Run Claude Code with a different model provider: the variables per vendor, what CC Switch and magpie write, and what breaks

Claude Code 2.1.299 can be pointed at non-Anthropic model providers in about ten minutes by setting ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL to a vendor's Anthropic-compatible endpoint, putting the vendor key in ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN, and mapping all four model tiers, according to vendor documentation compiled on 14 October 2026. Anthropic's gateway docs state it does not support routing Claude Code to non-Claude models, so failures must be resolved through each vendor's docs and issue tracker; Claude Code 2.1.268 or later is required because versions 2.1.265 to 2.1.267 sent a tool schema that Z.ai and DeepSeek rejected on every interactive request (issue #92964).

Run Claude Code with a different model provider: the variables per vendor, what CC Switch and magpie write, and what breaks To run Claude Code https://stackness.dev/tools/claude-code on another vendor's model, you set ANTHROPIC BASE URL to the vendor's Anthropic-compatible endpoint, put the vendor's key in ANTHROPIC AUTH TOKEN and map all four model tiers to the vendor's models, which takes about ten minutes. The steps below are copied from each vendor's docs on 14 October 2026, when Claude Code 2.1.299 was the latest release; some vendors last tested older versions. Anthropic's gateway docs https://code.claude.com/docs/en/llm-gateway say it does not support routing Claude Code to non-Claude models, so when something breaks, the vendor's docs and issue tracker are where the fix is. The harness lock-in post https://stackness.dev/blog/deepseek-harness-vs-claude-code-which-harnesses-lock-you-to-one-model-and-what-breaks-when-you-switc covers what you leave behind in plugins, hooks and sessions. This one is the setup. What you need - Claude Code 2.1.268 or later. Versions 2.1.265 to 2.1.267 sent a tool schema that Z.ai and DeepSeek rejected on every interactive request issue 92964 https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/92964 . - A key for the vendor. At Kimi, pay-as-you-go keys and the coding plan are separate products with different endpoints, and MiniMax's endpoint below takes an M Plan key. - For a local model, Ollama https://stackness.dev/tools/ollama , with its context length set to 64k or more. | Vendor | Endpoint for ANTHROPIC BASE URL | Model the vendor's docs put on the top tiers | |---|---|---| | DeepSeek API | https://api.deepseek.com/anthropic | deepseek-flash 1m | | Kimi API | https://api.moonshot.ai/anthropic | kimi-k3 1m | | Kimi Code plan | https://api.kimi.ai/coding/ | k3-256k or k3 1m | | Z.ai GLM Coding Plan | https://api.z.ai/api/anthropic | glm-5.3 1m | | MiniMax M Plan | https://api.minimax.io/anthropic | MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview 1m | | OpenRouter https://stackness.dev/tools/openrouter | https://openrouter.ai/api | ~anthropic/claude-sonnet-latest 1m , or any model with CLAUDE CODE ENABLE GATEWAY MODEL DISCOVERY=1 | | Ollama | http://localhost:11434 | Any local model | Sources: DeepSeek https://api-docs.deepseek.com/quick start/agent integrations/claude code , Kimi API https://platform.kimi.ai/docs/guide/claude-code-kimi.md , Kimi Code https://www.kimi.com/code/docs/en/third-party-tools/claude-code.html , Z.ai https://docs.z.ai/devpack/tool/claude , MiniMax https://platform.minimax.io/docs/m-plan/claude-code.md , OpenRouter https://openrouter.ai/docs/guides/guides/claude-code-integration , Ollama https://docs.ollama.com/integrations/claude-code . 1. Test the endpoint with curl first Testing the endpoint before Claude Code starts separates a wrong URL or key from a Claude Code problem. Anthropic's connection guide https://code.claude.com/docs/en/llm-gateway-connect gives this request: curl -sS -w '\n%{http code}\n' -X POST "$ANTHROPIC BASE URL/v1/messages" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $ANTHROPIC AUTH TOKEN" \ -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \ -H "content-type: application/json" \ -d '{"model": "claude-sonnet-4-6", "max tokens": 1, "messages": {"role": "user", "content": "."} }' An error naming an unknown model still means the URL and key work. A 401 means the key was rejected. The base URL ends before /v1 : adding /v1 yourself produces /v1/v1/messages . 