CC Switch Guide: Switch APIs for Claude Code and Codex in One Click
As of 2026-10-07, switching Claude Code's API with CC Switch works like this: on the Claude page, click + at the top right to create a custom configuration, set ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL to https://api.qcode.cc/api and ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN to your key starting with cr_, save, then click Enable on the card. CC Switch writes both values into ~/.claude/settings.json, and clicking Enable on another card switches you over to that one. For Codex, create a second configuration on the Codex page with the Base URL https://api.qcode.cc/openai. This page covers installation, setup, switching and common problems, based on the QCode docs and the official CC Switch README.
Updated 2026-10-07
Four things to know before you start
Address for Claude Code
Set ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL to https://api.qcode.cc/api and ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN to your key starting with cr_; no trailing slash.
Address for Codex
Set the Base URL to https://api.qcode.cc/openai, not /openai/v1, and keep wire_api = "responses" in the generated config.toml.
The one click that switches
Claude Code and Codex each have exactly one enabled configuration at a time; click Enable on another card and CC Switch writes that set back into the config file.
Latest stable release (as of 2026-10-07)
Published on 2026-09-22; v4.0.0 to v4.0.3 are preview builds released from 2026-10-04 onward, and previews do not update automatically.
What CC Switch actually does
As of 2026-10-07, CC Switch is an open-source (MIT-licensed) cross-platform desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux that manages the API configurations of command-line tools such as Claude Code and Codex as cards: one click on Enable swaps in another set. The QCode docs describe it as a configuration profile switcher. It is not an inference endpoint itself; it only writes each configuration into the tool's standard config file (~/.claude/settings.json for Claude Code, ~/.codex/config.toml for Codex), overwriting it when you enable a card and swapping it back when you switch. So Claude Code and Codex each have only one configuration in effect at a time, and two sets never apply together. The official README says it offers one-click switching with no more hand-editing of JSON, TOML or YAML files; the list of supported tools changes between versions, so check the official README.
Recent CC Switch releases (as of 2026-10-07)
As of 2026-10-07, the newest stable release on GitHub Releases is v3.20.4, published on 2026-09-22 (UTC); its release notes say that editing or switching away from a Codex configuration no longer wipes the saved API key. Everything from v4.0.0 (2026-10-04) to v4.0.3 (2026-10-06) is marked as a preview. The v4.0 notes say the config-writing mechanism was rewritten so that switching replaces only key fields instead of rewriting the whole file, and a new aggregation mode puts models from several providers into one model list in Claude Code or Codex. Previews do not update automatically; in-app updates follow stable releases only. The QCode CC Switch doc was verified against the official docs for v3.20.3 (2026-09-11), so interface labels may differ between versions.
Release and documentation timeline
CC Switch v3.20.3 ships; the QCode CC Switch doc was verified against the official docs for this version. Per the QCode doc, the Claude editor gains a Disable Artifact Tool quick toggle from this release.
v3.20.4 ships, fixing a bug where editing or switching away from a Codex configuration wiped the saved API key; as of 2026-10-07 it is still the newest stable release on GitHub.
The v4.0.0 preview ships, replacing only key fields on a switch instead of rewriting the whole file; by 2026-10-06 the preview line had reached v4.0.3, and previews do not update automatically.
Confirmed vs undocumented or conflicting
Confirmed (verbatim in the docs)
Each of the following can be checked word for word in the QCode docs, the official CC Switch README, its user manual or the GitHub release notes: the Claude Code configuration takes ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL = https://api.qcode.cc/api and ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN = a key starting with cr_, and enabling it writes both into ~/.claude/settings.json; the Codex Base URL is https://api.qcode.cc/openai, and CC Switch generates ~/.codex/config.toml and ~/.codex/auth.json with wire_api = "responses"; the Codex panel's toggle for local proxy conversion, meant for services that only support Chat Completions, stays off for QCode; only one configuration is enabled at a time; the Claude and Codex configurations can share one key; CC Switch stores a separate key for each configuration; the connectivity check on a card does not verify the key; the newest stable release, v3.20.4, came out on 2026-09-22, and v4.0.0 to v4.0.3 are previews.
