Using Claude Code with OpenRouter via `claude-code-router` on Linux

A developer has created claude-code-router, a package that bridges Anthropic's Claude Code CLI with OpenRouter's API aggregator on Linux, enabling model selection flexibility and cost savings via prompt caching. The tool routes Claude Code requests through OpenRouter instead of Anthropic's direct API, supporting configuration via environment variables or JSON files. It leverages OpenRouter's automatic prompt caching to reduce API costs when working with large codebases.

Claude Code is Anthropic's powerful command-line coding assistant that brings AI directly into your terminal, while OpenRouter is an API aggregator that provides access to multiple AI models through a unified interface. The claude-code-router package bridges these two tools, allowing you to route Claude Code requests through OpenRouter instead of Anthropic's direct API. This guide covers installation and configuration on Linux systems only. Before beginning, ensure your system meets these requirements: Check Node.js version node --version Check npm version npm --version Check Git version git --version If Node.js is not installed or outdated, install it using your distribution's package manager or NodeSource: Ubuntu/Debian - Using NodeSource curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup 20.x | sudo -E bash - sudo apt-get install -y nodejs Fedora sudo dnf install nodejs npm Arch Linux sudo pacman -S nodejs npm claude-code-router The claude-code-router package should be installed globally alongside Anthropic's official CLI tool. npm install -g claude-code-router @anthropic-ai/claude-code Create or edit your shell configuration file: For Bash nano ~/.bashrc For Zsh nano ~/.zshrc Add the following lines: Claude Code Router Configuration export OPENROUTER API KEY="your-openrouter-api-key-here" export CLAUDE CODE ROUTER MODEL="anthropic/claude-3.7-sonnet" Apply the changes: For Bash source ~/.bashrc For Zsh source ~/.zshrc Alternatively, create a configuration file in your home directory: mkdir -p ~/.claude-code-router nano ~/.claude-code-router/config.json Add your configuration updated with the correct Claude 3.7 model string : { "apiKey": "your-openrouter-api-key-here", "model": "anthropic/claude-3.7-sonnet", "baseUrl": "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1", "maxTokens": 8192, "temperature": 0.7 } If you prefer using an environment file over a JSON config, ensure you lock down the file permissions so other users on the Linux system cannot read your API key: Create a secure environment file touch ~/.claude-code-router/.env chmod 600 ~/.claude-code-router/.env nano ~/.claude-code-router/.env Add the key inside the file: OPENROUTER API KEY=sk-or-v1-your-actual-key-here One of the primary benefits of routing Claude Code through OpenRouter is natively leveraging Prompt Caching to heavily optimize your API costs. When working in large codebases, Claude Code sends significant contextual data file structures, previous messages, and active file contents with every single request. OpenRouter automatically supports Anthropic's prompt caching functionality: No extra configuration is required in claude-code-router to enable this feature—OpenRouter handles the upstream caching headers automatically when translating requests to Anthropic's backend. Configure Claude Code to point to the local proxy, then initialize the router: export ANTHROPIC BASE URL="http://localhost:8080" ccr code If you want to quickly switch models without editing config files manually: ccr ui Note: This command redirects to a local web UI to configure your preferred OpenRouter models. Check OpenRouter's model list https://openrouter.ai/models for the most current routing options and model strings. The claude-code-router package provides a seamless way to use Claude Code through OpenRouter on Linux, giving you absolute flexibility in model selection while drastically cutting costs via prompt caching. By following this guide, you now have a secure, system-integrated proxy bridging Claude Code with OpenRouter's API infrastructure. For additional help, consult the package's documentation on npm or GitHub, and periodically check OpenRouter's documentation for API changes or new model additions.