XCR quick start: from sign-up to your first checked change

What you need

• A computer running macOS or Linux.
• An AI coding tool XCR connects to: Codex, Claude Code, Cursor or Grok Build.
• Node.js 20 or later. If it's missing, your AI coding tool installs it for you and asks before it does.
• A project in a folder on that computer. A git repository works best.

Step 1: Create your account with your email

Open the install page. If you're not signed in yet, enter your email and choose Email me a sign-in link. The link arrives in seconds and works for 15 minutes. There is no password to remember and no card needed to sign up. New here? The same link creates your account.

Step 2: Add credits

XCR uses prepaid credits, so you only pay for the work it does. In your console, open Credits & billing and pick a pack:

• $5 of credit for $5.62
• $10 of credit for $10.83
• $25 of credit for $26.44
• $50 of credit for $52.45

Prices are before tax and include the payment processing cost. Creem handles the payment as merchant of record, and there is no subscription or automatic renewal. Your balance updates as soon as Creem confirms the payment. Each task costs the model usage plus 20%, plus $0.02 per task; see pricing for a worked example.

Step 3: Connect XCR to your AI coding tool

1. In your console, open Install on a computer.
2. Pick your tool: Codex, Claude Code, Cursor or Grok Build.
3. Read What XCR will change on your computer and tick the box to agree.
4. Click Copy install instruction, paste it into your AI coding tool and allow the command when it asks.
5. The command downloads the plugin from xcr.ai and checks its SHA-256 before it runs anything. Your console then shows Connected.
6. Restart your AI coding tool. That's it.

The instruction works once, for the next 10 minutes; if it expires, just copy it again. In Cursor you can use the Add to Cursor button instead. Prefer the terminal? Open Prefer the terminal? on the same page, copy the command and run it yourself. For a closer look at one tool, see install XCR in Codex.

Step 4: Hand off your first task

Just ask for what you want in your AI coding tool. The short rule XCR installs tells your tool when to hand work over: changes beyond a small edit, roughly more than 30 lines or more than one file, such as features, tests, bug fixes, refactors and migrations. Quick questions and one-line fixes stay in your tool. Good first requests:

• "Add unit tests for the payment module and make them pass."
• "Add CSV export to the orders page, with filters by date and status."
• "Fix the bug where sessions expire too early, and add a test for it."

Step 5: Get the result back

XCR works on a copy of your project, including uncommitted files, so your working tree is only touched when a result is applied. Only the files a task needs are sent, with secret values removed, and files such as .env and private keys are never read. XCR writes the change, runs your project's own checks (type check, lint, tests) offline in a sandbox on macOS, or on Linux with bubblewrap installed, and repairs failures within the task budget.

You get a short report: the requirements done, the files changed, the check results and the exact charge. When the checks pass, the change is written into your working tree without a commit, ready for review in your usual diff. Prefer to decide first? Under Settings → Plugin preferences, choose Keep it aside until I decide, and the change waits on a separate branch until you say so. Results with failing checks are never applied automatically. Anything that needs the internet, such as installing packages, is listed under Needs you for your AI coding tool to finish. Changed your mind? Ask your AI coding tool to undo the XCR change.

Step 6: See what you spend

• Overview shows your balance and what you spent today.
• Tasks lists every task: what was asked, the outcome and the exact charge. The code itself is never stored.
• Credits & billing has your full usage history.
• Under Computers & projects you can set a daily limit for each computer. Every task also has its own spending cap.

Pause or uninstall anytime

To pause, use the switch at the top of Overview, or pause one computer or project under Computers & projects. While XCR is paused, your AI coding tool does the work itself and nothing is charged. To remove XCR from a computer, tell your AI coding tool "Uninstall XCR from this computer", or click Remove from this computer under Computers & projects. Uninstalling takes out exactly what XCR added and leaves the rest of your files as they were. See how the plugin works for the details.