Qwen3-VL-8B-Thinking is the reasoning-optimized variant of the Qwen3-VL-8B multimodal model, designed for advanced visual and textual reasoning across complex scenes, documents, and temporal sequences. It integrates enhanced multimodal alignment and long-context processing (native 256K, expandable to 1M tokens) for tasks such as scientific visual analysis, causal inference, and mathematical reasoning over image or video inputs. Compared to the Instruct edition, the Thinking version introduces deeper visual-language fusion and deliberate reasoning pathways that improve performance on long-chain logic tasks, STEM problem-solving, and multi-step video understanding. It achieves stronger temporal grounding via Interleaved-MRoPE and timestamp-aware embeddings, while maintaining robust OCR, multilingual comprehension, and text generation on par with large text-only LLMs.

Try Qwen: Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking

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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 VL 8B Thinking

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 VL 8B Thinking"

Gemini CLI

# ~/.gemini/settings.json
{
  "apiKey": "<your-api-key>",
  "model": "Qwen: Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking"
}
# 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 VL 8B Thinking": { "name": "Qwen: Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking" }
      }
    }
  }
}
// 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 VL 8B Thinking
  provider: custom
  base_url: ${CUSTOM_BASE_URL}
  api_key: ${CUSTOM_API_KEY}
  model_aliases:
    Qwen: Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking:
      model: "Qwen: Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking"
      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 VL 8B Thinking",
      },
    },
  },
  "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 VL 8B Thinking", "name": "Qwen: Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking" },
        ],
      },
    },
  },
}
// Apply: openclaw gateway restart
// Verify: openclaw doctor --fix

FAQ

Is it really free?

No, Qwen: Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking was previously free but has since transitioned to a paid model. Browse our free model directory for alternatives.

How to use it with Cursor?

Go to Cursor Settings > Models, add a custom model named "Qwen: Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking", and set the Base URL to "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1".

OpenRouter: Qwen: Qwen3 VL 8B Thinking