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Provider Setup

Sidekick Agent Hub supports four inference providers. You only need to set up one.

Uses your Claude Max subscription via the Claude Code CLI — no extra API cost.

  1. Install and authenticate Claude Code CLI: 
    npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
claude auth
  2. Follow the prompts to authenticate with your Claude Max subscription
  3. Start coding — Sidekick auto-detects Claude Code and uses it for inference

Why Claude Max is recommended

Inline completions fire frequently as you type. With an API key, per-token costs add up quickly. With Max, completions are covered by your existing plan.

Claude API

Direct Anthropic API access with per-token billing.

  1. Run "Sidekick: Set API Key" from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
  2. Enter your Anthropic API key
  3. Switch provider in settings:
    • Open Settings (Ctrl+,) → search sidekick.inferenceProvider → select claude-api
    • Or: status bar → "Switch Inference Provider" → Claude API

OpenCode

Uses your configured OpenCode provider and model.

  1. Ensure OpenCode is installed and running (opencode in a terminal)
  2. Sidekick connects to the local server on port 4096
  3. Switch provider:
    • Settings → sidekick.inferenceProvider → opencode
    • Or: status bar → "Switch Inference Provider" → OpenCode

Note

Model selection is handled by your OpenCode configuration. Tier values (fast/balanced/powerful) are passed as hints, but OpenCode's own model settings take precedence.

Codex CLI

Uses the OpenAI API via Codex CLI.

  1. Install Codex CLI globally: 
    npm install -g @openai/codex
  2. Ensure your OpenAI API key is available:
    • OPENAI_API_KEY or CODEX_API_KEY environment variable
    • Or ~/.codex/.credentials.json
  3. Switch provider:
    • Settings → sidekick.inferenceProvider → codex
    • Or: status bar → "Switch Inference Provider" → Codex CLI

Auto-Detection

When sidekick.inferenceProvider is set to auto (the default), Sidekick detects the most recently used coding agent based on filesystem timestamps and uses it for inference.

Session Monitoring Providers

Session monitoring uses a separate sidekick.sessionProvider setting. It also defaults to auto and supports:

  • Claude Code — monitors ~/.claude/projects/
  • OpenCode — monitors ~/.local/share/opencode/
  • Codex CLI — monitors ~/.codex/sessions/