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Macaz – GPT 5.6 inside Claude Code

Macaz, an open-source interoperability layer, launches to let users route Claude Code and Codex CLI through any model provider of their choice, translating Anthropic and OpenAI protocols while keeping client-executed tools local. The project is independent of Anthropic and OpenAI, and aims to give developers flexibility in model selection without sacrificing tool security.

read7 min views1 publishedJul 17, 2026
Macaz – GPT 5.6 inside Claude Code
Image: source

Use your favorite models and providers with your favorite coding agents.

macaz connects locally installed coding agents with a model provider chosen by the user. It starts Claude Code or Codex CLI and routes model interactions while the selected agent continues to own its local tools, permissions, sessions, skills, and user interface.

macaz is free and open-source software licensed under Apache-2.0. Every build contains the complete feature set.

Important

macaz is an independent interoperability project. It is not affiliated with, authorized by, endorsed by, or sponsored by Anthropic, OpenAI, or any other client or model provider. Claude Code and Codex CLI are separate products that must be obtained from their authorized sources. Each product and provider remains subject to its own current terms.

Read LEGAL.md and PRIVACY.md before use.

macaz claude   # Claude Code through the selected provider
macaz codex    # Codex CLI through the selected provider

The two clients have independent provider/model configuration and isolated macaz profiles. For example, macaz claude

can use an OpenAI model while macaz codex

uses the official Anthropic API. macaz reset codex

changes neither the Claude configuration nor shared provider credentials.

The local routing layer translates both directions:

  • Anthropic Messages requests and streams used by Claude Code;
  • OpenAI Responses requests and streams used by Codex CLI;
  • text, images, supported document inputs, reasoning effort, usage, errors, function tools, Codex custom/free-form tools, and tool namespaces; and
  • live provider model catalogs into each client's native /model

interface.

Client-executed tools stay in the client. Shell commands, file edits, apply_patch

, skills, hooks, MCP tools, namespaced tools, and subagents are not executed by macaz or by an upstream CLI adapter. Normal client permission and sandbox behavior is preserved unless the user explicitly passes that client's own bypass option.

Server-executed tools are different: a tool such as provider-hosted web search is available only when the selected provider exposes a compatible server implementation. macaz disables Codex's OpenAI-hosted web-search request for provider-neutral sessions rather than silently pretending another provider can execute it. Local function, custom, namespace, and MCP tools remain available.

No translation can make different proprietary models semantically identical. The compatibility target is correct protocol and local-tool behavior without a hidden provider fallback.

On macOS or Linux:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/macaz-dev/macaz-cli/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

The installer selects the platform release, requires its entry in SHA256SUMS

, verifies SHA-256, and installs to $HOME/.local/bin

by default. Pin a release with --version

:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/macaz-dev/macaz-cli/main/scripts/install.sh |
  sh -s -- --version 0.2.0

Windows binaries and other release files are published on GitHub Releases.

Install the latest release in place later with:

macaz update

The updater downloads only the exact asset for the current platform, verifies the release checksums and embedded version, and replaces the executable with rollback protection. It does not send prompts, source code, configuration, or provider credentials.

Release builds perform a short best-effort update check on startup. The check never installs automatically and does not block offline use. Disable it with:

export MACAZ_NO_UPDATE_CHECK=1
  • Go is needed only when building from source. claude

must be onPATH

to usemacaz claude

.codex

must be onPATH

to usemacaz codex

.opencode

is required only when OpenCode CLI is the selected provider.- A browser is used by the OpenAI Subscription authorization flow.

Claude Code, Codex CLI, and OpenCode are not bundled or redistributed.

The first invocation of each client opens its own setup:

macaz claude
macaz codex

Available upstreams:

Provider Claude client Codex client
OpenAI Subscription yes no (use Codex directly)
OpenAI API yes no (use Codex directly)
OpenRouter API yes yes
Anthropic API no (use Claude directly) yes
Codex CLI provider bridge yes no (recursive)
OpenCode CLI provider bridge yes yes

API keys and OAuth credentials are stored in the operating-system credential store, not in config.json

. The Anthropic option uses an Anthropic API key and the public Messages API; it does not use or convert a Claude consumer subscription. Anthropic model IDs, token limits, input capabilities, and effort levels are read from the account's live Models API during setup and startup.

