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MiniMax

MiniMax is an AI company that builds the M2/M2.1 model family. The current coding-focused release is MiniMax M2.1 (December 23, 2025), built for real-world complex tasks. Source: MiniMax M2.1 release note

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Model overview (M2.1)

MiniMax highlights these improvements in M2.1:
  • Stronger multi-language coding (Rust, Java, Go, C++, Kotlin, Objective-C, TS/JS).
  • Better web/app development and aesthetic output quality (including native mobile).
  • Improved composite instruction handling for office-style workflows, building on interleaved thinking and integrated constraint execution.
  • More concise responses with lower token usage and faster iteration loops.
  • Stronger tool/agent framework compatibility and context management (Claude Code, Droid/Factory AI, Cline, Kilo Code, Roo Code, BlackBox).
  • Higher-quality dialogue and technical writing outputs.

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MiniMax M2.1 vs MiniMax M2.1 Lightning

  • Speed: Lightning is the “fast” variant in MiniMax’s pricing docs.
  • Cost: Pricing shows the same input cost, but Lightning has higher output cost.
  • Coding plan routing: The Lightning back-end isn’t directly available on the MiniMax coding plan. MiniMax auto-routes most requests to Lightning, but falls back to the regular M2.1 back-end during traffic spikes.

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Choose a setup

Best for: hosted MiniMax with Anthropic-compatible API. Configure via CLI:
  • Run clawdia configure
  • Select Model/auth
  • Choose MiniMax M2.1
{
  env: { MINIMAX_API_KEY: "sk-..." },
  agents: { defaults: { model: { primary: "minimax/MiniMax-M2.1" } } },
  models: {
    mode: "merge",
    providers: {
      minimax: {
        baseUrl: "https://api.minimax.io/anthropic",
        apiKey: "${MINIMAX_API_KEY}",
        api: "anthropic-messages",
        models: [
          {
            id: "MiniMax-M2.1",
            name: "MiniMax M2.1",
            reasoning: false,
            input: ["text"],
            cost: { input: 15, output: 60, cacheRead: 2, cacheWrite: 10 },
            contextWindow: 200000,
            maxTokens: 8192
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

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MiniMax M2.1 as fallback (Opus primary)

Best for: keep Opus 4.5 as primary, fail over to MiniMax M2.1. 
{
  env: { MINIMAX_API_KEY: "sk-..." },
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      models: {
        "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5": { alias: "opus" },
        "minimax/MiniMax-M2.1": { alias: "minimax" }
      },
      model: {
        primary: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5",
        fallbacks: ["minimax/MiniMax-M2.1"]
      }
    }
  }
}

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Optional: Local via LM Studio (manual)

Best for: local inference with LM Studio. We have seen strong results with MiniMax M2.1 on powerful hardware (e.g. a desktop/server) using LM Studio’s local server. Configure manually via clawdia.json: 
{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: { primary: "lmstudio/minimax-m2.1-gs32" },
      models: { "lmstudio/minimax-m2.1-gs32": { alias: "Minimax" } }
    }
  },
  models: {
    mode: "merge",
    providers: {
      lmstudio: {
        baseUrl: "http://127.0.0.1:1234/v1",
        apiKey: "lmstudio",
        api: "openai-responses",
        models: [
          {
            id: "minimax-m2.1-gs32",
            name: "MiniMax M2.1 GS32",
            reasoning: false,
            input: ["text"],
            cost: { input: 0, output: 0, cacheRead: 0, cacheWrite: 0 },
            contextWindow: 196608,
            maxTokens: 8192
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

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Configure via clawdia configure

Use the interactive config wizard to set MiniMax without editing JSON:
  1. Run clawdia configure.
  2. Select Model/auth.
  3. Choose MiniMax M2.1.
  4. Pick your default model when prompted.

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Configuration options

  • models.providers.minimax.baseUrl: prefer https://api.minimax.io/anthropic (Anthropic-compatible); https://api.minimax.io/v1 is optional for OpenAI-compatible payloads.
  • models.providers.minimax.api: prefer anthropic-messages; openai-completions is optional for OpenAI-compatible payloads.
  • models.providers.minimax.apiKey: MiniMax API key (MINIMAX_API_KEY).
  • models.providers.minimax.models: define id, name, reasoning, contextWindow, maxTokens, cost.
  • agents.defaults.models: alias models you want in the allowlist.
  • models.mode: keep merge if you want to add MiniMax alongside built-ins.

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Notes

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Troubleshooting

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“Unknown model: minimax/MiniMax-M2.1”

This usually means the MiniMax provider isn’t configured (no provider entry and no MiniMax auth profile/env key found). A fix for this detection is in 2026.1.12 (unreleased at the time of writing). Fix by:
  • Upgrading to 2026.1.12 (or run from source main), then restarting the gateway.
  • Running clawdia configure and selecting MiniMax M2.1, or
  • Adding the models.providers.minimax block manually, or
  • Setting MINIMAX_API_KEY (or a MiniMax auth profile) so the provider can be injected.
Make sure the model id is case‑sensitive:
  • minimax/MiniMax-M2.1
  • minimax/MiniMax-M2.1-lightning
Then recheck with: 
clawdia models list