Undocumented or conflicting
This page draws no conclusion on three points. First, whether Claude Code needs a restart after a switch: the official README says Claude Code supports hot-switching with no restart, while the FAQ in the official user manual says to close and reopen the terminal, and issue #3057, cited in the QCode doc, records a running session that kept using the old configuration. Test on your own version, and if requests still go to the old address, reopen the session. Second, whether enabling a configuration wipes your hand edits to settings.json: the QCode doc records reports of some versions overwriting the whole file and dropping enabledPlugins and hooks; v4.0 replaces only key fields, but it is still a preview, and this page has not tested how the stable v3.20.4 behaves. Third, a trailing slash on the Base URL: QCode endpoints require none, and how CC Switch itself handles one is, per the QCode doc, not covered by the official docs.
CC Switch or editing config files by hand
CC Switch vs hand-editing
Both change the same files: CC Switch writes ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL and ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN into ~/.claude/settings.json and base_url and related keys into ~/.codex/config.toml; it is not an inference endpoint itself. If you often move between several setups, for example between asia.qcode.cc and api.qcode.cc on a mainland China network, or between the official login and QCode for comparison, CC Switch saves time. If you only use one setup, or work on a server without a desktop, editing by hand is more direct: CC Switch ships only as a desktop app that needs a graphical interface, and for machines without a desktop the official README recommends the community-maintained CC Switch CLI.
Claude Code vs Codex
In CC Switch they are two pages with two configurations: Claude goes to ~/.claude/ and Codex to ~/.codex/, without interfering with each other, so you simply run claude and codex in separate terminals. The difference is protocol and address: Claude Code uses the Anthropic protocol with https://api.qcode.cc/api, and Codex uses the OpenAI Responses protocol with https://api.qcode.cc/openai. The QCode docs state that Claude models only work through the Anthropic endpoint and that Codex must use Responses; both configurations can take the same cr_ key.
Six steps: install, configure, switch
① Install: download a package from CC Switch's GitHub Releases. Windows 10 and later take the .msi or the portable .zip; macOS 12 and later take the .dmg, or brew install --cask cc-switch; Linux takes .deb, .rpm or .AppImage (officially glibc 2.35+ and WebKitGTK 4.1 are required), and Arch uses paru -S cc-switch-bin. ② Set up Claude Code: pick Claude in the switcher at the top, click + at the top right, choose Custom as the preset, and in the configuration JSON set ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL to https://api.qcode.cc/api and ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN to your cr_ key; the name is up to you, and the docs example uses QCode.cc. ③ Save, hover over the card and click Enable; CC Switch writes both values into ~/.claude/settings.json. Run claude in a terminal to check. ④ Set up Codex: switch to Codex, click + and choose Custom, set the Base URL to https://api.qcode.cc/openai, the API Key to the same cr_ key and the default model to gpt-6-sol or gpt-5.6-terra; the name is up to you, and the docs example uses lowercase qcode (handy as a TOML key), which appears in config.toml as model_provider = "qcode". Leave off the panel's toggle for local proxy conversion, which is meant for services that only support Chat Completions. ⑤ Save, click Enable and run codex to check; config.toml should contain base_url = "https://api.qcode.cc/openai" and wire_api = "responses". ⑥ To switch later, click Enable on another card or click the configuration name in the system tray. First open ~/.claude/settings.json (for Codex, ~/.codex/config.toml) to confirm the address changed; restart the terminal for Codex, and if Claude Code still uses the old address, close the session and open a new one. If you save a second copy for asia.qcode.cc, add a suffix such as (asia) to its name so you can tell them apart in the tray.
On QCode
On QCode, the Claude Code and Codex configurations can take the same cr_ key (created in the console): the key works across protocols, and the request path decides which protocol is used. The Claude Code configuration uses https://api.qcode.cc/api with models such as claude-sonnet-5, claude-sonnet-5-5 or claude-opus-5, and you can also change models with /model inside Claude Code; the Codex configuration uses https://api.qcode.cc/openai with gpt-6-sol or gpt-5.6-terra. The three access domains offer the same features and accept the same key: us.qcode.cc serves North America and Europe, and for networks in mainland China the docs recommend asia.qcode.cc, with the paths unchanged, so you can keep one CC Switch configuration per domain. Sharing one key across the two configurations does not lead to double charges; usage is billed per token, and each model's rate is on /models. Every request can be looked up on probe.qcode.cc by entering your key.
Frequently asked questions
CC Switch switched, but Claude Code didn't pick it up. What now?
