Your first switch

From a fresh install to the first visible switch: sign in, one quick step for your tool, one prompt.

1. Sign this Mac in

When VS Code or Cursor starts after the install, OptiFlume shows a note asking you to sign in. Click Sign in, or run this in Terminal:

optiflume login

You see a short code, and your browser opens optiflume.ai/device. Sign in with Google, GitHub, Apple or an email link, check that the code matches the one on your Mac, and click Authorize this Mac. OptiFlume turns on within a few seconds, in every tool on this Mac. There are no license keys to copy, and OptiFlume never sees your Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor account or API keys.

Your 30-day Pro trial starts the first time a Mac on your account signs in. No card is asked for. On a Mac without a browser at hand, optiflume login --no-browser prints the address and code so you can open it on another device.

2. Get your tool ready

• Claude Code: nothing to allow. If VS Code was open during the install, click Restart VS Code on the note that appears. For claude, open a new terminal window.
• Codex: approve OptiFlume’s hook once in Codex → Settings → Hooks, so you see the reason for each switch. Then, as for Claude Code, restart VS Code if it was open, and open a new terminal window for codex.
• Cursor: if it was open during the install, quit it (⌘Q) and open it again. When OptiFlume asks, allow Accessibility for Cursor: click Open Accessibility Settings, or go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, and turn on Cursor. This lets OptiFlume finish an automatic switch and send your prompt on the new model, and OptiFlume says “Automatic model switching is ready” when you come back to Cursor. It is optional: without it, OptiFlume suggests the model and you switch yourself.

3. Send a small prompt on a large model

Pick one of the most capable, most expensive models in your tool’s model picker (in a terminal, with /model) and ask for something small, such as renaming a variable or fixing a typo. Send it as usual. OptiFlume moves the prompt to a model that fits, and says why:

• Claude Code: a line under your prompt, such as OptiFlume: routine change → Sonnet 5 · low. In the panel, the model chip shows the new model; with claude in a terminal, your prompt sends on the new model by itself.
• Codex: a line under your prompt from OptiFlume’s hook, such as OptiFlume: routine change → GPT-5.6 Terra · low. In the panel, the model picker shows the model that ran.
• Cursor: the prompt pauses, the model in Cursor’s picker changes, a note above the composer says why and how the price compares, and the same prompt sends on the new model by itself.

It works the other way too: when a prompt needs more than the selected model can give, OptiFlume moves it to a stronger one and says so. To keep your own model for a prompt, start it with ~ in Claude Code and Codex, or ! in Cursor. Routing and overrides covers every way to steer it.

4. Confirm everything is working

optiflume status

Look for:

• License: your plan, for example the Pro trial with the days left.
• Routing mode: auto-switch, and your preference (cost first or quality first).
• Local models: ready, or the download progress.
• Bridge and Model list: these two lines are about Cursor alone. While Cursor is closed, or on a Mac without it, not running and builds on the next Cursor session are normal. With Cursor open, Bridge says running for and your project folder; if it says not running, reload the Cursor window (⌘⇧P, then Reload Window).

For Claude Code and Codex, optiflume harness status shows whether each editor’s panels are connected, whether the Codex hook is in place, and whether the terminal commands are on.

If nothing happened, OptiFlume may have judged that your model already fits; it stays quiet when the saving would be small or it is not sure. Try a larger model and a smaller task, or run optiflume doctor. Troubleshooting has the common fixes.

Next steps

• Want the strongest model rather than the cheapest that fits? Run optiflume configure and choose quality first. It applies in every tool.
• Prefer to choose yourself? In Cursor, suggest-only mode shows the recommendation and leaves the switch to you.
• See its switches and, in Cursor, what it saved you: optiflume analytics, or your console.
• What you see in your tool, in detail: Cursor, Claude Code and Codex.