Claude Code

Set up Anthropic’s Claude Code CLI with KiosAPI to use Claude models in your terminal.

Claude Code

Claude Code is Anthropic’s official agentic coding tool that runs in your terminal. This guide shows you how to configure it to use KiosAPI as the backend provider.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ — check with node --version
• A KiosAPI API key (starts with sk-) created in the Claude-Kiro group

Get the right API key

Claude models on KiosAPI are served through the Claude-Kiro group, so your token must be created in that group:

1. Log in to the KiosAPI Dashboard.
2. Go to Console → Tokens and click Add Token.
3. Select the group Claude-Kiro (0.05× multiplier — much cheaper than default).
4. Save and copy the key.

A key created in another group (for example default or Free) cannot call Claude models. If you get a “no available channel” or model-not-found error, check the token’s group first. See Choosing a Token Group.

Installation

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

Verify the installation:

claude --version

Skip Onboarding

After installing, skip the interactive onboarding wizard by editing ~/.claude.json:

{
  "hasCompletedOnboarding": true
}

This prevents Claude Code from prompting you to sign in with an Anthropic account.

Project Configuration

Create a .claude/settings.json file in your project root to inject environment variables:

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://kiosapi.com",
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "sk-xxx",
    "ANTHROPIC_MODEL": "claude-sonnet-5",
    "ANTHROPIC_SMALL_FAST_MODEL": "claude-haiku-4-5",
    "CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_BETAS": "1"
  }
}

Replace sk-xxx with your actual KiosAPI key from the Claude-Kiro group.

ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL must be https://kiosapi.com — no /v1, no trailing slash. Claude Code appends the API path automatically.

Current Claude models on KiosAPI

Model	Best for
claude-opus-5	Hardest reasoning tasks
claude-opus-4-8	Complex refactors and long agentic sessions
claude-sonnet-5	Daily coding — the recommended default
claude-sonnet-4-6	Balanced coding work
claude-haiku-4-5	Fast background/small-fast-model tasks

The authoritative list with live pricing is the Models & Pricing page (filter by the Claude-Kiro group).

Global Configuration

You can also set these environment variables globally so Claude Code works in any directory.

Windows (PowerShell)

setx ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL "https://kiosapi.com"
setx ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN "sk-xxx"
setx ANTHROPIC_MODEL "claude-sonnet-5"
setx ANTHROPIC_SMALL_FAST_MODEL "claude-haiku-4-5"
setx CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_BETAS "1"

macOS / Linux

Add the following to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://kiosapi.com"
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="sk-xxx"
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL="claude-sonnet-5"
export ANTHROPIC_SMALL_FAST_MODEL="claude-haiku-4-5"
export CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_BETAS="1"

Then reload your shell:

source ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc

Global config file paths

Platform	Path
Windows	C:\Users\<username>\.claude.json
macOS	/Users/<username>/.claude.json
Linux	/home/<username>/.claude.json

Usage

Navigate to your project directory and launch Claude Code:

claude

This opens an interactive session where you can ask Claude to read, write, and modify code.

Best Practices

CLAUDE.md

Create a CLAUDE.md file in your project root to give Claude persistent context about your codebase, conventions, and common commands. Claude Code reads this file automatically on startup.

File Permissions

Claude Code will ask for permission before reading or writing files. You can pre-approve directories by adding them to .claude/settings.json:

{
  "permissions": {
    "allow": ["Read(*)", "Write(src/**)", "Edit(src/**)"]
  }
}

Context Management

Long sessions can consume a lot of context. Use these slash commands to manage it:

Command	Description
/clear	Clears the entire conversation history
/compact	Summarizes and compresses the conversation to save context

Switching Models

Change the default model globally:

claude config set --global env '{"ANTHROPIC_MODEL": "claude-opus-5"}'

Or switch to a lighter model for faster responses:

claude config set --global env '{"ANTHROPIC_MODEL": "claude-haiku-4-5"}'

Troubleshooting

400 Bad Request / Invalid Beta Flag

Add this environment variable to your configuration:

"CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_BETAS": "1"

This disables experimental beta headers that KiosAPI may not support.

Length / Max Output Token Error

Add this to your .claude/settings.json env block:

"CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS": "32000"

No Available Channel / Model Not Found

• Verify your token is in the Claude-Kiro group
• Verify the model name against the pricing page — old model IDs like claude-3-5-sonnet-* no longer exist
• Run claude config set --global env '{"ANTHROPIC_MODEL": "claude-sonnet-5"}' to reset to a current model

Connection Refused / 401 Unauthorized

• Verify your API key is correct and starts with sk-
• Ensure ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL is set to https://kiosapi.com (no trailing slash, no /v1)
• Check that the token group supports Claude models (Claude-Kiro)

Verify Your Setup

Run a simple test:

claude "Say hello"

If Claude responds, your configuration is working correctly.

Need Help?

• KiosAPI Dashboard
• Choosing a Token Group
• Available Models