What is llm-api-setup-guides?

llm-api-setup-guides is a collection of Chinese-language tutorials that walk through connecting different AI chat clients, coding tools, and developer frameworks to a custom or third-party API key instead of the tool's default service. The repository currently holds fifty-six guides covering forty-nine separate tools, split into categories like chat clients, AI coding tools, self-hosted platforms, automation and workflow builders, productivity add-ons, and SDKs for developers. Each guide follows the same structure: installing the tool, entering the API key and base URL, running a first test request, a short section on keeping the key safe, and a list of common errors such as 401 or 404 responses with likely causes. The project states that all guides are written against public standard protocols, specifically OpenAI's Chat Completions and Responses formats and Anthropic's Messages format, so a reader needs to confirm which protocol their chosen service supports before following the matching guide. Covered coding tools include Claude Code, Codex CLI, Qwen Code, Gemini CLI, Cursor, and several others, each noted with a rough difficulty rating. Chat client guides cover apps like Cherry Studio and Chatbox, self-hosted guides cover platforms such as Dify, FastGPT, and Open WebUI, and the developer integration section covers SDKs including the OpenAI Python and Node.js SDKs, LangChain, and the Vercel AI SDK. The guides are also published as a searchable website in addition to living in the repository. The README explains that the project exists because official documentation for API keys is often scattered or out of date, leaving people stuck on connection errors, and because using services like Claude or GPT directly can be difficult without an overseas credit card. It points to a specific paid API reseller as one option for getting a test key, though it notes any API matching the required protocol will work with the guides. The project accepts pull requests and is licensed under MIT.