Installation

Install APEX

6 installation methods for every platform. Get started in under a minute.

System Requirements

Minimum

  • Python 3.11 or later
  • At least one API key (or Ollama for free local models)
  • Terminal with 256-color support
  • 100 MB disk space

Recommended

  • Python 3.12+
  • pipx for isolated install
  • Git for version control integration
  • Ollama for free local models

Installation Methods

pipx

All

Recommended method. pipx creates an isolated environment, preventing dependency conflicts with other Python packages.

bash
pipx install apex-ai
Verify
apex --version
Launch TUI
apex tui

API Key Setup

APEX needs API keys for cloud models. Set them in ~/.apex/.env, or use the quick setup:

⚡ Quick Setup — APEX Free

Get free coding models with just one command:

apex key sk-or-v1-...

Get your key at openrouter.ai/keys — no credit card needed. This single key unlocks 19 free models + 10 Pro models.

bash
# ~/.apex/.env
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
GROQ_API_KEY=gsk_...
MISTRAL_API_KEY=...
DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=...
GEMINI_API_KEY=...
COHERE_API_KEY=...
CEREBRAS_API_KEY=...
FIREWORKS_API_KEY=fw_...
TOGETHER_API_KEY=...
HF_API_KEY=hf_...
PERPLEXITY_API_KEY=...
NVIDIA_API_KEY=nvapi-...
OPENROUTER_API_KEY=...

OpenRouter ⭐

Models: APEX Free (19 free) + APEX Pro (10 frontier)

OPENROUTER_API_KEYGet Key

Anthropic

Models: Claude Sonnet 4.6, Opus 4.5, Claude 4.7

ANTHROPIC_API_KEYGet Key

OpenAI

Models: GPT-5, GPT-5 mini, o3, o4-mini

OPENAI_API_KEYGet Key

Google

Models: Gemini 3, Gemini 2.5 Pro, Gemini 2.0 Flash

GEMINI_API_KEYGet Key

xAI

Models: Grok 4, Grok 3

XAI_API_KEYGet Key

Groq

Models: Llama Groq, Mixtral Groq

GROQ_API_KEYGet Key

Mistral

Models: Mistral Large, Codestral

MISTRAL_API_KEYGet Key

DeepSeek

Models: DeepSeek V4, DeepSeek R2

DEEPSEEK_API_KEYGet Key

Cohere

Models: Command R, Command R Plus

COHERE_API_KEYGet Key

Cerebras

Models: Llama Cerebras, Qwen Cerebras

CEREBRAS_API_KEYGet Key

Fireworks AI

Models: Llama Fireworks, Mixtral Fireworks

FIREWORKS_API_KEYGet Key

Together AI

Models: Llama Together, Qwen Together, DeepSeek Together

TOGETHER_API_KEYGet Key

Hugging Face

Models: Llama HF, Mistral HF, Qwen HF

HF_API_KEYGet Key

Perplexity

Models: Sonar, Sonar Pro

PERPLEXITY_API_KEYGet Key

NVIDIA

Models: Llama NVIDIA, Mistral NVIDIA, Qwen NVIDIA

NVIDIA_API_KEYGet Key

Cloudflare

Models: Llama CF, Mistral CF, Qwen CF

CLOUDFLARE_API_KEYGet Key

Amazon Bedrock

Models: Claude Bedrock, Llama Bedrock, Mistral Bedrock

AWS_ACCESS_KEY_IDGet Key
🏠 Local Models (Free): No API key needed! Install Ollama, run ollama pull llama3, then use apex --model ollama/llama3

Platform Notes

macOS

  • • Best with curl installer: curl -fsSL ... | bash
  • • Or pipx for isolated install: pipx install apex-ai
  • • pipx recommended over pip
  • • Terminal.app, iTerm2, Warp, Kitty all supported

Linux

  • • curl installer works on all distros
  • • pipx for isolated install
  • • Docker for isolated environments

Windows

  • • pip: pip install apex-ai
  • • uv: uv tool install apex-ai
  • • Docker: docker run -it ghcr.io/ggboykxz/apex
  • • WSL2 recommended for best TUI experience

FreeBSD

  • • Install via pip or pipx
  • • Python 3.11+ from ports or pkg
  • • CLI mode fully supported
  • • TUI may require xterm compatibility

Upgrade & Troubleshooting

Upgrade

bash
# pip
pip install --upgrade apex-ai

# pipx
pipx upgrade apex-ai

# uv
uv tool upgrade apex-ai

# Check version
apex --version

Common Issues

"command not found: apex"

Ensure Python bin directory is in your PATH. Try: python -m apex.main

"Authentication failed"

Check your API key in ~/.apex/.env. Run echo $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

Import errors on startup

Reinstall: pip install --force-reinstall apex-ai

Python version mismatch

Requires Python 3.11+. Check: python --version