Not auto-discovered? Point at it explicitly:

export ZCODE_RUNTIME=/absolute/path/to/runtime-entry.cjs

Platform support

Runtime discovery covers Linux, macOS, and Windows (unit-tested across all three). Linux is fully validated; macOS and Windows are supported at the code level and being hardened against every GUI install layout.

Privacy

Task, memory, diff, and quota output can contain private workspace, prompt, or account data. Redact before sharing logs, and never commit credentials or config files.

Contributing

Issues and PRs are welcome — see CONTRIBUTING and SECURITY. Questions and ideas go in Discussions.

License

MIT — for non-commercial, personal interoperability and research. You are responsible for complying with Z.ai's terms for your own account. See NOTICE for the interoperability disclaimer.