Cline API relay on Vana API: GPT-6.1 Sol at $0.1389

Agents at the terminalEN2026-11-01

§ One address, three protocols, one small change

Moving Cline to Vana API does not require rebuilding the rest of a project. The central idea is simple: Vana API puts three protocol formats behind one address, https://api.vanaapi.com, and Cline already works with the OpenAI format. That means the part that changes is the provider setup inside Cline. Your prompts, extensions, workflow files and other project files can stay where they are.

This article follows one example from beginning to end. It is an example, not a claim about every project, but it shows the shape of the migration: create a key in the dashboard, add a prepaid balance, point Cline at the Vana API address, choose a compatible model, and check the usage log afterwards. The same address also handles other protocol shapes, which is why Vana API can remain in place if the tools around Cline change later.

One detail is worth separating early. The address https://api.vanaapi.com answers API requests. It is not the dashboard. Keys, balance and the usage log are on the main site, https://vanaapi.com. Keeping those two jobs distinct makes the setup easier to follow and avoids looking for account controls on an endpoint that only expects requests.

The result is a modest change with a clear boundary. Cline talks to Vana API over the OpenAI format at /v1/chat/completions. The rest of the project continues to be the rest of the project.

§ Example workflow: prepare the account

Start on the Vana API dashboard at https://vanaapi.com. Create a key there, then add funds to a prepaid balance. Vana API charges per real token and has no monthly fee, so the balance is the practical budget for the example. New accounts receive a gift of $0.10 of credit, which is enough to confirm that the connection is working but is not presented here as a working budget for a larger project.

For this example, say you run a small coding assistant every day and want a predictable way to watch token spending. Because Vana API is pay-as-you-go, you can top up the amount that suits that example rather than commit to a fixed monthly plan. Every call is listed in the usage log in the dashboard, so the example has a record to consult after the first run instead of relying on a rough estimate.

There is also a refund rule worth knowing before topping up: unused balance can be refunded within 3 days of the top-up, minus what was used and the payment processor's fee. Referral income is separate. Vana API pays 14% of what people you invite pay, with 5% one level further, and earnings can be withdrawn from $13.89. Those details are part of the account economics, but they are not required to complete the Cline setup.

If a fixed monthly arrangement fits the example better, Vana API also lists a plan for GPT up to $4,000 / 30 days: $103.61 for 30 days, at most $1,200 a week, with GPT models only. The prepaid balance and the pay-as-you-go model are the default path in this example because they keep the change narrow.

§ Example workflow: point Cline at Vana API

In Cline, use the OpenAI-compatible provider option and set the API base address to https://api.vanaapi.com. Paste the key you created in the Vana API dashboard into the key field. Cline then sends requests in the OpenAI format, which Vana API serves at /v1/chat/completions.

This is the whole provider change in the example: base address, key, model. There is no need to alter the surrounding project. If your project has its own instructions, files or scripts, they remain in place, and Cline keeps its usual role while its requests are routed through Vana API.

The model choice should match Cline's supported protocol. Cline works with GPT, Grok, DeepSeek, GLM, Kimi, Qwen, MiniMax and MiMo models from the Vana API price list, because these models are available through the OpenAI format. A model such as GPT-6.1 Sol uses the model id gpt-6.1-sol, which is the value to select in Cline.

GPT models also answer on /v1/responses, which is what Codex uses. That second GPT endpoint is useful context for a mixed toolchain, but the Cline example stays on /v1/chat/completions. The point is not to make every tool speak the same protocol. The point is that one Vana API address exposes the protocol each tool already expects.

§ Example workflow: pick a model and check the price

For a low-cost starting point in this example, GPT-6.1 Sol is priced at $0.1389 per million input tokens and $0.8333 per million output tokens on Vana API. Its official list price is $2 and $10. The comparison is exact, and it is a pricing reference rather than a promise about how many tokens a particular task will use.

Other listed models give the example room to change. GPT-5.6 Sol, with model id gpt-5.6-sol, is $0.3472 / $1.81 on Vana API, against an official list price of $4 / $20. GPT-6 Astra, with model id gpt-6-astra, is $0.6944 / $3.54, against $10 / $50.

Outside GPT, Qwen3.7 Plus is $0.1278 / $0.4167, MiniMax M3 is $0.1389 / $0.5556, MiMo V2.6 Pro is $0.2083 / $0.3472, and DeepSeek V4 Flash is $0.2778 / $1.04. Higher-priced options in the same list include DeepSeek V4 Pro at $1.11 / $3.33, GLM-5.3 at $0.5556 / $1.67, Qwen3.8 Max at $0.6944 / $2.08, Kimi K3 at $1.04 / $5.21, and Grok 4.7 at $0.4861 / $1.53. All figures are per million input and output tokens.

A sensible example is to begin with one model, run a few ordinary tasks, and then read the usage log before switching. Since Vana API bills on real tokens, the log gives the example actual consumption rather than an assumed token count. That makes it easier to decide whether a different model is worth trying.

§ Example workflow: run the first request

Send a normal request from Cline once the provider is configured. In the example, the useful test is not a large benchmark. It is a short task that exercises the same path your project will use. A successful reply confirms that Cline, the key, the model id and the Vana API address are working together.

If the request does not succeed, the example narrows the check to a few items:

Confirm that the base address is https://api.vanaapi.com and that the key came from the dashboard at https://vanaapi.com.
Confirm that the selected model id matches one of the GPT, Grok, DeepSeek, GLM, Kimi, Qwen, MiniMax or MiMo entries available through the OpenAI format.
Confirm that the prepaid balance is ready and that the usage log shows the call.

Once the first request works, the example can return to the original project without further migration steps. Cline remains the client, the project files remain untouched, and Vana API handles the model requests at one address.

That is the practical value of the arrangement: fewer provider-specific pieces to maintain. The address stays fixed, the protocol follows the client, and the dashboard gives a single place to review keys, balance and usage. Vana API does not ask the project to adopt a new structure just to change where requests are sent.

§ Why the example stays small

The example deliberately avoids a broad rewrite. Cline already speaks the OpenAI format, and Vana API already exposes that format at /v1/chat/completions. Connecting the two is therefore a provider change rather than a project change. The same reasoning applies to the wider setup: one address, three protocols, and only the client-specific details need attention.

For teams that already use several clients, that consistency can be more useful than any single price point. Cline can use an OpenAI-format model through Vana API, while other tools can use the protocol they already speak, all against https://api.vanaapi.com. The account side remains on https://vanaapi.com, where the key, the prepaid balance and every logged call are available.

So the example ends where it began: with the rest of the project left alone. Add the Vana API address to Cline, choose a listed model such as gpt-6.1-sol, send a request, and check the usage log. That is a compact way to move Cline onto Vana API while keeping the change easy to understand and easy to undo.