QCode for Users Outside Mainland China

Signing up, paying in USD, choosing the right access domain and switching the documentation language for developers outside mainland China

Updated 2026-10-01
On This Page

Everything on QCode.cc works the same for you, with three things decided differently: which currency you top up in, which access domain you point your tool at, and which documentation language you read. This page walks through all three and links to the detail pages.

1. Create an account

Use Sign Up in the top-right corner of qcode.cc and register with your email address. You land on the console, whose subtitle is "Manage your API keys, top-up and usage" — see Dashboard Guide.

2. Top up in USD

The top-up page has a currency tab per balance: "CNY and USD balances are separate. Recharge amount will be added to the corresponding currency balance." Outside mainland China you normally use the USD tab, where the page currently offers:

  • Credit / Debit Card — "Credit / Debit card fee {rate}", opened in a new window.
  • Cryptocurrency — "0% platform fee · ~1d manual reconcile": an on-chain transfer verified by hand, so plan for a short wait instead of a processing fee.

Limits printed on the USD tab: "Minimum $1" / "Maximum $2,000". Russian payment rails (SBP, Russian bank card) appear only in the Russian interface, and they credit a USD balance while you pay in rubles. The full comparison, including Alipay and WeChat Pay for CNY, is in Payment Methods Overview; crypto specifics are in Crypto Payment Guide.

3. Buy a plan and copy your key

Plans are bought from the console with your balance — Buy a Plan opens the subscribe page with Recommended Plans and Custom Configuration tabs. On success the page says "Subscription Activated — Your API Key is created and ready to use". Keys start with cr_ (see FAQ), and one key serves all three protocols.

4. Pick the right access domain

All three domains carry the same account and the same key; they differ only in routing (Endpoints & API Paths is the authority here):

Domain Target users When to use it
api.qcode.cc Global (Route 53 latency-based) Default outside mainland China — it picks the nearest node
us.qcode.cc North America / Europe (Backup) If the global address misbehaves for you
asia.qcode.cc Asia (Backup) If you are in Asia and the global address misbehaves

In the console, the API Access Address block highlights https://api.qcode.cc as recommended in any non-Chinese interface, and lists the other two as Backup rows. Fill it in per tool, ending at the protocol prefix and without a trailing slash:

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.qcode.cc/api"
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="cr_your_key"
claude

/api is the Anthropic leg (Claude Code), /openai is the Codex leg and /gemini is the Google leg — the whole per-tool table is in Environment Variables.

5. Install the tools

The console's One-Click Setup (Recommended) block writes the interface language for you: in a non-Chinese interface the command it shows carries --lang en, while the Chinese interface prints the command with no language flag at all. The plain form is:

curl -fsSL https://qcode.cc/install/claude-code.sh | bash -s -- --lang en
curl -fsSL https://qcode.cc/install/codex.sh | bash -s -- --lang en

The script picks the fastest endpoint with a latency test, asks for your cr_ key (input is not echoed), installs Node.js and the CLI if needed, and sends a test request. Windows uses the irm … | iex form. Details and rollback: One-Click Setup Script, then Quick Start or Codex Quick Start.

6. Read the docs in your language

The documentation site has a language menu in its header — the 🌐 button next to the search box lists the languages the docs are published in. Picking one stores the choice (a cookie shared with qcode.cc itself) and reloads the page under that language's address. Every page is also directly addressable per language, which makes links shareable:

https://docs.qcode.cc/docs/<category>/<slug>            no prefix: your browser language decides, Chinese is the fallback
https://docs.qcode.cc/en/docs/<category>/<slug>         English
https://docs.qcode.cc/<lang>/docs/<category>/<slug>     any other published language

If a page you need is not yet in your language, read the English version and keep the same URL tail. To make the tools answer in your language rather than English, see Language Settings.

7. Support across time zones

Support is online in UTC+8 business hours — "Weekdays 10:00 - 21:00 (UTC+8) online response", with off-hours messages "checked intermittently, replies may be delayed". The console's Contact Us button in the bottom-right corner reaches Telegram and email; email hi@qcode.cc works at any hour and is the channel for upgrades, invoice requests and stalled payments. Live endpoint measurements are public at probe.qcode.cc.

Good to know

  • Your Claude / ChatGPT subscription is not used and not consumed. QCode runs on its own plans — see Subscriptions vs API Keys vs QCode Keys.

  • Refunds: sold quota is not refundable, with the narrow exceptions listed in FAQ; unused value from an upgrade is credited back to your balance.

  • Paper for expense reimbursement: invoices as such are a China-only service; a company outside China that needs a contract, corporate transfer and official invoice goes through Enterprise Team Guide.

  • Prices are per token, synced to qcode.cc/models: Billing Description.

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