Setup & Sign-In

A few quick steps stand between you and your first automation.

1. Choose how to start

When Atom opens, you can:

  • Start trial — begins a local 7-day trial (no account required)
  • I have an account — sign in to use a purchased licence

2. (If needed) Sign in with email

  1. Open Atom and choose I have an account.
  2. Enter your email address.
  3. Paste the six-digit code sent to your inbox.

You’ll stay signed in between sessions. If you see a seat-limit message, remove Atom from another machine via Settings → Deactivate device and try again.

3. Choose your AI provider

OpenAI is the simplest path because Atom includes everything it needs. Anthropic is available through Claude Code if you prefer it.

OpenAI

  1. Click Sign in with OpenAI in Atom.
  2. Finish the browser sign-in.
  3. Return to Atom and start chatting.

You do not need to install a separate command-line tool. If Codex is already configured on your computer, Atom can reuse that setup too. See Team & Custom AI Setup for team, Enterprise, Claude Code, and API-key notes.

AI usage is billed directly by OpenAI, and OpenAI currently includes limited Codex usage with free accounts in some cases.

Atom does not proxy or resell AI usage. You pay the provider you use directly.

4. (Optional) Add an OpenRouter key for image generation

If you want to use Atom’s image generation feature, you’ll need an OpenRouter API key.

  1. Visit openrouter.ai/keys and create a key (it begins with sk-or-).
  2. Paste the key in Settings → Images inside Atom.

This is only needed for image generation. All other AI features run through OpenAI or Anthropic.

Need help?

  • No verification email? Check spam and resend. Corporate filters? Try another inbox.
  • OpenAI sign-in not completing? Return to Atom and click Sign in with OpenAI again. For team-managed accounts, see Team & Custom AI Setup.
  • Anthropic not showing up? See Anthropic Setup.
  • Seat limit? Deactivate Atom on another computer, then refresh access.