Skip to main content
Open Code is an AI Coding Agent that runs in the terminal, designed for code generation, code editing, and project analysis tasks using natural language. By configuring a Step API Key, Open Code can connect directly to Step models and invoke their inference capabilities within a terminal-based development workflow. This guide covers the prerequisites, configuration steps, and basic verification methods for integrating Open Code with the Step API.

​
Overview

Open Code is well-suited for terminal-based development workflows. Once the provider is configured, you can use Step models directly in the terminal to handle common coding tasks.

​
Prerequisites

​
Development Environment

The following systems are supported:
  • macOS
  • Linux
A recent version of your operating system and terminal environment is recommended.

​
Install Open Code

Open Code can be installed via Homebrew: 
brew install anomalyco/tap/opencode
After installation, run the following command to verify it was installed successfully: 
opencode --version
If a version number is returned, the installation was successful. To launch Open Code: 
opencode

​
Subscribe to Step Plan

Before proceeding with configuration, make sure your account has an active Step Plan subscription. Model calls and quota usage will only work correctly once your account has the appropriate plan or access permissions. To subscribe or purchase, visit: Step Plan subscription

​
Get a Step API Key

Visit the Step Platform Console to create an API Key and save it somewhere safe.

​
Configuration

​
Set Environment Variables

Open your system terminal (Terminal.app or iTerm2) and run the following commands from any directory (~/.zshrc is an absolute path and is not affected by your current working directory): 
echo 'export OPENAI_API_KEY="xxxxxx"' >> ~/.zshrc
echo 'export OPENAI_BASE_URL="https://api.stepfun.ai/step_plan/v1"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc
Replace xxxxxx with the Step API Key you created in the console. After running source ~/.zshrc, these variables will be loaded automatically every time you open a new terminal session — no need to run this again.

​
Verify Environment Variables

Run the following commands to confirm the variables were written correctly: 
echo $OPENAI_API_KEY
echo $OPENAI_BASE_URL
If the output shows your API Key and https://api.stepfun.ai/step_plan/v1 respectively, the configuration is complete.

​
Select a Model

Launch Open Code: 
opencode
Press Ctrl + T to open the model list (Variants) and select the recommended model: 
<model_id>
Note: In the examples below, replace <model_id> with either step-3.5-flash-2603 or step-3.5-flash.
Once selected, the current model information will appear at the bottom of the terminal, for example: 
Build
<model_id>
StepFun
This indicates that the current Open Code session is now using the Step model.

​
Test the Integration

After completing the configuration, run a simple task to verify the connection, for example: 
Create a hello world script in Python
If the integration is successful, the model will typically return something like: 
print("Hello, world!")

​
Troubleshooting

​
StepFun Models Not Showing

If you cannot find any StepFun models in the model list, check the following:
  1. Whether Open Code is up to date.
  2. Whether your network connection is working properly.
  3. Whether the environment variables were written correctly (run echo $OPENAI_BASE_URL to verify).
  4. Whether you have fully restarted the terminal before launching Open Code.

​
API Key Error

If you see the following error: 
401 Incorrect API key
Please check:
  • Whether the key was copied in full
  • Whether the key belongs to the correct environment (.ai / .com)

​
Model Call Failure

If the model does not return a result, check:
  1. Whether the API Key is valid.
  2. Whether the model name is correct.
Recommended model: 
<model_id>

​
Summary

Once the environment variables are configured and a model is selected, Open Code can use the Step API in the terminal to handle code generation, file editing, and project analysis tasks. It is recommended to first verify connectivity with a minimal example before incorporating it into your own terminal development workflow.