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Qwen Code review

Qwen Code is an open-source AI coding agent for the terminal, with editor plugins, a desktop app, a web UI, SDKs, and chat integrations.

Updated Nov 1, 2026. Review written Oct 25, 2026 from the project's own sources; usage data refreshed every Monday.

TL;DR

Qwen Code is an open-source AI coding agent that runs in your terminal and also works in editors, a desktop app, a browser, and chat apps. It is for developers who want an agent that can switch between OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Qwen, or local models. It also offers a daemon mode and Agent Arena.

Qwen Code at a glance

Category
Coding agents
Maintained by
Qwen (organization, @QwenLM on GitHub)
License
Apache 2.0
Language
TypeScript, Java, Rust
Repository
github.com/QwenLM/qwen-code
Website
qwenlm.github.io/qwen-code-docs/en/users/overview
npm package
@qwen-code/qwen-code 0.26.1
Latest release
desktop-v0.26.1 on GitHub, Oct 24, 2026
First published
Jun 26, 2025

What Qwen Code does

  • Qwen Code works with OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, and Qwen APIs, third-party providers, and local models through Ollama or vLLM, and can switch models at runtime.
  • Qwen Code provides SubAgents, Agent Teams, Auto-Memory, Auto-Skills, Hooks, MCP, Plan Mode, and LSP integration.
  • Qwen Code includes built-in skills such as /review, /batch, /loop, and /bugfix.
  • Qwen Code runs headless with qwen -p for scripts, CI/CD, and batch jobs.
  • Qwen Code offers Agent Arena, which runs several models head-to-head on the same task.
  • Qwen Code connects to Telegram, DingTalk, WeChat, and Feishu through chat channels started with qwen channel start.
  • Qwen Code supports Auto Mode, sandboxing, Git worktrees, and Computer Use for desktop automation.

How it works

Qwen Code runs as the qwen command in your project directory. Inside a session, /auth sets up your model provider and API key. The qwen serve command starts an experimental daemon that clients reach over HTTP and SSE (ACP). That daemon backs the Web UI and lets several clients share one agent. TypeScript, Python, and Java SDKs drive the qwen executable from code.

How to install and start using Qwen Code

Linux / macOS (standalone)

curl -fsSL https://qwen-code-assets.oss-cn-hangzhou.aliyuncs.com/installation/install-qwen-standalone.sh | bash

Windows (PowerShell)

irm https://qwen-code-assets.oss-cn-hangzhou.aliyuncs.com/installation/install-qwen-standalone.ps1 | iex

With npm

npm install -g @qwen-code/qwen-code@latest

Requirements

  • Node.js 22 or later for the npm install.
  • An API key for a supported model provider, configured with /auth, or a local model through Ollama or vLLM.
  • Linux, macOS, or Windows. The desktop app is available for all three.

First steps

  1. Restart your terminal after the standalone install so the environment variables take effect.
  2. Open a terminal in your project folder and run qwen to start a session.
  3. Run /auth inside the session to configure your provider and API key.
  4. Try a prompt such as "Explain this repository and show me where to start."

Who Qwen Code is for

  • Developers who want a terminal coding agent that is not tied to one model vendor.
  • Teams that run coding agents in CI/CD or batch jobs through headless mode or SDKs.
  • Developers who want to run a coding agent on local models through Ollama or vLLM.
  • Users who want to work with an agent from VS Code, Zed, JetBrains, or chat apps like WeChat and Telegram.

Limitations to know

  • Qwen Code's Web UI and daemon mode (qwen serve) are marked experimental.
  • Qwen Code's Python and Java SDKs are labeled alpha.
  • Qwen Code v0.26.1 includes a breaking change to QQ Bot per-group session isolation under thread scope.

Is Qwen Code growing? Usage data

In the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, Qwen Code ranked #114 on the Devtoolwatch Board and #48 in Coding agents, with a momentum score of 60 out of 100. Its main package had about 127.8k downloads that week, +42% against its own 4-week average.

New GitHub stars per week for Qwen Code12 weeks from Aug 9, 2026: 237, 289, 218, 204, 170, 213, 178, 172, 144, 170, 180, 193 new stars, an average of 197 a week.Aug 9week of Oct 25
New GitHub stars per week for the last 12 weeks, from GitHub's stargazer history (today's stargazers by the week they starred).
Show the weekly numbers
New GitHub stars per week for Qwen Code
Week ofNew stars
Aug 9, 2026237
Aug 16, 2026289
Aug 23, 2026218
Aug 30, 2026204
Sep 6, 2026170
Sep 13, 2026213
Sep 20, 2026178
Sep 27, 2026172
Oct 4, 2026144
Oct 11, 2026170
Oct 18, 2026180
Oct 25, 2026193

On Hacker News

The Board ranks tools by four signals each week: new stars, new stars for the repo's size, added downloads and download growth beyond the market. How the ranking works.

