guidebeginner6 min

Connect Your AI: Claude Code or Codex

QuantIDE runs the AI you already use. Install Claude Code or Codex, sign in, and every stack in the app can use it — free. Academy members get Student AI built in.

Last updated: Oct 1, 2026

Everything in QuantIDE is free except the Academy. That includes the assistant in every stack — because the assistant is not ours. It is Claude Code or Codex, installed on your machine and signed in to your own account, which QuantIDE runs in the background and wires into your stacks.

The one exception is Academy members, who get Student AI included. More on that below.

Why the app works this way

The best coding agents are built by the labs that train the models, and they get better every few weeks. Rather than ship a weaker copy of one, QuantIDE drives the real thing. You get the agent its maker keeps current, on the plan you already pay for.

Pick one

Claude Code

Anthropic's coding agent. It needs a paid Claude plan (Pro or Max). Install it from claude.com/claude-code, following the instructions there for your platform.

Codex

OpenAI's coding agent. It signs in with your ChatGPT account. Install it from openai.com/codex, following the instructions there for your platform.

Why we do not print install commands here

Both makers change their install steps from time to time, and each keeps its own page current. A command copied into these docs is the first thing to go stale. The app links to the same pages.

You can install both. The app uses one at a time, and you can switch whenever you like.

Sign in to the AI itself, not to QuantIDE. Your QuantIDE account and your Claude or ChatGPT account are separate, and QuantIDE never sees your AI password.

Claude Code: the app checks whether it is signed in. If it is not, the chat says so and offers "Open a shell to sign in", which opens a terminal right in the chat. Sign in there the way Claude Code's own instructions describe, and the notice clears itself once it is done.
Codex: sign in once from a terminal before you use it in the app, the way Codex's own instructions describe. The app does not check this for you, so if Codex replies with a sign-in error, that is the fix.

Let QuantIDE find it

Open a chat. If QuantIDE finds Claude Code it uses it; if not, it looks for Codex. If it finds neither, it shows a card for each with a link to get it, and a "Check again" button. Your message is saved while you set one up.

If you just installed one and "Check again" still cannot find it, restart QuantIDE. A running app does not always see a program installed after it started.

Switch between them

Use the picker at the top right of any chat, or Settings → Engine. On your own Claude Code or Codex, which models you can use is up to your plan with Anthropic or OpenAI, not us.

What it can do on your machine

Inside a stack, the AI writes files, runs scripts and reads their output without stopping to ask permission for each one. That is what lets it go from an idea to a finished backtest in one go, and it is also why it matters what you ask it to do.

Treat it like a fast junior engineer

It types; you design and review. Read the scripts it writes before you trust their numbers, and never point it at a folder, an account or a broker you would not hand to a new hire on their first day.

Student AI, for Academy members

The Academy plan includes Student AI: an assistant built into the app, with nothing to install and no second subscription. It is already wired into the workspace you are taught in, so there is no setup between signing up and your first class.

It refills on its own. Usage is measured over a five-hour window and a weekly window, the way Claude's own plans work, with no monthly cap. Settings shows how much you have used.
If you run through a window, the chat shows when it refills. You can switch to your own Claude Code or Codex in the meantime.
It is only for Academy members. Nobody else gets AI from QuantIDE; everyone else brings their own, as above.

If something goes wrong

"Claude Code is signed out, so it can't answer" — use "Open a shell to sign in" in the chat.
"Not found yet" — the AI is not installed where QuantIDE can see it. Install it, then restart QuantIDE.
Codex replies with an authentication error — sign in to Codex from a terminal, then try again.
Student AI says it needs a plan — it is part of the Academy. Use your own Claude Code or Codex instead, or join the Academy.