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OpenCode Zen

Mental model: Zen is OpenCode's curated, pay-as-you-go AI gateway. The OpenCode team tests and benchmarks models for coding-agent workloads and ships a focused lineup with consistent pricing.

(Beta — verified against opencode.ai/docs/zen on 2026-07-05. Pricing and model availability change frequently; check the docs before quoting numbers.)

When to reach for Zen vs. direct providers

Reach for Zen when… Reach for direct providers when…
You want to try many models without juggling N API keys You already pay for Anthropic/OpenAI/etc. and want to use existing credits
You want curated, benchmark-vetted models You need a model Zen doesn't carry
You want billing in one place for a team You're running fully local (Ollama, LM Studio)
You want a free tier to learn on You want zero third-party intermediation

Zen is opt-in. OpenCode itself is provider-agnostic; you can mix Zen models with direct-provider models in the same config.

Zen vs. OpenCode Go

Mental model: Zen is a pay-as-you-go, per-token gateway across the full lineup. OpenCode Go is a flat-rate subscription to a curated set of hosted open models.

Zen OpenCode Go
Billing Per-token, pay-as-you-go $10/month flat ($5 first month)
Models Full curated lineup (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, open models, …) Hosted open models
Limits Your balance / workspace caps $12 per 5 hours, $30/week, $60/month equivalent
After limits — Falls back to your Zen balance

Reach for Go when you want a predictable monthly bill on open models; reach for Zen when you want per-token access to everything. Details: opencode.ai/docs/go.

Setup

# 1. Create a Zen account
# https://opencode.ai/auth

# 2. Add billing details (auto-reload: $20 top-up when balance falls below $5)
# 3. Copy your API key

# 4. Sign in from OpenCode
opencode auth login         # pick "OpenCode Zen", paste key

# Or from inside the TUI:
/connect                    # → OpenCode Zen → paste

# 5. Browse the lineup
/models

In opencode.json, reference a Zen model with the opencode/ prefix:

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "model": "opencode/claude-sonnet-5"
}

Slug format: keep the dots in the upstream model name where they exist (gpt-5.5, gemini-3.1-pro, qwen3.7-plus, minimax-m2.7); Anthropic IDs use hyphens (claude-opus-4-8, claude-sonnet-4-6).

Available models

Selected lineup below. For the full lineup (latest pricing, cached-read/write rates, and endpoint URLs), see opencode.ai/docs/zen.

Anthropic family

Model ID Input / Output (per MTok) Notes
opencode/claude-fable-5 $10 / $50 New flagship — hardest reasoning, complex refactors
opencode/claude-opus-4-8 $5 / $25 Previous flagship — still strong on multi-file work
opencode/claude-sonnet-5 $2 / $10 Balanced workhorse — cheaper and newer than Sonnet 4.6; adaptive thinking since v1.17.12
opencode/claude-haiku-4-5 $1 / $5 Cheap, fast — title generation, simple Q&A

Older versions (claude-opus-4-7, claude-opus-4-6, claude-opus-4-5, claude-sonnet-4-6, claude-sonnet-4-5) are also available — see the full list.

OpenAI family

Model ID Input / Output (per MTok) Notes
opencode/gpt-5.5 (≤272K) $5 / $30 Long-context flagship
opencode/gpt-5.5 (>272K) $10 / $45 Same model, beyond-window pricing
opencode/gpt-5.5-pro $30 / $180 Pro variant
opencode/gpt-5.4 (≤272K) $2.50 / $15 Mid-tier frontier
opencode/gpt-5.4 (>272K) $5 / $22.50 Same model, beyond-window pricing
opencode/gpt-5.4-pro $30 / $180 Pro variant of 5.4
opencode/gpt-5.4-mini $0.75 / $4.50 Cost-efficient frontier
opencode/gpt-5.4-nano $0.20 / $1.25 Cheap, fast, narrow tasks
opencode/gpt-5.3-codex $1.75 / $14 Codex-tuned variant
opencode/gpt-5.2 $1.75 / $14 Base 5.2

GPT 5.1 / 5, gpt-5.3-codex-spark, and the gpt-5.1-codex family (+max, +mini) are also available — see the live list for current pricing and note the sunset dates below.

