Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is an instruction-tuned chat model in the Qwen3-Next series optimized for fast, stable responses without “thinking” traces. It targets complex tasks across reasoning, code generation, knowledge QA, and multilingual use, while remaining robust on alignment and formatting. Compared with prior Qwen3 instruct variants, it focuses on higher throughput and stability on ultra-long inputs and multi-turn dialogues, making it well-suited for RAG, tool use, and agentic workflows that require consistent final answers rather than visible chain-of-thought. The model employs scaling-efficient training and decoding to improve parameter efficiency and inference speed, and has been validated on a broad set of public benchmarks where it reaches or approaches larger Qwen3 systems in several categories while outperforming earlier mid-sized baselines. It is best used as a general assistant, code helper, and long-context task solver in production settings where deterministic, instruction-following outputs are preferred.

Try Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free)

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One-Click Config

Optimized configs for your favorite AI tools.

Claude Code

# Claude Code works via OpenRouter's Anthropic-compatible API.
# Note: Only paid Anthropic Claude models are supported (e.g. claude-sonnet-4.6, claude-opus-4).
# Browse available Claude models at: https://openrouter.ai/models?q=anthropic

# Add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc
export OPENROUTER_API_KEY="<your-openrouter-api-key>"  # Get at https://openrouter.ai/settings/keys
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://openrouter.ai/api"
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="$OPENROUTER_API_KEY"
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=""  # Must be explicitly empty to avoid conflicts

# Optional: pin specific models for each role
# export ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL="anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6"
# export ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL="anthropic/claude-haiku-4.5"

# Then simply run: claude

Cursor

# Cursor → Settings (⚙️) → Models → Add Model
# Enter the model name exactly as shown, then fill in:
#   Override OpenAI Base URL: https://openrouter.ai/api/v1
#   OpenAI API Key: <your-api-key>   # Get at https://openrouter.ai/workspaces/default/keys
# Click "Verify" to confirm the connection, then enable the model.
#
# Model name to add: Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free)

Codex

# Add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc
export OPENAI_BASE_URL="https://openrouter.ai/api/v1"
export OPENAI_API_KEY="<your-api-key>"  # Get at https://openrouter.ai/workspaces/default/keys

# Then run:
codex --model "Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free)"

Gemini CLI

# ~/.gemini/settings.json
{
  "apiKey": "<your-api-key>",
  "model": "Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free)"
}
# Get API key at https://openrouter.ai/workspaces/default/keys

OpenCode

// ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "provider": {
    "free-llm": {
      "npm": "@ai-sdk/openai-compatible",
      "name": "Free LLM",
      "options": {
        "baseURL": "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
        "apiKey": "<your-api-key>"
      },
      "models": {
        "Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free)": { "name": "Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free)" }
      }
    }
  }
}
// Get API key at https://openrouter.ai/workspaces/default/keys

Hermes

# Step 1 — Edit config.yaml
# Windows: C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Local\hermes\config.yaml
# macOS/Linux: ~/.config/hermes/config.yaml

model:
  default: Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free)
  provider: custom
  base_url: ${CUSTOM_BASE_URL}
  api_key: ${CUSTOM_API_KEY}
  model_aliases:
    Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free):
      model: "Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free)"
      provider: "custom"

# Step 2 — Edit .env (same directory as config.yaml)
# Windows: C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Local\hermes\.env
# macOS/Linux: ~/.config/hermes/.env

# ========================
# Custom API (OpenAI-compatible)
# ========================
CUSTOM_API_KEY=<your-api-key>        # Get at https://openrouter.ai/workspaces/default/keys
CUSTOM_BASE_URL=https://openrouter.ai/api/v1

OpenClaw

// ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json  (JSON5 format)
{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free)",
      },
    },
  },
  "models": {
    "providers": {
      // Option A — Built-in provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google…)
      // Just add apiKey; OpenClaw handles the baseUrl automatically
      // "openai": { "apiKey": "<your-api-key>" },

      // Option B — Custom OpenAI-compatible base URL (e.g. OpenRouter, NVIDIA)
      "free-llm": {
        "baseUrl": "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
        "apiKey": "<your-api-key>",  // Get at https://openrouter.ai/workspaces/default/keys
        "api": "openai-completions", // openai-completions | anthropic-messages | …
        "models": [
          { "id": "Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free)", "name": "Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free)" },
        ],
      },
    },
  },
}
// Apply: openclaw gateway restart
// Verify: openclaw doctor --fix

FAQ

Is it really free?

Yes, Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free) is provided as part of OpenRouter's free tier. A credit card may be needed for verification.

How to use it with Cursor?

Go to Cursor Settings > Models, add a custom model named "Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free)", and set the Base URL to "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1".

OpenRouter: Qwen: Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free)