# Claude Code

> Point Anthropic's CLI agent at the gateway with two environment variables — and avoid the one trap that silently bills the wrong key.

_Source: https://aiprimetech.io/docs/guides/claude-code/ · Home > Docs > Integration guides_

Claude Code reads its endpoint from the environment, so no patching is needed. This is the most common setup on the gateway.


## Setup

```bash
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://aiprimetech.io"
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="sk-your-key"
claude
```

That is the whole integration. Add both lines to `~/.zshrc` or `~/.bashrc` to make it permanent.

> **The trap:** if `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` is set in your shell, Claude Code may prefer it and bill that key, silently ignoring both your gateway key and any Pro/Max subscription. Run `echo $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` — if it prints anything, `unset ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` before starting.


## Per-project configuration

To scope the gateway to one repo rather than your whole shell, use a settings file:

```json
{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://aiprimetech.io",
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "sk-your-key"
  }
}
```

Place it at `.claude/settings.json` in the project, or `~/.claude/settings.json` for a user-wide default. Add `.claude/settings.json` to `.gitignore` — it contains a key.


## Verifying it worked

```bash
# 1. the gateway answers and the key is valid
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}\n" https://aiprimetech.io/v1/models \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN"

# 2. start Claude Code and confirm usage appears in your dashboard
claude
```

If requests do not appear in your dashboard, they are going somewhere else — almost always the `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` trap above.


## Choosing a model

```bash
claude --model claude-opus-4-8
```

Any id from [Models](/docs/getting-started/models/) works. Opus for hard refactors, Sonnet for everyday work — see [Cost control](/docs/guides/cost-control/) for why that choice dominates your bill.


## Keeping the cost sane

- Claude Code resends file contents and tool results every turn — long sessions grow expensive non-linearly. Use `/clear` between unrelated tasks.
- Large tool outputs (a 500-row query, a whole build log) become permanent context. Pipe through `head` where you can.
- Prompt caching helps most here because the system prompt and tool definitions are stable across turns.

- [MCP servers](https://aiprimetech.io/docs/guides/mcp-servers/) — Give Claude Code real tools
- [Cost control](https://aiprimetech.io/docs/guides/cost-control/) — Where agent tokens go
- [Troubleshooting](https://aiprimetech.io/docs/guides/troubleshooting/) — When nothing happens


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_ClaudeAPIKey.dev is an independently operated, Anthropic-compatible API gateway. Not affiliated with Anthropic._