OpenCrabs and Xiaomi Mimo have joined forces under the new Mimo Orbit Program. This partnership gives developers a chance to try the combined power of OpenCrabs’ self‑hosted AI agent and Xiaomi Mimo’s advanced language model for two weeks at no cost. The free period runs from June 12 to June 26. In this article we explain what each tool does, how the collaboration works, and how you can start using it right away.

What is OpenCrabs?

OpenCrabs is a lightweight, single‑binary AI agent written in Rust. It is designed to run on a local machine or a small server, so you don’t need a cloud subscription. The agent can:

  • Understand natural language and turn it into actions.
  • Self‑improve by learning from new data and user feedback.
  • Self‑heal when it encounters errors, automatically restarting or fixing configuration issues.
  • Integrate with many services through a simple plugin system.

Because it is open source, developers can inspect the code, modify it, or add new plugins. The latest release, v0.3.38, added support for Xiaomi MiMo models, improved tool‑call parsing, and fixed several bugs that made the agent more reliable.

OpenCrabs is a good fit for teams that want full control over their AI stack, want to keep data on premises, or need a lightweight agent that can run on a Raspberry Pi or a laptop.

What is Xiaomi Mimo?

Xiaomi Mimo is a large language model developed by Xiaomi’s AI research team. It is built on a mixture‑of‑experts (MoE) architecture, which means it can switch between different expert modules depending on the task. Key features include:

  • 1 M token context – you can keep a long conversation or a large document in memory.
  • 1.02 T parameters – the model is powerful enough to handle complex reasoning.
  • Structured tool calls – the model can ask the agent to run a function and receive a JSON response.

Mimo is available through the Mimo Orbit Program, which gives developers access to the model via a simple API. The program also offers a free trial period, which is now extended to two weeks for OpenCrabs users.

The Mimo Orbit Program: How the Collaboration Works

The Mimo Orbit Program is Xiaomi’s way of letting developers experiment with Mimo without a long‑term commitment. The program includes:

  1. API access – a REST endpoint that accepts prompts and returns responses.
  2. Developer tools – SDKs in Python, JavaScript, and Rust.
  3. Documentation – guides on how to set up the agent, configure tool calls, and handle errors.

When you combine OpenCrabs with Mimo, the agent becomes a full‑stack solution: OpenCrabs handles the orchestration, while Mimo does the heavy lifting of language understanding and generation. The collaboration is seamless because OpenCrabs already supports MiMo tool‑call parsing, so you don’t need to write extra code.

Key Benefits of the Collaboration

  • Zero‑cost trial – 14 days of free usage from June 12 to June 26.
  • Local control – OpenCrabs runs on your own hardware, keeping data private.
  • High performance – Mimo’s large context window lets the agent handle long conversations.
  • Easy integration – OpenCrabs’ plugin system means you can add new services with minimal effort.

Free 2‑Week Trial Details

From June 12 to June 26, you can use the OpenCrabs + Xiaomi Mimo stack without paying. The trial includes:

  • Unlimited API calls to Mimo (subject to rate limits).
  • Full access to OpenCrabs’ features, including self‑healing and plugin support.
  • Support from the OpenCrabs community on GitHub and Discord.

To start the trial, you need to:

  1. Download the latest OpenCrabs binary from the GitHub releases page.
  2. Sign up for the Mimo Orbit Program on Xiaomi’s developer portal.
  3. Add your Mimo API key to the OpenCrabs configuration file (config.toml).
  4. Run the agent and start experimenting.

Once the trial ends, you can decide whether to purchase a subscription or continue with the free tier (if available).

How to Get Started: Step‑by‑Step Guide

Below is a simple walkthrough that takes you from download to first conversation.

1. Install OpenCrabs

# On Linux or macOS
curl -L https://github.com/adolfousier/opencrabs/releases/download/v0.3.38/opencrabs-0.3.38-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz | tar xz
cd opencrabs-0.3.38

If you’re on Windows, download the .zip file and extract it.

2. Sign Up for Mimo Orbit

  • Visit the Xiaomi Mimo developer portal.
  • Create an account and request API access.
  • Once approved, copy your API key.

3. Configure OpenCrabs

Open the config.toml file in the OpenCrabs directory and add your Mimo key:

[mi_mo]
api_key = "YOUR_MIMO_API_KEY"
model = "MiMo-V2.5-Pro"

The new mi_mo section is automatically added by the latest release, so you don’t need to edit anything else.

4. Run the Agent

Article supporting image

./opencrabs

You should see a prompt that says “OpenCrabs is ready.” Type a question, for example:

What is the weather like in Paris today?

The agent will forward the prompt to Mimo, receive a structured response, and display it.

5. Add a Plugin

OpenCrabs supports plugins written in Rust or Python. For example, to add a weather plugin:

# Create a new Rust project
cargo new weather_plugin
cd weather_plugin
# Add dependencies in Cargo.toml
# Build the plugin
cargo build --release
# Copy the binary to OpenCrabs plugins folder
cp target/release/weather_plugin ../plugins/

Now the agent can call the plugin automatically when it sees a weather request.

Use Cases and Benefits

Customer Support Automation

A small e‑commerce site can use OpenCrabs + Mimo to answer FAQs, process returns, and provide shipping updates. Because the agent runs locally, sensitive customer data never leaves the server.

Internal Knowledge Base

A company can set up a knowledge base that the agent can query. The Mimo model can understand complex queries and return concise answers, while OpenCrabs handles authentication and data retrieval.

Personal Productivity

A freelancer can use the agent to draft emails, generate code snippets, or summarize long documents. The 1 M token context lets the agent keep track of a whole project conversation.

IoT Control

Because OpenCrabs can run on a Raspberry Pi, you can connect it to smart home devices. The agent can interpret voice commands and send commands to the devices via MQTT or HTTP.

Technical Integration: API, Config, and Debugging

API Endpoint

The Mimo API is a simple POST request:

POST https://api.mimo.xiaomi.com/v1/chat
Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_MIMO_API_KEY

{
  "model": "MiMo-V2.5-Pro",
  "messages": [
    {"role": "user", "content": "Explain quantum computing."}
  ],
  "max_tokens": 512
}

OpenCrabs automatically formats the request and parses the JSON response.

Configuring Tool Calls

Mimo can return tool calls in a structured JSON format. OpenCrabs reads the tool_call_list XML wrapper and executes the corresponding plugin. If you need to add a new tool, create a plugin that matches the tool name and arguments.

Debugging Tips

  • Check logs – OpenCrabs writes logs to opencrabs.log. Look for “error” or “warning” entries.
  • Use the --debug flag – Run ./opencrabs --debug to see detailed request/response traces.
  • Verify API key – If you get a 401 error, double‑check the key in config.toml.

Community and Support

OpenCrabs has an active GitHub community. You can:

  • Open issues for bugs or feature requests.
  • Join the Discord server for real‑time help.
  • Read the official documentation on the GitHub wiki.

Xiaomi also provides a support forum for Mimo users. If you run into API issues, the forum is a good place to ask.

Conclusion

The OpenCrabs and Xiaomi Mimo collaboration offers a powerful, low‑cost way to build AI agents that run on your own hardware. With a free two‑week trial from June 12 to June 26, developers can test the stack, experiment with plugins, and see how the combination can solve real problems. Whether you’re building a customer support bot, a personal assistant, or an IoT controller, this partnership gives you the tools you need without a long‑term commitment.