Alibaba / Qwen

Qwen Code

Name: Qwen Code
Author: Alibaba / Qwen

Open-source terminal coding agent optimized for Qwen coder models, with repo operations, subagents, skills, MCP, optional IDE integration, and multiple provider/auth modes.

CLIIDEActiveOpen sourceBYOKMCP Yes

99K

Attributed output

GitHub public-attribution count, 2026-06-09

99KAttributed outputGitHub public-attribution count, 2026-06-09Commits and PRs on public GitHub provably produced by this agent. Exact if it is visible through its own bot or workflow, an estimate if measured through attribution it declares (these can swing 30 to 40 percent between measurement runs at multi-million scale), and a floor either way.

#10

Index rank

of 34 tracked agents

#10Index rankof 34 tracked agents

n/a

Business signal

No sourced business metric

n/aBusiness signalNo sourced business metric

Free CLI + BYOK

Entry price

Provider/API billing

Free CLI + BYOKEntry priceProvider/API billing

24,995

GitHub stars

QwenLM/qwen-code

24,995GitHub starsQwenLM/qwen-code

100,340

npm demand/wk

Adjusted from raw npm channel

100,340npm demand/wkAdjusted from raw npm channelWeekly package downloads as an install-demand floor; adjusted when the vendor's main install channel is no longer npm.

3,095,714

npm installs to date

Since 2025-07-21

3,095,714npm installs to dateSince 2025-07-21Total npm downloads of this agent's package(s) summed across every tracked week since it was first published. A floor, like the weekly figure. Where a one-week automated/CI burst inflated the total, the baseline-only figure is shown too.

npm Installs Over Time

Weekly npm downloads since 2025-07-21, the install-demand trajectory.

Market

Developer output

99K

Public GitHub commits attributed to Qwen

Qwen Code's attribution is inconsistent, so treat this as a rough floor.

Snapshot 2026-06-09, confidence Low, tracked since 2026-06-09, +4% over 6 days. Read the methodology.

Index rank: #10 of 34
Demand share: 0.4% of tracked npm demand floor
Business signal: No sourced business metric
GitHub share: 2.2% of tracked stars
npm channel: 133K raw downloads/week (npm primary)

Best fit

Qwen model usersOpen-source agent usersCost-sensitive BYOK workflowsAlibaba Cloud users

Direct competitors

opencode Aider Crush Google Antigravity

Qwen Code is one of the largest lab-backed open-source CLI agents by GitHub stars outside OpenAI/Google.
It is now BYOK/provider-driven after Qwen discontinued the old OAuth free tier.

npm channel caveat: npm primaryExpand

Qwen Code has a public npm install channel.

Counts public npm package downloads only. Other install channels, caches, mirrors, IDE extensions, and enterprise distribution are not included.

Demand floor: 100K / wk
Latest npm week: 133K
Peak npm week: 162K
4-week average: 100K

Install-channel source npm trend source

All sourced signals (2)Expand

Signal	Value	Type	Confidence
GitHub stars	24,995	Public metric	High
npm weekly downloads	83,956	Public metric	High

Pricing And Economics

Expand

Qwen Code is free/open source; model usage now runs through Alibaba Cloud Coding Plan, OpenRouter, Fireworks, or BYOK.

Entry price: Free CLI + BYOK
Top self-serve price: n/a
Pricing unit: Provider/API billing
Token transparency: BYOK/API retail
Included usage: The old Qwen OAuth free tier has been discontinued; users configure an API key or supported provider plan.
Overage path: Provider-specific token, request, or plan billing.

Retail Token Equivalent

No single bundled token quota; economics follow Alibaba Cloud, OpenRouter, Fireworks AI, or another selected provider.

Plan	Price	Allowance	Unit	Token / Overage Notes
Qwen Code CLI	$0 software	Install and run the CLI; bring provider authentication for model usage.	software

The CLI is free/open source; Qwen OAuth free tier was discontinued, so usage now goes through Alibaba Cloud Coding Plan, OpenRouter, Fireworks AI, or BYOK providers.

Qwen's GitHub README says the OAuth free tier was discontinued on April 15, 2026.
Install paths include native installer, npm, and Homebrew.
BYOK/API costs depend on the chosen provider and model.

Company And Funding

Expand

Ownership: Public
Founded: 1999
Headquarters: Hangzhou, China
Employees: Alibaba ~190,000
Parent company: Alibaba
Total raised: Not applicable

Qwen Code comes from Alibaba's Qwen team; Alibaba trades as NYSE: BABA.

Product

Providers

Alibaba CloudQwenOpenRouterFireworks AIOpenAI-compatibleAnthropicGoogle

Model families

Qwen3 CoderQwen3.5Qwen3.6OpenAI-compatible modelsClaudeGemini

Capabilities

Terminal agentRepo editingSubagentsSkillsMCPBYOKVS Code/Zed/JetBrains integration

Tradeoffs

Best with Qwen models
No longer has the old Qwen OAuth free tier