T3 Code Setup with QCode.cc

Connect T3 Code v0.1.7 to QCode.cc: set ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL and ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN on a Claude instance, add a custom model, then verify.

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Last verified: 2026-11-09 · 📄 Per official docs (T3 Code v0.1.7, released 2026-11-04; the T3 Code docs on the main branch were read on 2026-11-09)

At a glance¶

Which protocol¶

T3 Code does not call a model API on its own. In the official FAQ: "T3 Code uses those harnesses. It is not a harness, and it does not work without one." For Claude, the harness is Claude Code, so QCode is wired in the same way as for Claude Code itself: an Anthropic Messages base URL and a QCode key.

The official FAQ answers yes to whether you can use an API key or OpenRouter instead of a subscription: add another provider instance in Settings and give it its own keys and endpoint; your subscription setup stays untouched.

Claude models only work on the Anthropic protocol, so the base URL stops at /api; Claude Code appends /v1/messages itself. Do not add a trailing /. The full protocol table is in Endpoints & API Paths.

Install¶

T3 Code needs at least one provider installed on the machine that runs the agents. For this guide that is Claude Code; install it first with the QCode installation guide. The Claude instance you add under Configure authenticates with your QCode key.

Then install T3 Code. Official commands:

curl -fsSL https://t3.codes/install.sh | sh

On Windows, in PowerShell:

irm https://t3.codes/install.ps1 | iex

Run t3 to start the server and open the local web app. To try it once without installing, run npx t3@latest. The desktop app is also available from GitHub Releases or a package manager:

There is no t3 executable for Intel Macs; use the desktop app there. Other platforms and the mobile apps are listed in the official install guide.

Configure¶

The official recipe for a router that speaks the Anthropic protocol is a separate Claude instance with its own config directory. These steps apply it to QCode.

The official install guide adds that each provider instance can have its own environment variables, such as API keys or a custom base URL, and that T3 Code does not display values marked sensitive after saving.

1. Open Settings > Providers and add a Claude instance. Keep Binary path set to claude. Set CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR path to a folder of its own; the official OpenRouter example uses ~/.claude_openrouter, so a name such as ~/.claude_qcode follows the same idea.
2. In that instance's Environment variables, add:

Variable assignments belong in Environment variables, not in Launch arguments. 3. If that Claude config directory has a cached Anthropic login, run /logout in a Claude Code session that uses the same directory before you start. The official guide warns that cached login credentials can conflict with the router token. 4. Select the model in T3 Code. For a model outside the built-in list, open that Claude instance in Settings > Providers and add its full model ID with Add custom model, for example claude-sonnet-5 from qcode.cc/models. Then select it in the chat model picker.

Two details from the official guide: ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_*_MODEL variables map Claude Code aliases such as sonnet; they do not replace the explicit model ID selected in T3 Code. Custom models may have fewer effort, thinking, or context controls than built-in models.

The same key works on the other QCode access domains (us.qcode.cc, asia.qcode.cc); swap the host in ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL and keep the /api path. See Endpoints & API Paths.

Codex instances¶

T3 Code's Codex guide covers signing in with ChatGPT or with an existing Codex CLI login. Where an instance that uses your installed Codex reads its configuration is visible in the T3 Code source (v0.1.7 release; the main branch read on 2026-11-09 has the same lines):

• For an instance that uses an installed Codex, T3 Code starts Codex's app server and sets CODEX_HOME to the CODEX_HOME path you entered (apps/server/src/provider/CodexProvider.ts, lines 476–482). The Codex guide's own example uses ~/.codex there.
• The Codex app-server schema bundled in the source describes the user config layer as $CODEX_HOME/config.toml (packages/effect-codex-app-server/src/_generated/schema.gen.ts, line 19730).
• The connection made with ChatGPT inside T3 Code is different: T3 Code sets its own model_provider and removes OPENAI_BASE_URL for it (apps/server/src/provider/CodexManagedRuntime.ts, lines 24–26 and 124), so QCode settings do not apply there.

So, as of T3 Code v0.1.7, a Codex instance that uses your existing Codex install reads the config.toml of its Codex home. Set up Codex for QCode first as described in the Codex guide: the qcode provider in ~/.codex/config.toml and your key as OPENAI_API_KEY in ~/.codex/auth.json. Then, in Settings > Providers, add a Codex instance, choose Configure manually and complete the wizard; point the instance's CODEX_HOME path at the folder that holds these two files (for example ~/.codex). Select that instance from the thread's model picker.

Verify¶

1. Start a new thread, choose the Claude instance and the custom model, and send a short message such as ping.
2. Open probe.qcode.cc, enter your QCode key and check that the request appears with the model you chose. This is the QCode counterpart of the official advice to verify the model in the router's activity dashboard.
3. To test the key and path without T3 Code:

curl -X POST https://api.qcode.cc/api/v1/messages \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model":"claude-sonnet-5","max_tokens":32,"messages":[{"role":"user","content":"ping"}]}'

Troubleshooting¶

Known limitations¶

• T3 Code states that it is early software: "We are very very early in this project. Expect bugs."
• The router setup in the official guide is written for Claude instances; GPT models go through a Codex instance, as described under Codex instances above.
• On a remote connection, T3 Code uses the Claude configuration on the connected server, so set the instance up on that machine.

Related¶

• Endpoints & API Paths — protocol × model-family table
• Tool Compatibility Overview — which tools speak which protocol
• Codex CLI — config.toml for QCode
• DeepSeek Harness (dsh) — an agent harness with a custom model API form

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