Claude Code API Key: Setup Without a Subscription

Yes, you can use the local Claude Code CLI with an API key instead of a Pro or Max subscription. Set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, launch claude, approve the key when prompted, and run /status to verify the active credential. Anthropic documents this API-key authentication path.

An approved key bills its Claude Console organization instead of your subscription allowance. Commands and prices were checked on September 23, 2026.

Set up your Claude Code API key

Have an authorized key and an installed CLI? Follow these steps. Otherwise, see Get a key or install Claude Code.

Run claude --version; the Sonnet 5.5 examples need v2.1.284 or later, and claude update upgrades a native install.

1. 1
   Set the key and launch from the same terminal

   If you're switching an existing setup, inspect /status first. These shell examples clear common gateway and cloud selections in the current terminal. Remove unintended settings-file entries too: settings-file env values overwrite shell exports.

   Remove a gateway's ANTHROPIC_MODEL from settings when using the saved model field; the environment variable takes precedence.

   Watch out

   This changes which account pays

   An approved ANTHROPIC_API_KEY overrides a saved subscription login. In claude -p, the key is selected without approval unless a higher-priority provider or credential wins. See authentication precedence.

   Replace placeholders locally. Literal secrets can remain in shell history. Settings-file keys are plaintext and reach subprocesses; never commit them to shared project settings. Use a credential helper for secret-manager-backed persistence.

   macOS / LinuxWindows PowerShellUser settings.json

   Shell

   Copy

   unset ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL ANTHROPIC_MODEL
   unset CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRY
   export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"
   claude --model claude-sonnet-5-5

   Sources: the API-key variable, settings format, --model flag, and Sonnet 5.5 API ID.

2. 2
   Approve, verify and send one small test

   Approve the custom key if prompted. If you previously declined it, enable Use custom API key in /config. The toggle appears while ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is set.

   Run /status. Check that the active API-key source names ANTHROPIC_API_KEY. When login and key both exist, the status screen marks the unused credential.

   Send:

   text

   Copy

   Reply with OK. Do not use tools.

   Confirm usage in the associated organization's Console Usage page. For an employer-owned account, ask the administrator to confirm it. The test also consumes system-prompt and context tokens.

Get a key or install Claude Code

Follow Anthropic's API-key creation instructions and Console billing instructions, or our step-by-step guide to getting a Claude API key and adding credits. Use the installation instructions below if you also need the CLI.

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
# Open a new terminal, then:
claude --version

irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
# Open a new terminal, then:
claude --version

Choose which account pays

The credential authorizes model calls, the endpoint determines where they go, and the billing system records usage. An endpoint alone does not select a billing account.

Sources: Claude Code authentication, subscription usage credits, and our Requesty integration. The free claude.ai plan does not include Claude Code.

Console API billing without managing a key yourself

Remove conflicting credential overrides, then use the documented Console login command:

claude auth login --console
claude

The recommended Sign in with your Console account option stores an OAuth-backed Anthropic profile without creating a key. The alternative creates a legacy key. Keyless Console sign-in requires v2.1.242 or later and may be unavailable under some policies.

A Profile row in /status can therefore mean Console API billing. OAuth alone does not identify who pays.

Which credential wins when you are already subscribed?

Anthropic documents this credential order for ordinary local sessions:

Logging in to Pro does not remove an exported key. After approval, the key wins. Declining it interactively does not protect a later claude -p process from selecting it.

Authentication precedence is not settings precedence

Claude Code resolves configuration before selecting a credential. Settings priority is managed, command line, project local, shared project, then user. Settings-file env entries overwrite matching shell variables. See settings precedence and environment resolution.

Clearing an export can leave a settings-file override in place. Inspect /status and its setting sources in the affected session. Anthropic's environment-variable reference covers the broader configuration surface.

Switch back to your subscription safely

Stop unattended jobs and exit the session. Remove persistent overrides before clearing the terminal: settings-file removal takes effect on the next launch.

