Getting started

OptiFlume picks the right model for each prompt in Cursor, Claude Code and Codex: the most capable model for the work at close to the lowest price. It switches the model where you can see it, and you can always keep your own.

It works in Cursor, and in Claude Code and Codex both in their VS Code panels and in the terminal. It runs on your Mac, makes its choice before each prompt is sent, and never sends your prompts or code anywhere. To keep your own model for a prompt, start it with ~ in Claude Code and Codex, or ! in Cursor.

Requirements

• macOS 11 (Big Sur) or later, on Apple silicon or Intel.
• Cursor, Claude Code or Codex; any one of them is enough.
• About 1 GB of free disk space for the local models, which download in the background after install.
• An OptiFlume account: sign in with Google, GitHub, Apple or an email link. No card, no API keys, no license keys.

Quick start

1. Install. Create your account (no card), then download the installer from the install page and open it. The same page has a one-line Terminal install.
2. Restart what was open. Click Restart VS Code when VS Code asks, open a new terminal window for claude and codex, and quit Cursor with ⌘Q and open it again.
3. Sign in. Click Sign in on the OptiFlume note in VS Code or Cursor, or run optiflume login. Your 30-day Pro trial starts the first time a Mac on your account signs in.
4. One step for your tool. Claude Code needs nothing more. In Codex, approve OptiFlume’s hook once in Settings → Hooks so you see the reason for each switch. In Cursor, allow Accessibility when macOS asks, so OptiFlume can finish each switch for you; without it, OptiFlume suggests the model and you switch yourself.
5. Work as usual. When the selected model doesn’t fit the prompt, OptiFlume switches it and says why in one line: under your prompt in Claude Code and Codex, above the composer in Cursor.

Check the install at any time:

optiflume status   # plan, mode and local models
optiflume doctor   # checks every part and says what to fix

Your first switch walks through each step for each tool.