2. Set all four model tiers in settings.json Claude Code calls four model tiers, not one: Opus, Sonnet and Fable for the main work, Haiku for background calls, plus a separate model for subagents. Kimi's docs warn that setting only some of them makes the rest fail silently. DeepSeek's snippet does not set the Fable tier ANTHROPIC DEFAULT FABLE MODEL , and DeepSeek maps any model name it does not support to deepseek-flash . DeepSeek's setup, moved into the env block of ~/.claude/settings.json : { "env": { "ANTHROPIC BASE URL": "https://api.deepseek.com/anthropic", "ANTHROPIC AUTH TOKEN": "<your DeepSeek API key ", "ANTHROPIC MODEL": "deepseek-flash 1m ", "ANTHROPIC DEFAULT OPUS MODEL": "deepseek-flash 1m ", "ANTHROPIC DEFAULT SONNET MODEL": "deepseek-flash 1m ", "ANTHROPIC DEFAULT HAIKU MODEL": "deepseek-flash", "CLAUDE CODE SUBAGENT MODEL": "deepseek-flash", "CLAUDE CODE EFFORT LEVEL": "max", "CLAUDE CODE AUTO COMPACT WINDOW": "786432" } } Use ~/.claude/settings.json for every project or .claude/settings.local.json for one, never the committed .claude/settings.json . When a shell export and the settings file set the same variable, the settings file wins, so a leftover env block overrides whatever you export later. Use ANTHROPIC AUTH TOKEN unless the vendor says otherwise; Kimi's coding plan is the exception and uses ANTHROPIC API KEY . ANTHROPIC SMALL FAST MODEL , which older guides set, is deprecated https://code.claude.com/docs/en/model-config in favour of ANTHROPIC DEFAULT HAIKU MODEL . For Ollama, ollama launch claude does all of this for one run: it sets the variables on the child process only and writes no Claude Code settings file source https://github.com/ollama/ollama/blob/main/cmd/launch/claude.go . 3. Check /status, then the vendor's dashboard /status in Claude Code confirms the switch: it shows an Anthropic base URL line only when a gateway is set, and an Auth token: ANTHROPIC AUTH TOKEN line when the key is the one in use. A Login method line naming claude.ai means your vendor key is not active. Then run /model and check that each tier lists the vendor's model. Read the bill on the vendor's dashboard, not the dollar figure in /usage /cost is now an alias for it , which Claude Code computes locally from token counts at list price costs https://code.claude.com/docs/en/costs . The model names mislead too: DeepSeek maps claude-opus requests to deepseek-v4-pro and bills the V4 Pro price DeepSeek https://api-docs.deepseek.com/guides/anthropic api , and since about 9 October its endpoint echoes the requested model back, so transcripts record Opus issue 101637 https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/101637 . /usage does show the prompt cache hit ratio, which is the number to watch. What CC Switch and magpie write to disk A switcher does steps 2 and 3 for you, and it rewrites your config each time you switch. CC Switch https://stackness.dev/tools/cc-switch v4.0.11, released 13 October with 144,049 GitHub stars, and magpie https://stackness.dev/tools/magpie v0.1.1233, released 14 October with 12,231 stars, are both MIT-licensed and touch the same file. | | CC Switch | magpie | |---|---|---| | Claude Code file it edits | env keys and model in ~/.claude/settings.json ; leaves permissions, hooks and plugins alone | env keys in ~/.claude/settings.json ; restores the old values when you switch back | | OpenAI Codex https://stackness.dev/tools/codex-cli | Writes model providers.custom to ~/.codex/config.toml and deletes ~/.codex/auth.json on a direct switch, stashing the login | Adds model providers.magpie and a model catalog file | | Local proxy | 127.0.0.1:15721 in Routing mode, which writes the placeholder key PROXY MANAGED | Gateway at 127.0.0.1:3425 , translating between API formats | | Its own data | ~/.cc-switch/ SQLite database, backups every 24 hours | ~/.config/magpie/ keys in providers.json , replaced values in stash.json | Sources: CC Switch config file docs https://github.com/farion1231/cc-switch/blob/main/docs/user-manual/en/5-faq/5.1-config-files.md , magpie reference https://github.com/yetone/magpie/blob/main/docs/reference.md , magpie README https://github.com/yetone/magpie . Three side effects to know. CC Switch does not save the model you picked with /model back to the previous provider. magpie's docs say a key in ANTHROPIC AUTH TOKEN signs Claude Code out of claude.ai while it runs through magpie, which turns off claude.ai's plan limits in /usage , its connectors, voice and /teleport , and that Remote Control stays off because Claude Code offers it only on Anthropic's own address. magpie also reads your existing Claude Code and Codex sign-ins to offer them as providers magpie accounts discovery off stops it and sends one usage ping a day unless DO NOT TRACK=1 is set. What goes wrong, and the fix The cache misses and the bill jumps Prompt caching is where a provider swap costs or saves the most, because a long session resends the whole context every turn. Anthropic's caching docs https://code.claude.com/docs/en/prompt-caching warn that a gateway which drops the cache markers "bills as uncached input on every turn". DeepSeek ignores the markers and caches on its own, best-effort, so hits are not guaranteed. OpenRouter keeps a session on one provider for its cache until 10 minutes of inactivity. Ollama does not support the markers, which costs nothing on a local model. Input cost of one turn that resends a 100,000-token context, at each vendor's list price on 14 October 2026 output and cache writes left out : | Model | Uncached | Cached | |---|---|---| | Claude Sonnet https://stackness.dev/tools/claude-sonnet 5.5 | $0.20 | $0.01 | | DeepSeek https://stackness.dev/tools/deepseek-v4 