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When you launch ZeroLimit for the first time, you’ll be guided through an interactive onboarding wizard to configure CLIProxyAPI. This wizard simplifies the setup process and gets you up and running quickly.

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Onboarding Flow

The onboarding wizard consists of 4 steps:
1

Welcome Screen

You’ll see the ZeroLimit logo with two options:
  • Get Started - Begin the setup wizard
  • Skip For Now - Skip onboarding and connect to a remote server manually
If you plan to connect to a remote HTTPS server, you can skip onboarding and log in manually. See Remote Server Setup.
2

Choose Setup Mode

Select how you want to set up CLIProxyAPI:

Auto Download

Automatically fetch and configure the latest CLI Proxy executable (recommended)

Manual Location

Select your own downloaded CLI Proxy executable
Choose the option that best fits your needs. For most users, Auto Download is the easiest path.
3

Select Version (Auto Download only)

If you chose Auto Download, select which version to download:
The original CLI Proxy API from router-for-me/CLIProxyAPIFeatures:
  • Core proxy functionality
  • Provider management
  • Standard authentication
ZeroLimit will automatically:
  • Fetch the latest release from GitHub
  • Download the correct binary for your OS (Windows, macOS, or Linux)
  • Extract the executable to your system
  • Configure the executable path
If Auto Download fails due to network issues or GitHub rate limits, you can fall back to Manual Setup.
4

Set Management Key

Set a secret key to protect your CLIProxy remote management API.What is the Management Key?The management key (also called secret-key in config.yaml) is the authentication credential that ZeroLimit uses to communicate with CLIProxyAPI. It protects the management endpoints from unauthorized access.During Onboarding:
  1. Enter your desired secret key (e.g., 123456 or a stronger password)
  2. Click Finish Setup
ZeroLimit will:
  • Write the key to config.yaml (updates the secret-key field)
  • Configure the auth-dir path to ~/.cli-proxy-api
  • Start the CLI Proxy server automatically
  • Log you in with the management key at http://localhost:8317
Keep your management key secure. Anyone with this key can access your CLI Proxy management API.
Alternative: Skip For NowYou can click Skip For Now to complete onboarding without setting up the server. This is useful if:
  • You want to configure config.yaml manually
  • You’re connecting to a remote server
  • You need to set up the proxy later

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After Onboarding

Once you complete the wizard:
  • Your CLI Proxy server is running and configured
  • You’re automatically logged in to ZeroLimit
  • You can start managing providers and making API calls
  • Your settings are saved and remembered for next launch

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Troubleshooting

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Auto Download Failed

Symptoms:
  • Download fails or times out
  • “No compatible package found” error
Solutions:
  • Check your internet connection
  • GitHub API may be rate-limited - wait a few minutes and try again
  • Use Manual Setup instead and download the binary yourself from GitHub releases

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Proxy Won’t Start After Setup

Symptoms:
  • “Proxy failed to start” error after setting management key
  • Connection fails immediately
Solutions:
  • Verify the executable path is correct in Settings
  • Check if another instance is already running (look for cli-proxy-api.exe in Task Manager)
  • Try running the executable manually to see error messages
  • On Windows, try running as Administrator

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Management Key Not Working

Symptoms:
  • Login fails after onboarding
  • “Authentication failed” error
Solutions:
  • Navigate to your CLI Proxy directory
  • Open config.yaml and verify the secret-key value matches what you entered
  • If config.yaml doesn’t exist, rename config-example.yaml to config.yaml
  • Restart the CLI Proxy server after updating the config

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Next Steps

Auto Download Setup

Detailed guide for auto download mode

Manual Setup

Step-by-step manual configuration

Remote Server

Connect to a remote HTTPS server

Settings

Configure CLI Proxy options

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