TraeCode tutorial
This page gets TraeCode installed and a first project open. Install paths are copied from the international Quickstart and the China getting started page. Family boundaries: learning map. OS / device limits / URLs: cheatsheet.
Goals and non-goals
Goals
- Tell the China site (
trae.cn/trae.com.cn) from the international site (trae.ai) - Install the TraeCode desktop IDE from the official download page
- Open a local folder, or clone a repo with the official steps
- Switch IDE mode and SOLO mode at the top left
Non-goals
- No TraeWork / Doubao / Coze / Ark tutorial
- No invented
brew/npm/ curl install commands (official install is a downloadable package) - No TraeCode CLI (enterprise page: coming soon)
- No Legacy quota table presented as current pricing
Prerequisites
OS table from the international Quickstart and China getting started:
| OS | Arch | Official versions / formats |
|---|---|---|
| macOS | Apple Silicon, Intel | 12.0 or later |
| Windows | 64-bit (x64) | Windows 10, Windows 11 |
| Linux | 64-bit (x64), 64-bit (ARM64) | .deb: Ubuntu 20.04, Debian 11; .rpm: Fedora 42, RHEL 9.x |
Account: a TRAE account. Login methods differ by surface; see section 3.
1. Pick a surface: China vs international
The international header includes a China-site link. These are not mirrors.
| International | China | |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing / download | www.trae.ai · www.trae.ai/download | www.trae.cn · Quickstart links www.trae.com.cn |
| Docs | docs.trae.ai | docs.trae.cn (llms.txt) |
| Device limit | 3 (device-limit) | 10 (ide_device-limit.md) |
| Login (official text) | Phone number, Douyin, Apple, Juejin (getting started) |
Do not treat the two installers as the same product on one machine. Accounts, quota, and device counts are separate.
2. Install from the official download
There is no official curl | bash or global npm package. The install entry is the download center.
International
- Open the Download Center.
- Use the TraeCode block (copy: Your 10x AI Coding Engineer; Seamless switch between IDE and SOLO Mode). Do not download TraeWork from the same page.
- Pick macOS (12.0+, including Intel), Windows 10/11, or
.deb/.rpm. - Install and launch.
International Quickstart: go to the official site, click Download IDE in the top right, download the package, install it.
macOS older than 12: the international Chinese Quickstart has said to download a build below 3.5.25. Use the Apple Silicon / Intel links on that page that day. This page does not invent extra URLs.
China site
China getting started:
- Go to the TRAE site, click 下载 IDE in the top right, download and install.
- If macOS is below 12, download a TRAE IDE build below 3.3.25:
Do not merge China 3.3.25 with the international 3.5.25 note into one number.
3. First-run setup and login
Follow the wizard. China getting started lists:
- Theme and language
- Import settings from VS Code or Cursor
- Add TRAE-related command-line tools
- Sign in (China account types: section 1)
International What is TraeCode? describes a full editor + Git + extension ecosystem. First-run wording follows the wizard of the build you downloaded.
「Add TRAE-related command-line tools」 is a wizard step. Official pages do not publish a binary name or a brew install string. This page does not invent one.
China extra step (same getting-started page): Settings > Development environment, configure Node.js. Add a local SDK, or download the Node.js SDK bundled with TRAE IDE.
4. Open the first project
Three official entries (international Quickstart and China getting started match):
Import a local folder
- Click Open Folder in the center of the left panel, or Select project > Open Folder at the top left.
- Choose a local folder.
Clone from GitHub
- Click Clone Git Repository, or Select project > Clone Git Repository.
- In the top panel, click Clone from GitHub.
- Finish GitHub authorization, clone, and open.
Clone from a URL
- Same Clone Git Repository entry.
- Paste the Git URL, click Repository URL {URL}.
- Follow the prompts, clone, and open.
Once it is open, confirm the tree and terminal in IDE mode. Ask the agent for a read-only repo survey before edits. Review the diff. Do not turn on auto-run on the first pass.
5. Switch IDE mode and SOLO mode
Official: What is TraeCode?, SOLO mode overview, Quickstart.
Use the mode switch at the top left.
| Mode | Official behavior | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| IDE mode | Editor, terminal, debug, extensions, source control; you control each step | Fine-grained edits in an existing repo |
| SOLO mode | AI leads planning through requirement understanding, generation, testing, and preview (the SOLO page also mentions deploy) | A vertical feature from natural language |
How to open SOLO: switch the mode to SOLO. Left to right: task panel, AI chat, tool panel (SOLO mode overview).
Input (SOLO page): natural language, voice, local file upload.
The SOLO page also lists SOLO Agent, multitasking, the tool panel (editor / docs / browser), Figma import, Supabase, deploy (Vercel is the example), AI services, payments (Stripe is the example), and the change diff. Follow those official child pages. This tutorial does not grow a second How-to.
Do not install TraeWork because you want SOLO. TraeWork is a separate client. Official copy: it builds upon TraeCode SOLO mode.
6. Agents and CUE
What is TraeCode? / CN same page:
- Agents: define tasks in natural language; search the codebase, plan steps, call tools. Custom agents can take prompts, MCP servers, and toolsets.
- CUE: completion, chained completion, multi-line edits, next-edit prediction and navigation; smart import and rename in Python, TypeScript, and Golang.
- Context: files, folders, snippets, terminal output, repos, document sets, web pages.
- Models: several built-in models; add custom models with an API key. The live list is the table on models that day. This page does not copy a roster that goes stale.
The China What-is page also documents a 「速通」 boost when a model is queued. That paragraph is not on the international English What-is page as of 2026-08-19.
Safety (both What-is pages):
- Privacy mode: chats, snippets, and AI outputs are not used for analysis, product optimization, or training. Codebase files stay on the local device.
- Sandbox: agent commands can run in a restricted environment with file-access controls and high-risk command blocking.
7. Device limit
Clients that count (same structure on both sites): TraeCode, TraeWork Desktop, TRAE mobile. TraeWork Web does not count. TraeCode + TraeWork Desktop on the same PC count as 1 device.
The cap differs:
- International: 3 (device-limit)
- China: 10 (ide_device-limit.md)
At the cap, login shows Device limit reached / 设备数量已达上限. Sign out on a device you already use. Signing out a machine that has both TraeCode and TraeWork Desktop signed in signs both out.
Common pitfalls
- Downloading TraeWork from the download page. This tutorial is TraeCode.
- Mixing China and international packages or accounts. Device caps and login providers differ.
- Treating SOLO mode as a separate TraeWork install. SOLO is the top-left switch inside TraeCode.
- Inventing a CLI install command. Official install is a package; CLI is coming soon on the enterprise page.
- Copying the Legacy quota table as current pricing. Use pricing and the current plans page.
- Using the other site's old-macOS fallback. China official direct links are Trae CN dmgs below 3.3.25.
Next steps
- Official URLs, OS, device limits → cheatsheet
- Family boundaries → learning map
- Skills / MCP / custom agents → docs.trae.ai or docs.trae.cn/llms.txt