Crush and Qwen Code, fact by fact
| Fact | Crush | Qwen Code |
|---|---|---|
| StarsCrush has 181 more stars. | 28,542Verified 8 Oct 2026 | 28,361Verified 8 Oct 2026 |
| Newest commitQwen Code committed 1 days more recently. | 6 Oct 20261 days old when we read itVerified 8 Oct 2026 | 8 Oct 20260 days old when we read itVerified 8 Oct 2026 |
| ContributorsQwen Code has 266 more contributors (2.7×). | 154Verified 8 Oct 2026 | 420Verified 8 Oct 2026 |
| LicenseOther against Apache-2.0. | OtherVerified 8 Oct 2026 | Apache-2.0Verified 8 Oct 2026 |
| Latest stable releaseQwen Code released 5 days more recently. | v0.97.1published 29 Sep 2026Verified 8 Oct 2026 | sdk-typescript-v0.1.18published 5 Oct 2026Verified 8 Oct 2026 |
| npm downloadsQwen Code has 97,046 more npm downloads a week (13×). | 7,773 a week@charmland/crushVerified 8 Oct 2026 | 104,819 a week@qwen-code/qwen-codeVerified 8 Oct 2026 |
| Homebrew installs | not tracked for Crush | 2,783 in 30 daysqwen-codeVerified 8 Oct 2026 |
| Repository | charmbracelet/crushGoVerified 8 Oct 2026 | QwenLM/qwen-codeTypeScriptVerified 8 Oct 2026 |
What we know about Crush
Crush is configured by a `crushrc` that is Bash, and it runs that Bash identically on Windows because Crush embeds its own Bash interpreter rather than calling the host shell.
“Because Crush has a native, built-in Bash interpreter, Bash-based config works identically across all platforms, including Windows.”
Code in a terminal on a platform the other agents skip: Crush ships first-class builds for Android, FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD as well as macOS, Linux and Windows.
“- **Works Everywhere:** first-class support in every terminal on macOS, Linux, Windows (PowerShell and WSL), Android, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD”
Work in a typed language where the compiler knows more than the file: Crush attaches language servers, so `lsp add go --command "gopls"` feeds gopls output into the agent's context.
“- **LSP-Enhanced:** Crush uses LSPs for additional context, just like you do”
Start a task on an expensive model and finish it on a cheap one: Crush swaps the model mid-session and keeps the context.
“- **Flexible:** switch LLMs mid-session while preserving context”
Crush is not open source today: it ships under the Functional Source License 1.1, which bars any competing commercial use until each version turns MIT two years after release.
“A Permitted Purpose is any purpose other than a Competing Use. A Competing Use · means making the Software available to others in a commercial product or · service that: · 1. substitutes for the Software;”
A new model reaches Crush only when a separate repository merges it, because the default model list lives in Catwalk, not in Crush.
“Crush’s default model listing is managed in [Catwalk](https://github.com/charmbracelet/catwalk), a community-supported, open source repository of Crush-compatible models, and you’re welcome to contribute.”
Crush has no read-only planning mode: the request for Build and Plan modes has been open since 2025-12-28 with 61 reactions.
“Build / Plan Modes”
A team that needs an approval prompt on every shell command out of the box should pick Codex CLI or GitHub Copilot CLI.
“- **Full control:** Preview every action before execution — nothing happens without your explicit approval.”
What Crush costs
Charm Hyper, the provider built for Crush, gives 100 Hypercredits a month at $0 and 250 a day on a $20 monthly subscription; 1 Hypercredit is 5 cents.
“Hypercredits are the core of Hyper's usage-based pricing model, where credits map directly to token costs. 1 Hypercredit is currently 5¢, and they're distributed based on your subscription tier.”
What we know about Qwen Code
Qwen Code binds the local agent to Telegram, DingTalk, WeChat or Feishu with one command, `qwen channel`, and ships TypeScript, Python and Java SDKs beside the CLI.
