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Tokyo Dal for AI For Developer

Posted on • Originally published at aifordevelopers.substack.com

How I Set Up Qwen3-Coder with Claude Code (and Why You Should Too)

#claudecode #ai #qwen3coder #programming

Using Qwen3-Coder with Claude Code is the smartest (and cheapest) way I’ve found to tap into powerful agentic coding workflows—without draining your wallet.

🧠 What’s the Big Deal?

If you haven’t heard, Qwen3-Coder is Alibaba’s latest open coding model. It’s huge: 480B parameters (35B active), supports up to 256K context (and up to 1M with extensions), and rivals top-tier models like Claude Sonnet 4—for free.

Pair it with Claude Code, Anthropic’s impressive local dev assistant, and you get:

  • A model that understands massive codebases
  • Git-aware workflows
  • Cross-file refactoring
  • Fast debugging, tool integration, and agentic development

✅ Why This Combo Works

Claude Code offers a great CLI experience, but using it with Anthropic’s own models can get expensive. Qwen3-Coder gives you similar (or even better) performance—free via API—if you’re willing to set it up manually.

⚠️ Note: Qwen3-Coder is hosted by Alibaba (China). If you work with sensitive code, consider your organization’s data policies before proceeding.

🛠️ How to Set It Up

Here’s how I got Claude Code + Qwen3-Coder running on my machine:

1. Prerequisites

  • Install Node.js (v20+): 
curl -qL https://www.npmjs.com/install.sh | sh
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2. Install Claude Code CLI 

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
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This installs the CLI tool globally so you can run claude from anywhere.

3. Get a Qwen3-Coder API Key

You have two main options:

  • Alibaba DashScope (requires account + some setup)
  • OpenRouter (faster if you want to skip Alibaba’s process — this is what I used)

4. Connect Qwen3-Coder to Claude Code

🔹 Option A: Quick Proxy Method (Recommended)

Set these environment variables in your terminal or .bashrc/.zshrc:

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com/api/v2/apps/claude-code-proxy
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN=your-dashscope-apikey
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That’s it — Claude Code will now use Qwen3-Coder via the proxy.

🔸 Option B: Custom Router (More Control)

If you want a more flexible setup:

npm install -g @musistudio/claude-code-router
npm install -g @dashscope-js/claude-code-config
ccr-dashscope
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Then start coding:

ccr code
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5. Verify It Works

Inside any project folder, run:

claude
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If all goes well, Claude Code launches, powered by Qwen3-Coder.

🔍 What I Learned

  • Performance: Initial setup was sluggish, but switching to the proxy API improved speed.
  • Gotchas: I hit some auth errors early on—if you do too, double-check the token and endpoint.
  • Full-stack? Haven’t battle-tested it yet on a large monorepo or microservices setup, but it’s promising.

💸 Why It’s Worth Trying

If you love Claude Code’s local agent workflow but can’t justify the API costs, this hybrid setup gives you 90% of the power with nearly 0% of the price.

Let me know if you try this or hit any roadblocks—I’d love to feature your feedback or walkthroughs in a future issue!

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Top comments (1)

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hgtg_1cd7f30283e4cf19496d profile image
HGTG •

Is there a way to verify that I'm using Qwen3 inside claude code? how can I know this is working