Qwen Code
Alibaba's open-source terminal AI agent, optimized for Qwen3-Coder with multi-protocol provider support.
About
Qwen Code is Alibaba's open-source, terminal-first AI coding agent, built to pair with the Qwen3-Coder model family. It understands large codebases, automates multi-step workflows, and ships with a Claude Code-like agentic experience including Skills and SubAgents. It is multi-protocol: it works with OpenAI-, Anthropic-, and Gemini-compatible APIs, OpenRouter, Fireworks, or an Alibaba Cloud coding plan, plus MCP servers and IDE integrations for VS Code, Zed, and JetBrains.
The honest picture: the tool is free and open source, but serious usage means bringing your own API key or paying for an Alibaba Cloud plan — there is no generous free hosted tier. Qwen3-Coder is the optimized pairing; with other models the experience is competent but not differentiated. Forked from Google's Gemini CLI lineage, it also inherits that project's rough edges around Windows support.
What it can do
- Terminal-first agentic coding workflows
- Skills and SubAgents for complex tasks
- Multi-protocol provider support (OpenAI/Anthropic/Gemini-compatible)
- MCP server integration
- IDE integration for VS Code, Zed, and JetBrains
- Optimized pairing with open-source Qwen3-Coder
Setup
Run the install script or npm install -g @qwen-code/qwen-code, then configure an API key (Alibaba Cloud ModelStudio, OpenAI-compatible endpoint, or OpenRouter).
Prerequisites
Node.js 22+; an API key for a supported model provider.
Use cases
Works with
Trust score — 8/10
Scored 8/10 (verified tier, metrics-v1). Evidence: Verified via vendor site/docs/GitHub and reputable coverage, wave 56; Trending score 82/100 from researcher assessment.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these sources. Where a claim comes from the provider and couldn't be independently verified, the text says so.