“- **Beyond the terminal** — IDE plugins, Desktop app, daemon mode, SDKs, and IM bots (Telegram / DingTalk / WeChat / Feishu).”
Run the agent from a group chat your team already uses, with `qwen channel`.
“| **IM Bot** | `qwen channel` | Connect to Telegram, DingTalk, WeChat, or Feishu |”
Embed the agent in your own program through the TypeScript, Python or Java SDK instead of shelling out to a CLI.
“| **SDK** | — | [TypeScript](./packages/sdk-typescript/README.md), [Python](./packages/sdk-python/README.md), [Java](./packages/sdk-java/qwencode/README.md) |”
Batch a repository-wide edit in CI with `qwen -p "..."`, which runs without the terminal UI.
“| **Headless** | `qwen -p "..."` | Scripts, CI/CD, batch processing — no UI |”
Qwen Code is no longer free: the Qwen OAuth free tier was discontinued on 2026-04-15, and requests on an old token are now rejected.
“The Qwen OAuth free tier was discontinued on 2026-04-15. Existing cached tokens may continue working briefly, but new requests will be rejected.”
You cannot finish sign-in on a server: OAuth needs a browser, which CI, SSH and container sessions do not have.
“In non-interactive or headless environments (e.g., CI, SSH, containers), you typically cannot complete the OAuth browser login flow.”
Image input regressed in the shipping line: a crash on image load since 0.21.2 is open, and the current release is v0.21.14.
“[Regression] Qwen code crashes on image load since 0.21.2”
A developer who chose Qwen Code because it was free should now price the Alibaba ModelStudio Coding Plan, or move to goose, which runs a local Ollama model at no per-token cost.
“Cost & quota : the free tier has been discontinued as of 2026-04-15.”
What Qwen Code costs
The free tier is gone as of 2026-04-15; the vendor's recommended replacement is the Alibaba ModelStudio Coding Plan, whose weekly quota is priced on Alibaba's own page, which I did not read today.
“Alibaba ModelStudio : official recommended setup. Opens a sub-menu with Coding Plan (for individual developers · weekly quota included), Token Plan (for teams and companies · usage-based billing with a dedicated endpoint), or Standard API Key (connect with an existing ModelStudio API key).”
Questions people ask
- Are Crush and Qwen Code still maintained?
- Crush committed to charmbracelet/crush (main) on 6 Oct 2026. Qwen Code committed to QwenLM/qwen-code (main) on 8 Oct 2026. Both readings come from the default branch of each repository, on the date shown beside them.
- What do Crush and Qwen Code cost?
- Crush: Charm Hyper, the provider built for Crush, gives 100 Hypercredits a month at $0 and 250 a day on a $20 monthly subscription; 1 Hypercredit is 5 cents. Qwen Code: The free tier is gone as of 2026-04-15; the vendor's recommended replacement is the Alibaba ModelStudio Coding Plan, whose weekly quota is priced on Alibaba's own page, which I did not read today. Every figure here is quoted from the vendor's own page and linked beside the claim.
- Is Crush or Qwen Code open source?
- Crush's repository charmbracelet/crush reports the Other licence. Qwen Code's repository QwenLM/qwen-code reports the Apache-2.0 licence. We read the licence GitHub reports for the repository, which is not the same question as whether the hosted product is free.
How we check this page
- Machine facts. Stars, contributors, the newest commit on the default branch, the licence GitHub reports and the latest stable release come from the GitHub API, and download counts from npm, PyPI, Homebrew and the VS Code Marketplace. Each value carries the day it was last confirmed, never the day this page was built. The line under each label is arithmetic on those two values.
- Judgments. Every claim about what a tool suits, what it is bad at and what it costs is quoted from a page we read, and that page is linked beside the claim. Where there is no link, we wrote no claim.
- Index status. Both Crush and Qwen Code carry claims we read, quoted and linked. So this page is offered to search engines.
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