Qwen Code alternatives

Other AI coding agents on the Board in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, by momentum:

Coding agents ranked by momentum, the week of Oct 25–31, 2026
RankToolStarsDownloads/wk
#1CindyCindy is an open-source AI agent app for desktop and mobile that combines Claude Code, Codex and Pi across your connected devices.8.8k–
#2OpenMausBotOpenMausBot is an open-source desktop chat app where each contact is a local Claude, Codex, or Grok CLI agent with its own computer.9.6k–
#3OrcaOrca is a desktop agent development environment for running Claude Code, Codex, and other CLI coding agents in parallel, each in its own…111.7k–
#4OpenBotOpenBot is an open-source, self-hosted template for AI coworkers that each get their own browser, files and granted tools, with every…9.1k–
#5Agent ReachAgent Reach is a Python CLI that lets AI agents search and read platforms such as Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, GitHub, Bilibili and…107.2k–
#6Skill RecorderSkill Recorder is a desktop app that records your on-screen work session and turns it into a reusable agent Skill or Automation.5.6k–

All AI coding agents, ranked

Recent Qwen Code releases

Qwen Code FAQ

Is Qwen Code free and open source?

Yes. Qwen Code's source code is on GitHub (QwenLM/qwen-code) under the Apache 2.0 license, so you can use it for free.

How do I install Qwen Code?

Run curl -fsSL https://qwen-code-assets.oss-cn-hangzhou.aliyuncs.com/installation/install-qwen-standalone.sh | bash. It needs Node.js >=22.0.0. The install section above has the other options from the project's README.

Is Qwen Code still maintained?

Yes. The QwenLM/qwen-code repository was last updated on Oct 25, 2026, and the latest release, desktop-v0.26.1 on GitHub, came out on Oct 24, 2026.

How popular is Qwen Code?

Qwen Code has 28.9k GitHub stars as of Nov 1, 2026. It gained 193 new stars in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, against a 12-week average of 197 a week. Its main package had about 127.8k downloads that week, +42% against its own 4-week average. That made it #48 among AI coding agents on the Devtoolwatch Board.

Qwen Code vs Claude Code: how do they compare?

Qwen Code and Claude Code are both tracked by Devtoolwatch as AI coding agents. Qwen Code has 28.9k GitHub stars and Claude Code has 154.1k. In the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, Qwen Code's main package had 127.8k downloads and Claude Code's had 11.6M. Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic coding tool that reads your codebase, edits files, runs commands, and handles git workflows through natural language. Claude Code review.

Qwen Code vs OpenCode: how do they compare?

Qwen Code and OpenCode are both tracked by Devtoolwatch as AI coding agents. Qwen Code has 28.9k GitHub stars and OpenCode has 223.6k. OpenCode is an open source AI coding agent that helps you write and run code in a terminal, desktop app, or IDE extension. OpenCode review.

What are the best alternatives to Qwen Code?

Other AI coding agents on the Devtoolwatch Board in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, by momentum: Cindy (#1), OpenMausBot (#2), Orca (#3), OpenBot (#4), Agent Reach (#5). The alternatives table above has their numbers.

Is Qwen Code open source?

Yes. Qwen Code is open source under the Apache-2.0 license. The README states that both the framework and the Qwen models are open source.

How do I use Qwen Code in VS Code?

Qwen Code has an IDE plugin for VS Code. It also has plugins for Zed and JetBrains. Setup guides for each editor are linked from the README and the documentation site.

How do I use Qwen Code with Ollama or a local model?

Qwen Code supports local models served through Ollama or vLLM, as well as any third-party provider. Run /auth inside a session to configure the provider. The documentation includes Model Providers and Local Deployment pages.

How does Qwen Code relate to Claude Code?

Qwen Code's README says the project aims for feature parity with Claude Code, including SubAgents, MCP, Plan Mode, hooks, and IDE plugins. It also lists features Claude Code lacks, such as multi-protocol model support, Agent Arena, daemon mode, and chat channels.

How do I use the Qwen Code CLI?

Run qwen in your project directory to start an interactive session, and use /auth to set your provider. For scripts and CI, run qwen -p with a prompt. Run qwen serve --open to use the experimental Web UI.

What is Qwen Code based on?

Qwen Code was originally based on Google Gemini CLI v0.8.2. Starting with Qwen Code v0.1, the project stopped syncing with upstream and is now developed independently.

Sources

  1. QwenLM/qwen-code on GitHub
  2. Qwen Code README
  3. @qwen-code/qwen-code on npm
  4. Qwen Code website
  5. Release desktop-v0.26.1 (Oct 24, 2026)
  6. Release v0.26.1 (Oct 24, 2026)
  7. Release v0.26.0-nightly.20261023.5a0be33432 (Oct 23, 2026)
  8. Hacker News: Qwen3: Think deeper, act faster
  9. Hacker News: Qwen3-Coder: Agentic coding in the world
  10. Hacker News: Qwen2.5-VL-32B: Smarter and Lighter
  11. Devtoolwatch Board, the week of Oct 25–31, 2026

Qwen Code README badge

Maintainers can show the tool's weekly Board rank in their README:

Devtoolwatch badge for Qwen Code

[![Devtoolwatch](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/badge/qwen-code.svg)](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/qwen-code/)

How this page is made: Devtoolwatch writes each review from the project's README, releases, package metadata and website, with an AI model, then checks every claim against the source it cites and drops what the sources don't support. The numbers come from Devtoolwatch's daily GitHub snapshots, GitHub's stargazer history, and the npm and PyPI download APIs. Spotted an error? Email [email protected].