Check the file first, then reopen the session. Open ~/.claude/settings.json and confirm that ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL now shows the set you just enabled; if the file changed but the session didn't, close the running claude and start it again in a new terminal. Issue #3057, cited in the QCode doc, records exactly this: Claude Code reads the env block of settings.json into environment variables when the process starts, and a running session does not reread it. Official sources differ on whether a restart is needed at all: the official README says Claude Code supports hot-switching with no restart, while the user-manual FAQ says to close and reopen the terminal or restart the IDE; for Codex, both say to restart the terminal. Switching from the tray writes the same file and does not end a running claude for you.
How do I track down a 401 Unauthorized?
Usually one configuration has the wrong key. Make sure the key starts with cr_ and has no leading or trailing spaces, then check in the console that it is still valid. If Claude Code returns 401 while Codex works (or the other way round), the faulty one is that configuration: CC Switch stores a separate key per configuration, so update each one when you change keys. Also note that the connectivity check on a card only tests whether the address is reachable; the official user manual states that it does not verify the key, so a passing check does not prove the key is right.
Codex just keeps spinning after launch. What should I check?
Check ~/.codex/config.toml first. base_url should end at /openai, not /openai/v1, and wire_api = "responses" must stay. The QCode doc says the most common cause is a missing top-level model_provider, or one that does not match the [model_providers.xxx] table name; Codex then falls back to its built-in openai endpoint. After fixing it, reopen the terminal and run codex again.
Can I use Claude Code and Codex at the same time?
Yes. CC Switch writes the Claude configuration to ~/.claude/ and the Codex one to ~/.codex/; they don't interfere, so just run claude and codex in separate terminals. Both can take the same cr_ key: Claude Code at https://api.qcode.cc/api, Codex at https://api.qcode.cc/openai. The QCode docs state that sharing one key this way does not cause double charges just because you created a second configuration.
I edited settings.json by hand. Will enabling another configuration erase my changes?
It can, so back up first. The QCode doc states that when you enable a configuration, CC Switch overwrites the matching fields in ~/.claude/settings.json with that configuration's values, and that some versions were reported to overwrite the whole file, dropping enabledPlugins and hooks; the v4.0 preview release notes say switching now replaces only key fields. If something is lost, restore it from ~/.cc-switch/backups/ (the official docs say the 10 most recent are kept) or from an export named cc-switch-export-{timestamp}.sql. Also, on first launch CC Switch imports your existing Claude Code and Codex setup as a configuration named default.
How do I switch back to the official Anthropic login?
Pick the built-in official configuration in the list (Claude Official for Claude Code, OpenAI Official for Codex; if you deleted it, add it back from the presets), click Enable, restart the CLI and go through the tool's own login flow: /login in Claude Code, codex login for Codex. After that you can move back and forth between the official login and your QCode custom configuration. The QCode doc warns against hand-building a hybrid config with an empty env block that still keeps a cr_ key.
Sources
Setup, addresses and troubleshooting: the QCode docs page on CC Switch (updated 2026-09-25, verified against the official docs for CC Switch v3.20.3) and the page on endpoints and API formats (updated 2026-09-25; which protocol uses which endpoint, the three access domains and the trailing-slash rule), both crawled on 2026-10-07. CC Switch's own installation steps, system requirements, switching behavior and official login: the README and the user-manual FAQ in the CC Switch GitHub repository, crawled the same day. Versions and dates: CC Switch's GitHub Releases (release notes for v3.20.3, v3.20.4 and v4.0.0 to v4.0.3), crawled the same day.
Connect CC Switch to QCode
One cr_ key: Claude Code at /api, Codex at /openai, one click on Enable to switch. Billed per token; see /models for each model's rate.
Related reading
Claude Code custom endpoint setup
The two environment variables, the settings.json form and apiKeyHelper.
Codex CLI third-party API setup guide
How to set model_provider, base_url and env_key in config.toml.
Claude Code User Guide
A Claude Code CLI tutorial from installation and setup to everyday use.
The steps and quotes on this page were checked on 2026-10-07; the official pages, namely the QCode docs, the official CC Switch README and the GitHub release notes, take precedence, and upstream changes may happen without notice. CC Switch's interface labels and switching behavior change between versions, so go by the version you have; model availability is whatever /models shows.