Claude Code

Claude Code is a powerful command-line tool that brings AI-powered code generation and analysis to your terminal. While it defaults to Anthropic’s API, you can extend its capabilities by configuring it to work with different AI providers. This guide shows you how to set up Claude Code with various providers to access free and paid model options.

Installing Claude Code

First, install Claude Code for your operating system.

Windows

Run with PowerShell:

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

Claude Code Installation

Linux & macOS

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

Setting up the Environment Path for claude.exe (Windows)

After installation, add the Claude Code binary folder to your system PATH environment variable.

C:\Users\USERNAME\.local\bin

Claude Code Binary Path Setup

Configuration with Environment Variables

Claude Code can be configured using environment variables to work with different providers. Here are the key environment variables:

  • ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL - The API endpoint (default: https://api.anthropic.com)
  • ANTHROPIC_MODEL - The selected model to use
  • ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN - Your API key or authentication token
  • ANTHROPIC_CUSTOM_HEADERS - Custom headers for specific providers (optional)
# Make sure you have installed Node.js
npx claude-code-profile-switcher

Screenshot

Select a provider and model, enter your API key, then click save. The tool will store these as environment variables based on your operating system. Make sure you open a new terminal after setting environment variables.

Default Model

Run Claude Code with the default configured model:

claude
Specific Model

Run Claude Code with a specific model using the --model flag:

claude --model z-ai/glm-5
Skip Permission Checks

If needed, you can skip permission confirmations with the --allow-dangerously-skip-permissions flag:

claude --model moonshotai/kimi-k2.5 --allow-dangerously-skip-permissions

Finding Free and Trial Providers

Many providers offer free and trial LLMs that work with Claude Code. Check out this comprehensive list:

Free and Trial Providers List

Bonus: Add Claude Code to Windows Context Menu

Make Claude Code even more convenient by adding it to your Windows right-click context menu.

Install Context Menu
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bariskisir/ClaudeCodeContextMenu/master/install.ps1 | iex"
Uninstall Context Menu
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/bariskisir/ClaudeCodeContextMenu/master/uninstall.ps1 | iex"

Claude Code Context Menu

References & Documentation

Claude Code Quick Start - https://code.claude.com/docs/en/quickstart

LLM Gateway - https://code.claude.com/docs/en/llm-gateway

Model Configuration - https://code.claude.com/docs/en/model-config

Environment Variables - https://code.claude.com/docs/en/env-vars

Claude Code Context Menu - https://github.com/bariskisir/ClaudeCodeContextMenu

OpenCode Context Menu - https://github.com/bariskisir/OpenCodeContextMenu

Codex Context Menu - https://github.com/bariskisir/CodexContextMenu

Gemini Context Menu - https://github.com/bariskisir/GeminiContextMenu