Claude Code through Model Gate

This guide showsthe recommended installation and persistent configuration using settings.json, rather than temporary environment variables.

ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL must not include /v1. Use https://api.model-gate.com.

Required values

ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://api.model-gate.com
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=mg_live_...

1. Install Claude Code

Windows PowerShell

irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Close and reopen PowerShell, then verify:

claude --version

Linux / macOS

Install Claude Code using the official method for your system, then verify:

claude --version

2. Configure persistent settings.json

Linux / macOS

mkdir -p ~/.claude
cd ~/.claude
nano settings.json

Windows PowerShell

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force "$HOME\.claude" | Out-Null
Set-Location "$HOME\.claude"
notepad settings.json

3. Example settings.json

{
  "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/claude-code-settings.json",
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://api.model-gate.com",
    "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "mg_live_...",
    "CLAUDE_CODE_EXPERIMENTAL_AGENT_TEAMS": "1",
    "CLAUDE_CODE_EFFORT_LEVEL": "high",
    "ANTHROPIC_MODEL": "gpt-5.4",
    "ANTHROPIC_SMALL_FAST_MODEL": "claude-haiku-4.5",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL": "claude-opus-4.7",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL": "claude-sonnet-4.6",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL": "claude-haiku-4.5",
    "CLAUDE_CODE_AUTO_COMPACT_WINDOW": "180000",
    "CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS": "64000",
    "CLAUDE_CODE_FILE_READ_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS": "100000",
    "CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC": "1",
    "DISABLE_TELEMETRY": "1",
    "DISABLE_ERROR_REPORTING": "1",
    "DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER": "1",
    "DISABLE_BUG_COMMAND": "1",
    "DISABLE_COST_WARNINGS": "1",
    "DISABLE_NON_ESSENTIAL_MODEL_CALLS": "1",
    "CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_FEEDBACK_SURVEY": "1",
    "BASH_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS": "120000",
    "BASH_MAX_TIMEOUT_MS": "600000",
    "BASH_MAX_OUTPUT_LENGTH": "100000",
    "MAX_THINKING_TOKENS": "31999"
  },
  "permissions": {
    "allow": ["Read", "Write", "MultiEdit", "WebFetch(domain:*)", "Bash", "WebSearch"],
    "deny": [],
    "defaultMode": "bypassPermissions",
    "additionalDirectories": []
  },
  "skipDangerousModePermissionPrompt": true,
  "effortLevel": "max",
  "model": "gpt-5.4"
}

4. Configuration explained

Connection to Model Gate

ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL and ANTHROPIC_API_KEY route all requests through Model Gate.

Default model

ANTHROPIC_MODEL and the top-level model select the primary model. Use any enabled model ID.

Fast model

ANTHROPIC_SMALL_FAST_MODEL selects a faster model for lightweight background tasks.

Override GUI model buttons

ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL, ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL, and ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL replace the three standard model slots shown in the GUI and /model menu.

5. Launch

claude

6. Temporary launch without settings.json

Linux / macOS

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.model-gate.com"
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="mg_live_..."
claude

Windows PowerShell

$env:ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL = "https://api.model-gate.com"
$env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY = "mg_live_..."
claude

7. Windows 11: claude command not found

What to do

Close and reopen PowerShell, then run claude --version. If it is still unavailable, run where.exe claude and reinstall with the official script if necessary.

Important

The most common fix is simply restarting PowerShell so the updated PATH is loaded.

8. If Claude Code requests authorization

Complete the Anthropic sign-in once, close Claude Code, and launch it again with the Model Gate configuration. Create your API key in the API Keys section and copy it immediately.