Start with Modaal’s built-in free preview, then connect the coding agent you already pay for — Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, Copilot or Cursor — in a click.
Modaal is the orchestrator; the agent is the model that actually writes your code. Every new project starts on Modaal’s built-in free preview agent so you can try things immediately — the quickstart runs on it. When you’re ready, connect your own agent — it’s almost always cheaper than paying per-API-call (Modaal adds no per-token charge), and you can switch any time.
Click your profile avatar in the top-right corner to open the User Menu, then choose Agent settings.
User Menu → Agent settings.
This opens Choose your build agent — the list of every agent Modaal can drive. Each row shows the agent, its current status, and one action button. The panel opens on the ones most people reach for — Claude Agent, Codex CLI, Cursor, OpenCode, Gemini CLI and GitHub Copilot CLI — and Show more reveals the rest.
The agent list. Each row has a status (“Not installed”, “Installed · Not signed in”, “Signed in…”) and one action.
2. Signing in — in-app login vs Login via Terminal
After the agent is installed, you sign in with your own account:
In-app login — Modaal signs you in directly. For some agents (like Claude) you’ll pick how to sign in from a small menu; for others it starts straight away. These agents can also be re-authenticated later from the ⋯ menu.
Login via Terminal — Modaal opens a Terminal window where the agent’s own CLI handles sign-in. Once you’ve signed in there, come back and click Re-check so Modaal picks it up.
You don’t need to memorize which agent is which — the panel always shows the right button for the right step. The rest of this guide walks the happy path with Claude Agent.
Behind “Show more” — every agent Modaal can drive
Modaal installs these for you (Get): Claude Agent, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI,
GitHub Copilot CLI, OpenCode, Auggie, Cline, Goose, Kilo Code, Qwen Code.You install these yourself, Modaal detects them (Check): Cursor,
Mistral Vibe, OpenHands.The open-source agents — OpenCode, Cline, Goose, Kilo Code and Qwen Code — can
point at open-weight models, which is the cheapest way to run Modaal if you
don’t have a subscription to any of the others.
Find the agent you want and click Get. Modaal downloads and installs its CLI for you (this can take a minute). If the agent shows Check instead, install its CLI yourself first, then click Check.When it’s installed, the status changes to Installed · Not signed in and the button becomes Login.
After installing, the agent shows “Installed · Not signed in” and a Login button.
2
Sign in with your subscription — click Login
Click Login. If the agent offers more than one way to sign in, pick the one that matches your plan. For Claude Agent you choose between:
Claude Subscription — use your Claude (Pro/Max) subscription.
Anthropic Console — use Anthropic Console (API usage billing).
Pick Claude Subscription to use the plan you already pay for. A browser window opens for you to sign in and approve access.
Choose how to sign in. Pick “Claude Subscription” to use a plan you already have.
Agents that use Login via Terminal instead open a Terminal window — sign in there, then return to Modaal and click Re-check.
3
Make it your default — click Use as default
Once you’re signed in, the status shows Signed in as <your account> and the button becomes Use as default. Click it to tell Modaal to write your code with this agent.
Signed in. Click “Use as default” to start building with this agent.
The button turns into a ✓ Default marker. That’s it — your next message in Modaal is handled by your own agent.
You can connect as many agents as you like and switch the default whenever you want — open Agent settings again and click Use as default on a different one. Useful tools live in each row’s ⋯ menu:
Re-check — re-detect status (use this after signing in via Terminal, or installing a Check agent).
Re-authenticate — sign in again (in-app login agents).
Log out — sign out (only some agents support this in-app; otherwise sign out from the agent’s own CLI).
Show details — expand the row for version and account info.
The agent replies with “API Error: 401” or “Invalid authentication credentials”
This almost always means your sign-in token has gone stale — a transient issue, not a broken account. The fix is to refresh your credentials:
Open Agent settings (User Menu → Agent settings).
On your agent’s row, open the ⋯ menu and click Re-authenticate if it’s there, then sign in again.
If there’s no Re-authenticate option, click Log out and then Login again. For agents that sign in through Terminal, sign out and back in via the agent’s own CLI, then click Re-check.
Once you’ve signed back in, retry your request. Other transient auth errors (403, “token expired”, “unauthorized”) clear the same way.
It still shows “Installed · Not signed in” after I signed in
Click Re-check on the agent’s row — sign-ins done in a Terminal window are only picked up on re-check. If it still won’t catch, Log out / Login again from Agent settings.
My agent isn't in the list
Click Show more to reveal the full catalog. If it’s a Check-type agent (e.g. Cursor), install its CLI yourself first, then click Check so Modaal can detect it.
Connecting your own agent is the single biggest upgrade over the free preview — you get the full model on a plan you already own. If you’re not subscribed to any, Claude, ChatGPT/Codex, Gemini, and GitHub Copilot all have plans that work well with Modaal. What Modaal does that Claude Code alone does not is on modaal.dev, and bring your own AI compares the agent subscriptions on price and capability.
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