Connect your agents

The coders hlix can run, how one is chosen for a project, and where your provider keys and model choices come from.

Choose the coder your team wants to use. Hlix Code is the default. You can also use Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Goose, Qwen Code or Pi with the same project context, branch isolation and review process.

Set a Workspace default, then override it for individual projects when needed.

Prerequisites

A project in your Workspace (import one, or create one in the dashboard)
Model access through managed funding, a connected model provider for Hlix Code, or a coder API key or subscription the selected coder supports
The owner or admin role to change the Workspace’s AI settings; manage access on a project to change that project’s

Available coders

Each cycle uses an isolated Cloud Machine for its code and tools. Use the CLI identifier when choosing a coder from your terminal or through the API.

Coder	CLI identifier	Model access
Hlix Code	`hlix`	Managed by Hlix or your API key
Claude Code	`claude-code`	Managed by Hlix, your API key, or a Claude subscription
Codex	`codex`	Managed by Hlix, your API key, or a ChatGPT subscription
OpenCode	`opencode`	Managed by Hlix or your API key
Goose	`goose`	Managed by Hlix or your API key
Qwen Code	`qwen-code`	Managed by Hlix or your API key
Pi	`pi`	Managed by Hlix or your API key

Managed by Hlix is the default and uses your configured Cycle model. Your own API key or subscription uses the account’s native model. See AI accounts and funding for setup and compatible providers.

With managed funding, accepted tasks use Hlix Dollars (H$) for the selected task option. On a custom API key or connected subscription, the coder calls the provider directly and the usage it reports is recorded on the run.

How every coder runs

Every cloud coder follows the same delivery process:

hlix starts a Cloud Machine for the cycle run from the project’s Project Environment, on the cycle’s branch.
The coder receives the brief and the cycle’s checklist, then edits files and runs commands in the Cloud Machine until its turn ends.
hlix commits the work, runs your project’s verification command, and gives the coder one repair turn if it fails.
Hlix pushes the changes and check results to the cycle branch for review.

A new run receives the project context, checklist and review feedback, then continues from the published cycle branch.

Each kind of coder has its own page: The hlix coder and External coders.

How AI settings are chosen

AI settings come in two groups. Each is set once for the Workspace, and a project can override it.

Group	What it controls	Fields
Project manager	The project manager, chat, triage and roadmap planning — the agents that decide what to build and who does it	model, effort
Cycle	The coder, plus the agents that review, plan the checklist and set up the environment while a cycle runs	coder, provider (funding), model, effort, parallel cycles

Each field is resolved on its own, and the first level that sets it wins:

Priority	Setting	Applies to
1	Cycle	A coder, model or funding chosen for this cycle
2	Custom agent	The agent’s configured coder and model
3	Project	The project’s overrides
4	Workspace	Your team’s defaults
5	Hlix default	Hlix Code with managed funding

The default is the Hlix coder, paid by hlix. With managed funding the model is a separate choice from the coder: any catalog model runs in any coder. A Custom API key or Connected subscription runs the account’s own native model instead. See Which model a cycle runs on.

Effort (low, medium or high) sets how much the model reasons before it answers. Every coder uses it, on Hlix and on your own key.

Parallel cycles is how many cycles may run at the same time, one build agent each. A ready cycle beyond the cap waits as a draft until a build agent is free. The Workspace value is a cap across all of its projects. A project can set a lower cap of its own, never a higher one. Left unset, the limit comes from your plan.

Change the settings

Choose your Workspace coder and funding under Settings → Models & accounts → Defaults in the Cycle group. To use different settings for one project, open its settings under General.

From the CLI:

hlix coder get [project-id]                       # what runs, and which level chose it
hlix coder set codex <project-id>                 # set this project's coder
hlix coder set codex --workspace-wide                        # set the Workspace's coder
hlix coder clear <project-id>                     # drop the override, so the Workspace decides again
hlix coder clear --workspace-wide                            # reset the Workspace's Cycle group

Clearing a project setting restores the Workspace default. See the model configuration API for programmatic updates.

Check what would run

Run hlix coder get <project-id> to see the selected coder and the setting it inherits. The resolved model configuration API also returns the model, funding and source of each setting.

Your keys, your models

Connect keys and subscriptions under Settings → Models & accounts → Accounts. Choose a managed model or a supported account under Defaults, or set an override for one project. Saving a key does not select it for runs. See Models & provider keys.

Managed funding uses your selected Hlix model. Your own API key or subscription uses the connected account’s model and provider billing. See Which model a cycle runs on.

Let your own AI operate hlix

The Hlix MCP server works in the other direction: it connects the AI you already use — Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code, Codex and others — to your Workspace through one URL, so you can start, follow, review and ship work from that conversation. A connection is read-only unless you allow writes when you sign in.

Adding a third-party MCP server to a cloud project is a separate flow — see Import skills, agents & MCP.

Common questions

Can I run a different coder per project? Yes. PUT /v1/api/model-config/projects/:projectId/cycle sets it for one project; the Workspace setting applies to every project without one.

Does hlix see my provider keys? It stores them encrypted, uses them to call models on your behalf, and never returns them from any endpoint. Saving a key stores it without checking it; test it against the provider on request. See Models & provider keys.

Which key does a coder use? With Managed by hlix, the coder uses Hlix-funded model access. An external coder on a Custom API key or Connected subscription receives that account’s credential for its run. Hlix Code can also use a connected model provider you explicitly select.

What runs if I never choose a coder? hlix — Hlix Code, which needs no coder credential of its own on managed funding.

Why pick an external coder over hlix? Because your team already relies on one. If your standards, prompts and habits are built around Claude Code or Codex, pin it. Isolation, review evidence and verification stay identical.

If a task will not start

The cycle fails with a provider 401 — check the selected funding. For a connected provider, custom API key or subscription, test, reconnect or replace the account under Settings → Models & accounts → Accounts. For managed funding, share the request ID with support@hlix.ai if the failure persists.
403 — Changing the workspace coder is restricted to owners and admins. The Workspace setting applies to every project, so it requires an administrator.
403 on a project coder change — use an account with manage access to the project.
A validation error storing a preference — choose one of the coders listed above and check its account configuration.
404 — Project not found. The project ID belongs to another Workspace or does not exist. Check X-Organization-Id.