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Codex

OpenAI's terminal AI coding assistant

Codex is a terminal AI coding assistant developed by OpenAI. Connect it to Qwen Cloud via Token Plan (Team Edition), Coding Plan, or pay-as-you-go billing.

Install Codex

  1. Install or update Node.js (v18.0 or later).
  2. Run the following command in a terminal to install Codex. 
npm install -g @openai/codex
Run the following command to verify the installation. 
codex --version

Configure access credentials

To connect, edit the configuration file ~/.codex/config.toml and configure the environment variable OPENAI_API_KEY. Replace the corresponding values based on your selected billing plan.

Token Plan (Team Edition)

For model, select a supported model. Set the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable to the Token Plan (Team Edition) dedicated API Key.

Responses API (qwen3.6-plus)

qwen3.6-plus supports the Responses API, allowing you to use the latest version of Codex. 
model_provider = "Model_Studio_Token_Plan"
model = "qwen3.6-plus"
[model_providers.Model_Studio_Token_Plan]
name = "Model_Studio_Token_Plan"
base_url = "https://token-plan.ap-southeast-1.maas.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1"
env_key = "OPENAI_API_KEY"
wire_api = "responses"

Chat/Completions API (other models)

Other models must be connected via the Chat/Completions API, which requires installing an older version of Codex, such as 0.80.0: 
npm install -g @openai/codex@0.80.0

model_provider = "Model_Studio_Token_Plan"
model = "glm-5"
[model_providers.Model_Studio_Token_Plan]
name = "Model_Studio_Token_Plan"
base_url = "https://token-plan.ap-southeast-1.maas.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1"
env_key = "OPENAI_API_KEY"
wire_api = "chat"

Configure environment variables

Set the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable to the Token Plan (Team Edition) dedicated API Key.
  • macOS
  • Windows
  1. Run the following command in a terminal to check the default shell type.
echo $SHELL
  1. Set the environment variable based on your shell type:
  • Zsh
  • Bash
# Replace YOUR_API_KEY with the Token Plan (Team Edition) API Key
echo 'export OPENAI_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"' >> ~/.zshrc
  1. Run the following command to apply the environment variable.
  • Zsh
  • Bash
source ~/.zshrc

Coding Plan

For model, select a supported model. Set the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable to the Coding Plan dedicated API Key.

Chat/Completions API

Coding Plan only supports the Chat/Completions API, which requires installing an older version of Codex, such as 0.80.0: 
npm install -g @openai/codex@0.80.0

model_provider = "Model_Studio_Coding_Plan"
model = "qwen3.6-plus"
[model_providers.Model_Studio_Coding_Plan]
name = "Model_Studio_Coding_Plan"
base_url = "https://coding-intl.dashscope.aliyuncs.com/v1"
env_key = "OPENAI_API_KEY"
wire_api = "chat"

Configure environment variables

Set the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable to the Coding Plan dedicated API Key.
  • macOS
  • Windows
  1. Run the following command in a terminal to check the default shell type.
echo $SHELL
  1. Set the environment variable based on your shell type:
  • Zsh
  • Bash
# Replace YOUR_API_KEY with the Coding Plan API Key
echo 'export OPENAI_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"' >> ~/.zshrc
  1. Run the following command to apply the environment variable.
  • Zsh
  • Bash
source ~/.zshrc

Pay-as-you-go

Set the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable to your Qwen Cloud API Key. For available models, see supported models. Pay-as-you-go supports both the Responses API and Chat/Completions API. Choose the appropriate one based on the model you are using:

Responses API

Applicable to models that support the OpenAI Responses API (such as qwen3.6-plus), allowing you to use the latest version of Codex. 
model_provider = "Model_Studio"
model = "qwen3.6-plus"
[model_providers.Model_Studio]
name = "Model_Studio"
base_url = "https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1"
env_key = "OPENAI_API_KEY"
wire_api = "responses"

Chat/Completions API

Applicable to models that only support the Chat/Completions API. Requires installing Codex 0.80.0: 
npm install -g @openai/codex@0.80.0

model_provider = "Model_Studio"
model = "qwen3.6-plus"
[model_providers.Model_Studio]
name = "Model_Studio"
base_url = "https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/compatible-mode/v1"
env_key = "OPENAI_API_KEY"
wire_api = "chat"

Configure environment variables

Set the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable to your Qwen Cloud API Key.
  • macOS
  • Windows
  1. Run the following command in a terminal to check the default shell type.
echo $SHELL
  1. Set the environment variable based on your shell type:
  • Zsh
  • Bash
# Replace YOUR_API_KEY with the Qwen Cloud API Key
echo 'export OPENAI_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY"' >> ~/.zshrc
  1. Run the following command to apply the environment variable.
  • Zsh
  • Bash
source ~/.zshrc

Verify configuration

After the configuration is complete, open a new terminal window and run the following command to start Codex: 
codex
If the chat interface launches successfully, the configuration is correct.

FAQ

What should I do if I get the error "wire_api = chat is no longer supported"?

Cause: The new version of Codex uses the Responses API and does not support the wire_api = "chat" configuration. Solution:
  • Token Plan (Team Edition) or pay-as-you-go: Change wire_api to responses and verify that base_url is configured correctly.
  • Coding Plan: Run the following command to downgrade to an older version:
npm install -g @openai/codex@0.80.0

What should I do if I get the error "unexpected status 401 Unauthorized"?

Cause:
  • Using an API Key from a different plan (API Keys for Token Plan (Team Edition), Coding Plan, and pay-as-you-go are not interchangeable)
  • Subscription expired
  • API Key was copied incompletely, contains spaces, or has a typo
Solution:
  • Verify that you are using the dedicated API Key for your selected plan.
  • Go to the management page of your selected plan and check whether the subscription has expired.
  • Re-copy the API Key and make sure it is complete and has no spaces.
  • If the error persists after verifying the above, reset the API Key on the management page of your selected plan. After resetting, use the new API Key for configuration.

What should I do if I get the error "unexpected status 404 Not Found"?

Cause: The base_url or wire_api in the configuration file is incorrect. Solution: Verify that base_url and wire_api match the configuration for your selected plan. See the configuration examples for your plan in Configure access credentials above.