Agent Setup

Atom needs an AI coding agent running on your machine to work. It supports Claude Code and Codex. You only need one.

Already have Claude Code or Codex installed and signed in? You’re all set. Open Atom and it will detect it automatically.

Claude Code

Atom can install Claude Code for you during setup. If the one-click install didn’t work, install it manually:

  1. Open Terminal
  2. Run the official installer:
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
  1. Confirm it worked: claude --version
  2. Run claude and follow the sign-in prompts

Full details: Claude Code docs

Codex

  1. Make sure you have Node.js installed
  2. Run:
npm install -g @openai/codex
  1. Confirm it worked: codex --version
  2. Run codex login and follow the sign-in prompts with your OpenAI account

Full details: Codex on GitHub

Back in Atom

Once either agent is installed and signed in, return to Atom. Start a new chat or send another message. If Atom doesn’t pick it up right away, tap Refresh in the top-right corner of the setup screen.

Troubleshooting

  • Atom doesn’t detect my agent: Restart After Effects and tap Refresh in Atom. Verify the agent works by running claude --version or codex --version in a terminal.
  • Non-standard install path: Make sure the binary is on your system PATH so Atom can find it.