V4.1 Flash, peak hours | $0.03 | $0.0006 | | DeepSeek V4 Pro, peak hours | $0.132 | $0.0044 | | Kimi K3 https://stackness.dev/tools/kimi-k3 | $0.30 | $0.03 | | GLM https://stackness.dev/tools/glm -5.3, pay-as-you-go | $0.14 | $0.026 | | MiniMax-M3 https://stackness.dev/tools/minimax-m3 | $0.03 | $0.006 | Prices: Anthropic https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/about-claude/pricing , DeepSeek https://api-docs.deepseek.com/quick start/pricing , Kimi https://platform.kimi.ai/docs/pricing/chat , Z.ai https://docs.z.ai/guides/overview/pricing , MiniMax https://platform.minimax.io/docs/pricing/overview . DeepSeek halves both prices off-peak. A missed cache on DeepSeek V4 Pro $0.132 or even V4.1 Flash $0.03 costs more than a hit on Sonnet 5.5 $0.01 , so a cheaper model with a broken cache can cost more than the Claude model it replaced. Kimi K3 lists input above Sonnet 5.5, at $3 against $2 per million tokens. Fix: watch the hit ratio in /usage for the first sessions, and do not switch provider in the middle of a session: CC Switch's docs note that the new model has to rebuild its prompt cache. Background calls fail with "invalid thinking" Some models only run with thinking on. Kimi's docs show kimi-k2.7-code , which their own setup puts on the Haiku tier, rejecting requests sent with thinking off with 400 invalid thinking: only type=enabled is allowed for this model , and tell you to keep thinking on in Claude Code. MiniMax's M3.1 Flash Preview also cannot turn thinking off. CC Switch hit this when its Routing mode wrote the Haiku tier as claude-haiku-4-5 , a name Claude Code treats as able to run without thinking, and fixed https://github.com/farion1231/cc-switch/issues/8118 it on 12 October. Fix: keep thinking on, or put a model that accepts thinking off on ANTHROPIC DEFAULT HAIKU MODEL , and update the switcher. /context shows a 200k window on a 1M model Claude Code assumes 200,000 tokens for a model name it does not know, so it compacts early or reports a nearly full context before the first message issue 94487 https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/94487 . Without a matching auto-compact window, it can also run into the vendor's real limit. Fix: use the 1m suffix the vendor's docs give, or set CLAUDE CODE MAX CONTEXT TOKENS and CLAUDE CODE AUTO COMPACT WINDOW to the model's real window env vars https://code.claude.com/docs/en/env-vars . An ID with 1m ignores CLAUDE CODE MAX CONTEXT TOKENS unless CLAUDE CODE DISABLE 1M CONTEXT=1 is also set. Requests fail after a Claude Code update New Claude Code releases send new tool schemas and beta fields that other vendors' endpoints may reject. Anthropic's troubleshooting table gives CLAUDE CODE DISABLE EXPERIMENTAL BETAS=1 for an Extra inputs are not permitted error. For a schema error that starts with one release, check the vendor's and the switcher's issue trackers before downgrading. Images and web search stop working DeepSeek V4 Pro does not take images; only Flash does. Claude Code's WebSearch tool runs on Anthropic's search backend, which DeepSeek's endpoint serves itself at extra token cost; Z.ai and MiniMax offer search through MCP servers instead. When the vendor's own harness is the better choice If you will run one vendor's model full time, its own harness avoids most of these failures: ZCode https://stackness.dev/tools/zcode for GLM, DeepSeek Harness https://stackness.dev/tools/deepseek-harness a preview , Kimi Code https://stackness.dev/tools/kimi-code for Kimi, or a model-agnostic one such as Pi https://stackness.dev/tools/pi , all among the AI coding tools developers list https://stackness.dev/categories/ai-tools . The swap makes sense when you want Claude Code's hooks, skills and plugins and a cheaper model for part of the work, which is the trade the model routing post https://stackness.dev/blog/model-routing-for-coding-agents-the-plan-and-price-numbers-developers-measured-in-september-2026 prices. On Stackness, as of 14 October 2026, 8 real profiles list Claude Code, 1 lists Kimi K3 and none list CC Switch or magpie, after removing bot accounts data sources https://stackness.dev/about/data-sources , so these are early setups. Checklist Claude Code 2.1.268 or later curl test returns 200 or an unknown-model error, not 401 ANTHROPIC BASE URL without /v1, key in ANTHROPIC AUTH TOKEN Kimi Code: ANTHROPIC API KEY Opus, Sonnet, Fable, Haiku and subagent models all set, in ~/.claude/settings.json or settings.local.json Haiku-tier model works with the thinking setting you run 1m suffix or CLAUDE CODE MAX CONTEXT TOKENS matches the real window /status shows the base URL and the auth token line cache hit ratio checked in /usage; bill read on the vendor's dashboard no provider switch mid-session Which of these do you use? Nobody on Stackness runs OpenRouter yet. Tick what you use and be the first. Play Lonny Eagle Amateur Skater 4A pixel art skateboarding game. Signing up opens it straight away.Sign up to play https://stackness.dev/games/lonny-eagle