Connect Aider to Token Factory

Corvex Token Factory connects to Aider as an OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Set two environment variables, register the model’s limits in a metadata file, and pass the model ID with the openai/ prefix.

Prerequisites

A Token Factory API key. See Authentication.
Aider installed (this guide was verified with Aider 0.86).
A model ID from the Token Factory catalog.

Store the key and endpoint in your shell

Aider reads the OpenAI-compatible endpoint and key from the environment.

export OPENAI_API_BASE="https://api.tokenfactory.corvex.cloud/v1"
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-corvex-YOUR_VIRTUAL_KEY"

Add both lines to your shell profile to make them permanent.

Aider does not read context limits from the endpoint. Without this step it starts with Warning for openai/zai-org/GLM-5.3: Unknown context window size and costs, using sane defaults. Create .aider.model.metadata.json in your home directory or the repository root with the Token Factory models. Use the fully qualified openai/ name.

{
  "openai/zai-org/GLM-5.3": {
    "max_input_tokens": 393216,
    "max_output_tokens": 32000,
    "input_cost_per_token": 0,
    "output_cost_per_token": 0,
    "litellm_provider": "openai",
    "mode": "chat"
  },
  "openai/deepseek-ai/DeepSeek-V4-Flash-0731": {
    "max_input_tokens": 1048576,
    "max_output_tokens": 32000,
    "input_cost_per_token": 0,
    "output_cost_per_token": 0,
    "litellm_provider": "openai",
    "mode": "chat"
  }
}

The cost fields only affect Aider’s local cost display; the published rates are on the Pricing page. max_output_tokens is a per-response budget; keep it well below the context window so there is room for input.

Run Aider

Pass the Token Factory model ID with the openai/ prefix.

cd /path/to/your/repo
aider --model openai/zai-org/GLM-5.3

Aider uses its whole edit format for models it does not know, which resends entire files on every edit. Both Token Factory models handle the more economical diff format; pass --edit-format diff or set it in the config file. To make the model and edit format the default, add them to .aider.conf.yml in your home directory or the repository root:

model: openai/zai-org/GLM-5.3
edit-format: diff

To run a single change non-interactively:

aider --model openai/zai-org/GLM-5.3 --yes-always \
  --message "Fix the bug in add() so it returns a + b." calc.py

Verify the connection

Aider prints the model name on startup. Ask for a small edit to a file you added to the chat. Aider shows the model’s reasoning under THINKING, the diff under ANSWER, applies the edit, and commits it. A completed edit confirms the endpoint, key, and model ID.

Compatibility notes

Model IDs. Use openai/ followed by the exact id from GET /v1/models, for example openai/zai-org/GLM-5.3. IDs are case-sensitive. Do not add a corvex/ prefix.
Reasoning. Both models reason before answering. Aider displays the reasoning separately from the answer. Reasoning tokens count toward max_output_tokens.
Context length. If a session exceeds the model’s window, the gateway returns context_length_exceeded. Drop files from the chat with /drop or start a new session. See Errors.
Input types. Neither model accepts image input. Do not add images with /paste or --image; the request returns a structured error.

Use the OpenAI SDK — the same endpoint from Python or TypeScript.
Connect OpenCode and Connect Codex — other terminal coding agents.
Errors — authentication, rate-limit, and validation responses.

Get Started

Models & Pricing

Integrations

API Reference

Security & Compliance

Reference

Prerequisites

Compatibility notes

​Prerequisites

​Compatibility notes

​Related documentation

Prerequisites

Compatibility notes

Related documentation