Claude Code x UniKey setup guide

Claude Code can use UniKey through the Anthropic-compatible Messages API. UniKey Relay is built on NewAPI, and the Claude Code configuration should point to the UniKey base URL:

ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://www.getunikey.ai
ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN=<your UniKey API key>
ANTHROPIC_MODEL=claude-sonnet-4-6

1. Install Claude Code

macOS / Linux / WSL

Open Terminal:

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

Restart the terminal, then verify:

claude --version

Windows PowerShell

Open PowerShell:

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

Close and reopen PowerShell, then verify:

claude --version

npm alternative

If you already have Node.js 18+:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
claude --version

2. Create a UniKey API key

1. Open https://www.getunikey.ai/.
2. Log in.
3. Open the API key or token page.
4. Create an API key.
5. Store it securely.

3. Configure with settings.json

This is the easiest configuration because it does not modify your global shell profile.

System	File path
macOS	/Users/<your-name>/.claude/settings.json
Linux / WSL	/home/<your-name>/.claude/settings.json
Windows	C:\Users\<your-name>\.claude\settings.json

Create the .claude folder if it does not exist.

macOS/Linux/WSL:

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

Windows PowerShell:

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude"
notepad "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\settings.json"

Paste this JSON and replace sk-... with your UniKey API key:

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "sk-...",
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://www.getunikey.ai",
    "ANTHROPIC_MODEL": "claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "API_TIMEOUT_MS": "3000000"
  }
}

Save the file and restart the terminal.

4. Configure with environment variables

Use this if you prefer shell-level configuration.

macOS zsh

Edit:

nano ~/.zshrc

Add:

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://www.getunikey.ai"
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="sk-..."
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL="claude-sonnet-4-6"

Reload:

source ~/.zshrc

Linux bash

Edit:

nano ~/.bashrc

Add:

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://www.getunikey.ai"
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="sk-..."
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL="claude-sonnet-4-6"

Reload:

source ~/.bashrc

Windows PowerShell

Edit your PowerShell profile:

notepad $PROFILE

Add:

$env:ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL = "https://www.getunikey.ai"
$env:ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN = "sk-..."
$env:ANTHROPIC_MODEL = "claude-sonnet-4-6"

Reload:

. $PROFILE

5. Run Claude Code

claude

Ask:

Reply with one sentence saying Claude Code is connected through UniKey.

If it responds, the configuration is working.

6. Switch models

Temporary switch for the current command:

ANTHROPIC_MODEL=claude-opus-4-6 claude

Windows PowerShell:

$env:ANTHROPIC_MODEL = "claude-opus-4-6"; claude

Permanent switch: update ANTHROPIC_MODEL in settings.json, ~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc, or $PROFILE, then restart the terminal.

Recommended model IDs

• claude-sonnet-4-6
• claude-sonnet-4-5
• claude-opus-4-6
• claude-opus-4-5
• claude-haiku-4-5
• gpt-5.2
• gpt-5.4
• gpt-5.4-mini
• gpt-5.5
• deepseek-v3.2
• kimi-k2.5

Claude Code depends on reliable tool-use behavior. If one model fails during coding tasks, switch to a Claude-compatible model first.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Fix
claude command not found	Restart the terminal. If still failing, reinstall Claude Code.
401 unauthorized	Check ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN; remove extra spaces and quotation mistakes.
403 access denied	Confirm the account has access to the selected model and enough credits.
Request timeout	Keep API_TIMEOUT_MS high, then retry on a stable network.
Wrong model	Run /status inside Claude Code and check ANTHROPIC_MODEL.
Settings not applied	Confirm the file path is exactly ~/.claude/settings.json or %USERPROFILE%\.claude\settings.json, then restart the terminal.