Check:

• User, project-local and shared project settings.
• Shell profiles, Windows user variables, IDE launch settings and CI secrets.
• apiKeyHelper, cloud flags, endpoint and gateway-specific model overrides.
• Advanced OAuth, named-profile or federation configuration if used.

Clear common direct-key and gateway overrides:

unset ANTHROPIC_API_KEY ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL
unset CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRY
unset ANTHROPIC_MODEL

Remove-Item Env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item Env:ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item Env:ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item Env:CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item Env:CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item Env:CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRY -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item Env:ANTHROPIC_MODEL -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Launch claude and check /status. If the subscription login is missing, run claude auth login, or /login in-session, and select your claude.ai subscription. Use these current authentication commands rather than claude login or claude logout.

[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY", $null, "User")

Remove the winning override; deleting your entire .claude directory is unnecessary.

API billing or a subscription: what will it cost?

Metering suits occasional use. A subscription suits sustained interactive use if its allowance covers your work. Compare your measured API bill with the plan fee and the limits you hit.

Current published prices

Anthropic's API rates, checked September 23, 2026, in USD per million tokens at standard global rates:

Opus 5.5 requires Claude Code v2.1.280 or later.

US monthly web prices are $20 for Pro, $100 for Max 5x and $200 for Max 20x. Plans have session and weekly limits; regional and mobile prices can differ. Optional usage credits add charges.

A cache-aware worked example

Assume one unit of coding work uses these aggregate billable tokens across all requests:

Don't count cache writes or reads again as uncached input. We exclude fast mode, one-hour cache writes, server-tool fees, tax, regional premiums and contracted discounts.

The same token shape costs $2.10 on Opus 5.5: (0.1 × $4) + (0.1 × $5) + (1 × $0.20) + (0.05 × $20). Compare completed work as well as tokens when choosing a model.

On Sonnet 5.5, four units cost 4 × $1.15 = $4.60; 20 cost $23; 100 cost $115.

Illustrative API spend versus a plan fee

4, 20 and 100 units at $1.15 each

Illustrative Sonnet API billPro monthly fee

4 assumed units4 × $1.15 = $4.60

$4.6/mo

$20/mo

20 assumed units20 × $1.15 = $23

$23/mo

$20/mo

100 assumed units100 × $1.15 = $115

$115/mo

$20/mo

At this token mix, $20 ÷ $1.15 ≈ 17.4 units reaches Pro's monthly purchase price. Check whether your plan's limits cover your workload; subscriptions also include other Claude surfaces.

Continue a subscription with usage credits

Pro and Max subscribers can enable subscription usage credits, add funds and set a monthly spend limit in claude.ai's Usage settings. At the plan limit, enabled credits with funds available let you choose to continue at standard API rates, charged separately.

Keep subscription authentication. /usage-credits opens the settings page and is unavailable with API-key authentication. These credits cover Claude conversations and Claude Code terminal usage. They do not fund a Console key or turn it into subscription-first fallback.

Measure the bill and set a boundary

For API users, /usage shows session usage; /cost is an alias. Dollar totals are local estimates, including with administrator-configured rates. Use Console Usage for direct billing and Requesty's ledger for our routes. To log session events, use Anthropic's session hooks.

API access has rate and monthly spend limits. A non-default Console workspace supports a lower spend limit than the organization. Review auto-reload before using a prepaid balance as your boundary.

For an unattended job, --max-budget-usd sets a per-run budget including subagent spend. This example uses $2:

claude -p "Summarize this repository's architecture. Do not modify files." \
  --model claude-sonnet-5-5 \
  --max-budget-usd 2

The flag is print-mode only. Use account or workspace controls for an interactive monthly boundary.

Use Requesty for per-developer keys and spend caps

One Requesty key per developer gives you access to 600+ models in Claude Code, a monthly cap per key, and cost per developer. Set it up with ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL and ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN, as documented in our Claude Code integration.

