# Qwen Code CLI

[← back to overview](index.md)

Qwen Code speaks plain **OpenAI Chat Completions**, and — unlike the other CLIs — needs *two* models: the main chat model, and a `fastModel` for Auto Mode's action classifier (a separate, always-resident, always-fast instance so classification doesn't queue behind chat prefill; see `docker-compose.yml`'s `llama-server-fast` service and `docs/research/fast-model-choice.md`). Both are registered as separate providers in OmniRoute but reachable through the same gateway URL. Config lives in `~/.qwen/settings.json`:

```json
{
  "modelProviders": {
    "openai": [
      {
        "id": "<main-model-provider-id-in-omniroute>",
        "name": "qwen3.8-27b-local",
        "envKey": "OMNIROUTE_API_KEY",
        "baseUrl": "http://<ai-box>:${OMNIROUTE_PORT:-4000}/v1",
        "generationConfig": { "contextWindowSize": 131072 }
      },
      {
        "id": "<fast-model-provider-id-in-omniroute>",
        "name": "qwen3.8-27b-classifier",
        "envKey": "OMNIROUTE_API_KEY",
        "baseUrl": "http://<ai-box>:${OMNIROUTE_PORT:-4000}/v1",
        "generationConfig": {
          "contextWindowSize": 8192,
          "extra_body": { "chat_template_kwargs": { "enable_thinking": false } }
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  "security": { "auth": { "selectedType": "openai" } },
  "model": {
    "name": "<main-model-provider-id-in-omniroute>",
    "baseUrl": "http://<ai-box>:${OMNIROUTE_PORT:-4000}/v1"
  },
  "fastModel": "<fast-model-provider-id-in-omniroute>"
}
```

- `envKey` names the environment variable Qwen Code reads the virtual key from — set `OMNIROUTE_API_KEY=<qwen-code-cli virtual key>` before launching. Both providers can share one virtual key (as above); split it into two if you want separate usage tracking for chat vs. classifier calls.
- **`contextWindowSize` is per-slot, not `LLAMA_CTX_SIZE` itself** — llama.cpp divides `--ctx-size` across `LLAMA_PARALLEL` concurrent slots, and each request only gets one slot's share (same correction applies to OpenCode's `limit.context`). Compute it per model from `.env`:
  - Main model: `LLAMA_CTX_SIZE / LLAMA_PARALLEL` = `262144 / 2` = **131072**.
  - Fast model: `LLAMA_FAST_CTX_SIZE / LLAMA_FAST_PARALLEL` = `8192 / 1` = **8192**. Undersizing this one specifically breaks Auto Mode ("Classifier stage 1 unavailable") once `hints.allow`/`softDeny`/`hardDeny` entries and recent-action history push a classifier call past it — see the `LLAMA_FAST_CTX_SIZE` comment in `.env.example` before raising it instead of `LLAMA_FAST_PARALLEL`.
- `enable_thinking: false` on the fast model matters: the fast model file (`Qwen3-4B-Instruct-2507`) is already non-thinking, but this also suppresses `<think>` output on any fast-model swap that isn't, keeping classifier responses parseable.
- Qwen Code also recognizes `advisorModel`, `visionModel`, `compactionModel`, `imageModel` for other model roles — none are wired up in this stack; only `fastModel` is required.

## Web search via OmniRoute

Qwen Code's own built-in web search (`tools.webSearch.enabled`) has nothing to search with here — leave it `false`. Instead this stack's SearXNG-backed search (README §"Web search") is exposed through a thin stdio MCP wrapper around OmniRoute's `/v1/search` REST endpoint (that endpoint isn't itself MCP — OmniRoute's real MCP surface is admin-only/LOCAL_ONLY-gated). Save this as e.g. `~/.qwen/mcp-servers/omniroute-search/index.mjs` (needs `@modelcontextprotocol/sdk` and `zod`: `npm init -y && npm i @modelcontextprotocol/sdk zod` in that directory):

```js
import { McpServer } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/mcp.js";
import { StdioServerTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/stdio.js";
import { z } from "zod";

const BASE_URL = process.env.OMNIROUTE_BASE_URL || "http://proxy-ai.home";
const API_KEY = process.env.OMNIROUTE_API_KEY;

if (!API_KEY) {
  console.error("OMNIROUTE_API_KEY is not set in the environment.");
  process.exit(1);
}

const server = new McpServer({ name: "omniroute-search", version: "1.0.0" });

server.registerTool(
  "search",
  {
    description: "Web/news search via OmniRoute's /v1/search endpoint.",
    inputSchema: { query: z.string().describe("Search query") },
  },
  async ({ query }) => {
    const res = await fetch(`${BASE_URL}/v1/search`, {
      method: "POST",
      headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json", Authorization: `Bearer ${API_KEY}` },
      body: JSON.stringify({ query }),
    });
    const text = await res.text();
    if (!res.ok) return { content: [{ type: "text", text: `HTTP ${res.status}: ${text}` }], isError: true };
    return { content: [{ type: "text", text }] };
  }
);

await server.connect(new StdioServerTransport());
```

Register it in `~/.qwen/settings.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "omniroute-search": { "command": "node", "args": ["<path-to>/index.mjs"] }
  },
  "tools": { "webSearch": { "enabled": false } }
}
```

It reuses the same `OMNIROUTE_API_KEY` env var as the model providers above — the virtual key needs search permission in OmniRoute, not just chat-completions.

## Auto Mode tuning

Auto Mode's action classifier calls the fast model above — its own request can queue behind other stack traffic before the fast llama-server instance is warm, so the default classifier timeout is worth raising. And since this stack is a single trusted local proxy, it's reasonable to pre-approve requests to it rather than confirm every call:

```json
{
  "permissions": {
    "autoMode": {
      "classifier": { "timeouts": { "stage1Ms": 600000 } },
      "hints": { "allow": ["Requests to proxy-ai.home, my own local omniroute model proxy"] }
    }
  }
}
```

`hints.allow` entries are free-text descriptions the classifier matches against, not exact strings — capped at 150 entries/200 chars each (see the `LLAMA_FAST_CTX_SIZE` note above for why that ceiling matters).

Everything else in `~/.qwen/settings.json` (`hooks`, `security.auth`'s underlying tooling, editor prefs) is per-machine, not part of pointing at this stack — don't copy it wholesale between machines.