Use BigModel.io with LobeChat

Connect LobeChat (LobeHub) to BigModel.io through the settings UI or self-hosting env vars OPENAI_PROXY_URL=https://bigmodel.io/v1 and OPENAI_MODEL_LIST, with fixes for common errors.

On this page
  1. Option 1: settings UI
  2. Option 2: self-hosting environment variables
  3. Verify the setup
  4. Troubleshooting
  5. Related

LobeChat (now LobeHub) can use BigModel.io as its OpenAI provider, as a custom provider, or through environment variables on a self-hosted instance. All three use the OpenAI request format on https://bigmodel.io/v1.

Setting Value
API key your BigModel.io API key (sk-...)
Proxy URL (OpenAI format) https://bigmodel.io/v1
Proxy URL (Anthropic format) https://bigmodel.io (no /v1)
Models model IDs from the model catalog

#Option 1: settings UI

  1. Open Settings → AI Providers.
  2. Either open OpenAI, or choose Create custom AI provider and enter a Provider ID such as bigmodel with request format openai.
  3. Enter your key from API Keys and set Proxy URL to https://bigmodel.io/v1.
  4. Click Check to test the connection.
  5. Add or enable the models you want, using exact IDs such as glm-5.3, kimi-k3 or deepseek-v4-pro.

A custom provider keeps OpenAI's own setup free. Request format anthropic with Proxy URL https://bigmodel.io also works, but only with keys whose group serves /v1/messages.

#Option 2: self-hosting environment variables

For a self-hosted instance, set these in your .env or container environment:

bash
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-your-bigmodel-key
OPENAI_PROXY_URL=https://bigmodel.io/v1
OPENAI_MODEL_LIST="-all,+glm-5.3=GLM-5.3<128000:fc>,+kimi-k3=Kimi K3<128000:fc>,+deepseek-v4-pro=DeepSeek V4 Pro<128000:fc>"

OPENAI_MODEL_LIST syntax:

  • -all hides the built-in OpenAI models, which BigModel.io does not serve.
  • +id=Display Name adds a model; id must be the exact catalog ID.
  • <maxToken:vision:reasoning:search:fc:file> declares the context size and abilities. Use fc only for models with tool calling and vision only for image input. The 128000 values above are placeholders; take the context window from each model page.

For the Anthropic format instead, set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY and ANTHROPIC_PROXY_URL=https://bigmodel.io. Restart the container after changing env vars.

#Verify the setup

Start a new chat, pick one of the BigModel.io models in the model selector and send "ping". You should get a reply, and the request should appear in Usage.

#Troubleshooting

Check fails with 403 INSUFFICIENT_BALANCE. Your balance is $0 or below. Top up in Billing.

Check fails because the default model is unavailable. LobeChat may check with a built-in OpenAI model name that your group does not serve (503 api_error: No available accounts ...). Add your own model, select it for the check, and try again.

404 on every request. The Proxy URL is wrong. OpenAI format needs https://bigmodel.io/v1; Anthropic format needs https://bigmodel.io.

404 not_found_error: ... /v1/messages is not available. You chose the Anthropic format with a key from a Chat Completions-only group (GLM or DeepSeek). Use the openai format.

Built-in GPT models still appear. OPENAI_MODEL_LIST does not start with -all, or the container was not restarted.

401 INVALID_API_KEY. The key has spaces, was deleted, or OPENAI_API_KEY still holds an OpenAI key.

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