Installation Guide for Qwen Code with Source Tracking

This guide describes the source-tracking installation scripts for Qwen Code. The scripts prefer standalone release archives and can fall back to npm when a standalone archive is not available.

Overview

The installers are intentionally lightweight:

• They try a standalone archive first by default.
• They do not install Node.js, NVM, or any other Node version manager.
• They do not edit npm config or shell profiles.
• They do not start qwen automatically after installation.
• They store source information in ~/.qwen/source.json or %USERPROFILE%\.qwen\source.json when --source is provided.

Standalone archives include a private Node.js runtime, so users do not need a local Node.js installation on the standalone path. Node.js 20 or newer and npm are only required when the installer falls back to npm or when --method npm is used.

Installation Scripts

• Linux/macOS: install-qwen-with-source.sh
• Windows: install-qwen-with-source.bat

Release Artifacts

GitHub releases publish these standalone archives:

• qwen-code-darwin-arm64.tar.gz
• qwen-code-darwin-x64.tar.gz
• qwen-code-linux-arm64.tar.gz
• qwen-code-linux-x64.tar.gz
• qwen-code-win-x64.zip
• SHA256SUMS

Archive layout:

qwen-code/
  bin/qwen
  bin/qwen.cmd
  lib/cli.js
  node/
  package.json
  README.md
  LICENSE
  manifest.json

Install Methods

The default method is detect:

1. Detect the current platform.
2. Try to download and install the matching standalone archive.
3. Verify the archive with SHA256SUMS.
4. Fall back to npm if the standalone archive is not available.

You can force a method:

bash install-qwen-with-source.sh --method standalone
bash install-qwen-with-source.sh --method npm

install-qwen-with-source.bat --method standalone
install-qwen-with-source.bat --method npm

Optional Native Modules

The standalone archives bundle Qwen Code and a private Node.js runtime. They do not currently install npm optional native modules such as node-pty and @teddyzhu/clipboard. Qwen Code is designed to degrade when these optional modules are absent, but terminal pty behavior and clipboard image support may not be identical to an npm installation.

Use --method npm if you specifically need npm to resolve optional native modules for the current machine.

Linux/macOS Usage

# Default: standalone archive with npm fallback
bash install-qwen-with-source.sh

# Record a source value
bash install-qwen-with-source.sh --source github

# Use npm explicitly
bash install-qwen-with-source.sh --method npm --registry https://registry.npmjs.org

# Use the Aliyun standalone mirror
bash install-qwen-with-source.sh --mirror aliyun

# Install an offline archive
# SHA256SUMS must be in the same directory.
bash install-qwen-with-source.sh --archive ./qwen-code-linux-x64.tar.gz

Standalone installs to:

• Runtime: ~/.local/lib/qwen-code
• Shim: ~/.local/bin/qwen

Override with QWEN_INSTALL_ROOT, QWEN_INSTALL_LIB_PARENT, QWEN_INSTALL_LIB_DIR, or QWEN_INSTALL_BIN_DIR when needed.

Windows Usage

REM Default: standalone archive with npm fallback
install-qwen-with-source.bat

REM Record a source value
install-qwen-with-source.bat --source github

REM Use npm explicitly
install-qwen-with-source.bat --method npm --registry https://registry.npmjs.org

REM Use the Aliyun standalone mirror
install-qwen-with-source.bat --mirror aliyun

REM Install an offline archive
REM SHA256SUMS must be in the same directory.
install-qwen-with-source.bat --archive qwen-code-win-x64.zip

Standalone installs to:

• Runtime: %LOCALAPPDATA%\qwen-code\qwen-code
• Shim: %LOCALAPPDATA%\qwen-code\bin\qwen.cmd

Override with QWEN_INSTALL_ROOT, QWEN_INSTALL_LIB_DIR, or QWEN_INSTALL_BIN_DIR when needed.

Restart the terminal if qwen is not immediately available on PATH.

Mirrors and Overrides

Options:

• --method detect|standalone|npm
• --mirror github|aliyun
• --base-url URL
• --archive PATH
• --version VERSION
• --registry REGISTRY
• --source SOURCE

Environment variables:

• QWEN_INSTALL_METHOD
• QWEN_INSTALL_MIRROR
• QWEN_INSTALL_BASE_URL
• QWEN_INSTALL_ARCHIVE
• QWEN_INSTALL_VERSION
• QWEN_NPM_REGISTRY

Use --base-url for private mirrors. The URL must contain qwen-code-<target> archives and SHA256SUMS in the same directory. Custom base URLs must use https://.

For Aliyun OSS/CDN, release publishing must upload byte-identical artifacts to both the versioned directory, for example v0.16.0/, and the latest/ directory used by the default installer path.

Supported Source Values

The source value may only contain letters, numbers, dot, underscore, and dash. Common values are:

• github
• npm
• internal
• local-build

Source Tracking

When --source or -s is provided, the installer writes:

{
  "source": "github"
}

Locations:

• Linux/macOS: ~/.qwen/source.json
• Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.qwen\source.json

The telemetry logger reads this file when available. Missing, invalid, or unreadable source files are ignored.

Manual Installation

If source tracking is not needed and Node.js 20 or newer is already available:

npm install -g @qwen-code/qwen-code@latest

Homebrew users can also install Qwen Code with:

brew install qwen-code

Troubleshooting

Standalone Archive Missing

In detect mode, the installer falls back to npm. In standalone mode, install fails so that automation can detect the missing artifact.

Node.js Missing or Too Old

This only blocks npm installation. Install or activate Node.js 20 or newer, then rerun the installer with --method npm or let detect fall back again.

npm Missing

Install a Node.js distribution that includes npm, then rerun the installer.

Permission Errors During npm Install

The installers do not rewrite npm prefix settings. If global npm installation fails with a permission error, fix the npm global install location or use a user-owned Node.js installation, then rerun:

npm install -g @qwen-code/qwen-code@latest --registry https://registry.npmmirror.com

qwen Is Not on PATH After Installation

Restart the terminal first. For standalone installs, add the shim directory:

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

For npm installs, add npm's global binary directory. On Linux/macOS this is usually:

export PATH="$(npm prefix -g)/bin:$PATH"

On Windows standalone installs, add this directory to PATH:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\qwen-code\bin