Other

Model ID Input / Output (per MTok) Notes
opencode/gemini-3.5-flash $1.50 / $9 Newest fast Gemini
opencode/gemini-3.1-pro (≤200K) $2 / $12 Multimodal flagship
opencode/gemini-3-flash $0.50 / $3 Cheaper Gemini variant
opencode/qwen3.7-max $2.50 / $7.50 Qwen flagship
opencode/qwen3.7-plus $0.40 / $1.60 Budget-friendly heavy lifting
opencode/deepseek-v4-pro $1.74 / $3.48 DeepSeek flagship
opencode/deepseek-v4-flash $0.14 / $0.28 Rock-bottom pricing
opencode/kimi-k2.7-code $0.95 / $4 Moonshot coding model, current
opencode/kimi-k2.6 $0.95 / $4 Moonshot lineup
opencode/glm-5.2 $1.40 / $4.40 Zhipu current
opencode/glm-5.1 $1.40 / $4.40 Zhipu lineup
opencode/minimax-m3 $0.30 / $1.20 MiniMax current
opencode/minimax-m2.7 $0.30 / $1.20 Previous MiniMax
opencode/grok-build-0.1 $1 / $2 xAI coding model

Free tier (rotating, time-limited)

For community feedback during model rollout:

  • opencode/big-pickle (stealth model)
  • opencode/deepseek-v4-flash-free
  • opencode/mimo-v2.5-free
  • opencode/north-mini-code-free (new)
  • opencode/nemotron-3-ultra-free

Great for learning OpenCode without burning a budget. The list rotates — a free model can disappear, become paid, or be replaced at any time; check /models for what's live today.

Deprecations & sunsets

Deprecated Zen models keep working until their sunset date:

Model(s) Sunset date
glm-5 2026-05-14 (past)
claude-sonnet-4 2026-06-15 (past)
gpt-5.2-codex, gpt-5.1-codex (+max, +mini), gpt-5-codex 2026-07-23
claude-opus-4-1 2026-08-05
minimax-m2.5, kimi-k2.5 2026-08-05

Billing

  • Auto-reload: default $20 top-up when balance falls under $5. Configurable on the dashboard; can be disabled.
  • Workspace limits: monthly cap for a team and per-member spending limits.
  • BYOK: bring your own Anthropic / OpenAI keys and Zen routes those provider calls through your credentials while still letting you use other Zen-hosted models.
  • Transaction fees: credit card fees pass through at cost (per docs: 4.4% + $0.30 per transaction).
  • Title model: sessions show small charges from a low-cost small model — that's what OpenCode uses to generate session titles automatically.

Patterns

Cheap explorer / strong executor

Different agents, different models. A cheap model handles read-heavy subagents; a strong model does the editing.

{
  "model": "opencode/claude-sonnet-5",
  "agent": {
    "explore": { "model": "opencode/qwen3.7-plus" },
    "scout":   { "model": "opencode/qwen3.7-plus" },
    "plan":    { "model": "opencode/claude-haiku-4-5" },
    "build":   { "model": "opencode/claude-sonnet-5" }
  }
}

Plan-with-Opus / execute-with-Sonnet

For complex tasks, plan with the smartest model, then hand the atomic plan to a cheaper executor.

{
  "agent": {
    "plan":  { "model": "opencode/claude-opus-4-8" },
    "build": { "model": "opencode/claude-sonnet-5" }
  }
}

BYOK + Zen extras

Reuse Anthropic credits while still having one-key access to GPT and Gemini.

{
  "model": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5",
  "provider": {
    "anthropic": { "options": { "apiKey": "{env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}" } }
  },
  "agent": {
    "vision-helper": { "model": "opencode/gemini-3.1-pro" }
  }
}

API access

You can also call Zen models directly via OpenCode's HTTP endpoints — handy if you're building scripts outside OpenCode itself:

Family Endpoint pattern
OpenAI https://opencode.ai/zen/v1/responses
Anthropic https://opencode.ai/zen/v1/messages
Google https://opencode.ai/zen/v1/models/<model-id>
OpenAI-compatible (Qwen, Kimi, GLM, etc.) https://opencode.ai/zen/v1/chat/completions
Full models list https://opencode.ai/zen/v1/models

Use the matching AI SDK package (@ai-sdk/openai, @ai-sdk/anthropic, @ai-sdk/google, @ai-sdk/openai-compatible).

FAQ

Is my code sent anywhere I don't control? Zen is a gateway between OpenCode and the upstream provider. The privacy posture depends on the underlying provider plus Zen's own policy for billing/routing. The Zen docs page has the current statement.

Are free models reliable for production? No — the docs call them "available for a limited time" while the team collects feedback. Build with the assumption that any given free model could disappear, become paid, or be replaced. They're for learning, experimentation, and feedback.

Can I cancel auto-reload? Yes — turn it off in the dashboard, or set a monthly hard cap.

How does Zen compare to OpenRouter? Both are gateways. Zen is curated — the OpenCode team picks and tunes models for coding-agent loops. OpenRouter is broader but unopinionated. OpenCode supports both.

Last reviewed: 2026-07-05 · Canonical source: opencode.ai/docs.