Use https://router.requesty.ai, without /v1 or /anthropic. These Sonnet 5.5 examples need v2.1.284 or later. Remove conflicting settings-file overrides, then choose a method:

unset ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
unset CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRY
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://router.requesty.ai"
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="YOUR_REQUESTY_API_KEY"
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL="anthropic/claude-sonnet-5-5"
claude

Remove-Item Env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item Env:CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item Env:CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item Env:CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRY -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
$env:ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL = "https://router.requesty.ai"
$env:ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN = "YOUR_REQUESTY_API_KEY"
$env:ANTHROPIC_MODEL = "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5-5"
claude

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://router.requesty.ai",
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "YOUR_REQUESTY_API_KEY",
    "ANTHROPIC_MODEL": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-5-5"
  }
}

We checked anthropic/claude-sonnet-5-5 in our live catalog on September 30. Any allowed catalog ID works through ANTHROPIC_MODEL; non-Claude models vary in tool and Claude-specific feature support.

Verify the documented /status fields: Anthropic base URL should show https://router.requesty.ai, and active Auth token should name ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN. Send the small test and confirm it in Requesty's analytics dashboard through the cost-tracking guide. Request-level visibility shows the calls behind the session; the gateway carries model requests, with background traffic taking other paths.

For a team rollout:

1. Create a named key per developer or workstation using our key and spend-limit instructions.
2. Set a monthly cap with per-key spend controls.
3. Review costs by key or owning member in cost-tracking views.

Pay-as-you-go pricing is provider token costs plus 5%, with no per-seat fee or minimum spend. The $23 token bill above becomes $23 × 1.05 = $24.15, before other applicable charges.

Set up developer keys and caps

Follow our Claude Code integration docs, then create your Requesty account.

Advanced authentication for teams

Use personal developer keys and service-account keys for shared automation, following Anthropic's key-type guidance. Separate coding from production workloads with Console workspaces.

Administrators distribute configuration through managed settings. Some forced-login policies block environment credentials and helpers; ask the administrator to approve a blocked route.

#!/bin/sh
exec vault kv get -field=api_key secret/claude-code

chmod +x ~/bin/get-claude-key.sh

{
  "apiKeyHelper": "~/bin/get-claude-key.sh",
  "model": "claude-sonnet-5-5"
}

vault kv get -field=api_key secret/claude-code

{
  "apiKeyHelper": "powershell -NoProfile -File C:\\scripts\\get-claude-key.ps1",
  "model": "claude-sonnet-5-5"
}

aws sso login --profile=YOUR_PROFILE
export AWS_PROFILE=YOUR_PROFILE
export CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK=1
export AWS_REGION=us-east-1
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL='us.anthropic.claude-sonnet-4-6'
claude

gcloud config set project YOUR_PROJECT_ID
gcloud services enable aiplatform.googleapis.com
gcloud auth application-default login
export CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX=1
export CLOUD_ML_REGION=global
export ANTHROPIC_VERTEX_PROJECT_ID=YOUR_PROJECT_ID
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL='claude-sonnet-5'
claude

export CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRY=1
export ANTHROPIC_FOUNDRY_RESOURCE="YOUR_RESOURCE_NAME"
export ANTHROPIC_FOUNDRY_API_KEY="YOUR_FOUNDRY_API_KEY"
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL="YOUR_DEPLOYMENT_NAME"
claude

Fix common Claude Code API-key errors

Start with the active credential. For installation or settings-validation errors, run claude doctor without starting a session. Use /status to check who pays.

Anthropic documents API-key and credit errors and gateway troubleshooting.

For VS Code gateways, configure claudeCode.environmentVariables for the extension's credential check; a terminal export alone is insufficient.

if [ -n "${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY:-}" ]; then
  printf '%s\n' 'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is set'
else
  printf '%s\n' 'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is not set'
fi

if ($env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY) {
  "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is set"
} else {
  "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is not set"
}

Before your first long session

Measure a representative week of completed tasks, API spend and subscription limits. For developer keys and caps, follow our Claude Code integration docs.

Sources

Commands, configuration and prices checked September 23, 2026.

• Claude Code authentication and precedence
• Model compatibility and selection
• Installation and updates
• Gateway configuration and verification
• Anthropic API pricing
• Console API billing
• Subscription usage credits
• Requesty Claude Code integration
• Requesty pay-as-you-go pricing