Each start refreshes the active provider catalog. The resulting public model IDs and supported reasoning levels are written to the isolated client profile, so model selection works through Claude Code's or Codex CLI's native /model

interface. The configured provider default is selected at launch; interactive changes follow the selected client's normal session behavior.

macaz claude [args...]    Start Claude Code
macaz codex [args...]     Start Codex CLI
macaz status [client]     Check the configured provider and model catalog
macaz doctor [client]     Check the client executable and provider
macaz reset [client]      Reset one client, or all macaz state when omitted
macaz legal               Show the compatibility notice
macaz update              Install the latest verified release
macaz version             Show the installed version

Arguments after macaz claude

or macaz codex

are forwarded to that client, except model/provider/profile overrides that would bypass macaz's authenticated local routing layer.

Examples:

macaz claude --dangerously-skip-permissions
macaz codex --sandbox workspace-write
macaz status codex
macaz doctor claude
macaz reset codex

macaz reset claude

or macaz reset codex

removes only that client's macaz configuration and isolated profile. It preserves the other client and shared provider credentials. macaz reset

with no client removes both macaz profiles, all macaz-managed credentials, configuration, and isolated session history. It does not remove normal vendor-client profiles or credentials managed directly by vendor CLIs.

  • The local routing layer listens on a random 127.0.0.1

port. - A new random authentication token is generated for every launch.

  • The token exists only in the child process environment.
  • Config and profile files use private permissions where supported.
  • Normal Claude and Codex profiles are not modified.
  • The local routing process stops when the launched client exits.
  • There is no fallback to a different provider or official model.
  • macaz contains no project-operated analytics or telemetry client.

The isolated profiles may contain client-owned session history. See PRIVACY.md for exact data flow and deletion behavior.

  • OpenAI API and OpenRouter use Responses-compatible HTTP adapters.
  • OpenAI Subscription uses device authorization, refreshes credentials, and applies bounded account retry/backoff. It is experimental and remains subject to OpenAI's current account terms.
  • Anthropic API uses native /v1/models

,/v1/messages

, and/v1/messages/count_tokens

. Responses custom tools are converted to normal Anthropic tools with a typed raw-input wrapper and converted back before Codex executes them. - Codex CLI as a provider uses codex app-server

and is offered only to the Claude client; using Codex as both client and upstream would recurse. - OpenCode CLI uses an isolated request-scoped provider configuration. Its project tools and context are not exposed as a second agent layer.

Go 1.26.5 or newer is required.

Run from source:

go run ./cmd/macaz version
go run ./cmd/macaz claude
go run ./cmd/macaz codex

Build and run a local binary:

go build -o ./macaz ./cmd/macaz
./macaz version
./macaz codex

Run verification:

go mod verify
go test ./...
go vet ./...
go test -race ./...

Build a complete local release package into ignored dist/

:

./scripts/build-release.sh v1.0.0

The release script requires an empty output directory and creates static macOS, Linux, and Windows binaries for amd64 and arm64, plus checksums and the installer. To choose another empty directory:

OUTPUT_DIR=/tmp/macaz-release ./scripts/build-release.sh v1.0.0

Opt-in live-provider tests never run in normal CI:

MACAZ_OPENAI_API_INTEGRATION_MODEL=<model> go test ./internal/provider/openai -run LiveOpenAIAPI
MACAZ_OPENAI_SUBSCRIPTION_INTEGRATION_MODEL=<model> go test ./internal/provider/openai -run LiveOpenAISubscription
MACAZ_OPENROUTER_INTEGRATION_MODEL=<provider/model> go test ./internal/provider/openrouter -run LiveOpenRouter
MACAZ_CODEX_INTEGRATION_EXECUTABLE=<codex-or-compatible> go test ./internal/provider/codexcli -run LiveCodex
MACAZ_OPENCODE_INTEGRATION_MODEL=<provider/model> go test ./internal/provider/opencodecli -run LiveOpenCode
MACAZ_CLAUDE_INTEGRATION=1 go test ./internal/app -run LiveClaudeLifecycle

Every merged pull request on main

is verified, assigned the next SemVer tag, built for all supported platforms, and published as a GitHub Release with checksums, provenance, and generated release notes. The default bump is patch; the release:minor

and release:major

labels select larger bumps.

Apache License 2.0. See LICENSE, NOTICE, and THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.

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