Install

Download and install the ZCode desktop app to start the end-to-end development workflow powered by ZCode Agent.

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Installation Guide

First Launch

The first launch opens the onboarding setup page. When you finish, click Connect in the bottom-left corner to reach the sign-in page:

1. 1
   Click Start using ZCode to jump right in. To migrate historical data, choose the Data Migration Wizard: it currently only imports conversations from Claude Code and ZCode Agent in legacy ZCode — other tools are not supported. You can also skip this and continue the migration later in Settings.
2. 2
   Pick a project directory as your workspace.
3. 3
   Type a simple instruction in the chat box — for example, ask the Agent to list the files in the current directory — to confirm everything responds normally.

If you have not connected a model yet, click Connect in the bottom-left corner to open the sign-in page, which guides you through Connect Z.ai, Connect BigModel, or Use API Key. See the next section, Connect Models, for details.

Network Proxy

If your network requires a proxy to reach model services, configure it under Settings → General. There are three fields; save them and restart the app for the change to take effect.

HTTP Proxy: the proxy address, for example http://127.0.0.1:7890.

Empty doesn't mean "follow the system." When this field is blank ZCode connects directly and does not read HTTP_PROXY or similar environment variables. That's the opposite of how many command-line tools behave, so if your terminal reaches the network but ZCode doesn't, this is usually why.

Once set, model requests, MCP servers, command-line tools the Agent runs, and the app's own interface requests all go through this proxy.

No proxy: addresses that should bypass it, comma-separated:

localhost,127.0.0.1,::1,.example.com,*.corp.com

Hostnames, domain suffixes like .example.com, and wildcards like *.corp.com all work, and you can include a port when you need to.

Custom certificate: the local path to a PEM root certificate. If your corporate network runs a gateway that decrypts HTTPS, the certificates it issues aren't trusted by default — point this field at the corresponding root certificate. Note that this is not a way to skip certificate validation: ZCode only accepts connections whose chain actually contains that root certificate, and everything else is validated as usual.

Windows-Specific Settings

Choosing a shell. Under Settings → General → Terminal you can pick which shell the Agent uses to run commands: Auto, CMD, or Git Bash (shown only when it's installed). Auto is the default and prefers Git Bash, falling back to cmd.exe. Changes apply to new sessions only.

Closing to the tray. Since v3.4.0 this is the default: clicking the window's close button doesn't quit the app but tucks it into the system tray, which is also what lets scheduled and idle-time tasks keep running in the background. Right-clicking the tray icon offers new task, open workspace, check for updates, and quit, among others; left-clicking brings the window back.

To make the close button quit instead, turn off Hide to tray when closing window under Settings → General → Notifications. The switch exists only on Windows.

If you're upgrading from an older version, note that this default change turns the switch back on once, even if you had previously disabled it. Turn it off again and your choice sticks from then on.

Troubleshooting

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/ZCode.app

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