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This guide provides instructions for integrating Qwen Code CLI with the TrueFoundry AI Gateway.

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What is Qwen Code?

Qwen Code is an open-source, AI-powered terminal coding assistant optimized for the Qwen3-Coder model. It helps you understand large codebases, automate tedious work, and ship faster — all from the command line.

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Key Features

  1. Terminal-Native AI Agent: Chat with AI models, edit files, and run commands directly from your terminal without switching contexts
  2. Repository-Scale Understanding: Analyzes codebases beyond traditional AI context limits with intelligent context management
  3. Multi-Protocol Support: Works with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google GenAI compatible APIs — making it easy to route through TrueFoundry
  4. Agentic Workflow: Built-in Skills and SubAgents for a full agentic coding experience

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Prerequisites

Before integrating Qwen Code with TrueFoundry, ensure you have:
  1. TrueFoundry Account: Create a TrueFoundry account with at least one model provider configured and generate a Personal Access Token by following the instructions in Generating Tokens. For a quick setup guide, see our Gateway Quick Start
  2. Qwen Code Installation: Install Qwen Code CLI using one of the methods below:
The recommended one-line installer for Linux and macOS:
curl -fsSL https://qwen-code-assets.oss-cn-hangzhou.aliyuncs.com/installation/install-qwen.sh | bash
Terminal showing curl command to install Qwen Code CLI
Restart your terminal after installation to ensure environment variables take effect.

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Setup Process

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1. Get Configuration Details

Get the base URL and model name from your TrueFoundry AI Gateway playground using the unified code snippet:
TrueFoundry playground showing unified code snippet with base URL and model name highlighted for Qwen Code CLI integration

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2. Configure Qwen Code

Qwen Code uses a settings.json file for configuration. Edit (or create) the file at ~/.qwen/settings.json to route requests through TrueFoundry: 
{
  "modelProviders": {
    "openai": [
      {
        "id": "openai-main/gpt-4o",
        "name": "GPT-4o via TrueFoundry",
        "baseUrl": "https://{controlPlaneUrl}/api/llm",
        "description": "GPT-4o routed through TrueFoundry AI Gateway",
        "envKey": "TFY_API_KEY"
      }
    ]
  },
  "env": {
    "TFY_API_KEY": "your-truefoundry-api-key"
  },
  "security": {
    "auth": {
      "selectedType": "openai"
    }
  },
  "model": {
    "name": "openai-main/gpt-4o"
  }
}
Replace the placeholders:
  • {controlPlaneUrl} → Your TrueFoundry Control Plane URL
  • your-truefoundry-api-key → Your TrueFoundry Personal Access Token
  • openai-main/gpt-4o → Your desired model in provider-name/model-name format
The id and model.name fields should use the fully qualified model name from TrueFoundry (e.g., openai-main/gpt-4o, anthropic/claude-4-sonnet). You can find the exact model name in the TrueFoundry AI Gateway playground.

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3. Configure Multiple Models (Optional)

You can configure multiple models from different providers to switch between them during a session: 
{
  "modelProviders": {
    "openai": [
      {
        "id": "openai-main/gpt-4o",
        "name": "GPT-4o via TrueFoundry",
        "baseUrl": "https://{controlPlaneUrl}/api/llm",
        "description": "GPT-4o routed through TrueFoundry AI Gateway",
        "envKey": "TFY_API_KEY"
      },
      {
        "id": "openai-main/gpt-5",
        "name": "GPT-5 via TrueFoundry",
        "baseUrl": "https://{controlPlaneUrl}/api/llm",
        "description": "GPT-5 routed through TrueFoundry AI Gateway",
        "envKey": "TFY_API_KEY"
      }
    ]
  },
  "env": {
    "TFY_API_KEY": "your-truefoundry-api-key"
  },
  "security": {
    "auth": {
      "selectedType": "openai"
    }
  },
  "model": {
    "name": "openai-main/gpt-4o"
  }
}
Use the /model command inside Qwen Code to switch between all configured models during a session.

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Usage Examples

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Interactive Mode

Launch the interactive terminal UI in your project directory: 
cd your-project/
qwen
Once inside the session, you can ask questions about your codebase, generate code, and run commands using natural language.

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Headless Mode

Use the -p flag to run Qwen Code without the interactive UI — ideal for scripts, automation, and CI/CD: 
# Generate code with a prompt
qwen -p "Write a hello world HTTP server in Python using Flask, keep it minimal"

# Output as plain text (useful for piping)
qwen -p "Write a hello world HTTP server in Python using Flask, keep it minimal" -o text
Qwen Code CLI terminal output showing a prompt to generate a Flask HTTP server and the resulting code

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Common Prompts

# Understand your project
> What does this project do?

# Code generation
> Write unit tests for the auth module

# Refactoring
> Refactor this function to use async/await

# Debugging
> Why is this test failing?

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Observability

All requests routed through TrueFoundry AI Gateway are automatically logged and available for monitoring. You can view request traces, latencies, token usage, and full request/response details in the TrueFoundry dashboard.
TrueFoundry observability dashboard showing traced requests from Qwen Code CLI with model details, latencies, and response content
This gives you full visibility into:
  • Request traces: See every request made by Qwen Code, including the model used and response times
  • Token usage: Track input and output token consumption across sessions
  • Cost monitoring: Monitor spend across different models and providers
  • Governance: Enforce policies, rate limits, and access controls on all AI requests