> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tryorbit.cloud/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Claude Code

> Run Claude Code on Orbit credits. No Claude subscription required.

Point Claude Code at Orbit's Anthropic-compatible gateway. The agent behaves the same as it does on Anthropic — every turn is billed from your organization credits at Bedrock list rates.

<Info>
  Your `sk-orbit-` key is the only credential Claude Code needs. Skip the Claude login screen.
</Info>

## What you get

* No Claude subscription
* Same agent, cheaper tokens (Bedrock list rates, no markup)
* Swap models per session by changing `ANTHROPIC_MODEL`

Recommended slugs: `claude-sonnet-5`, `claude-opus-5`, `claude-haiku-4-5`. Browse others in the [catalogue](https://tryorbit.cloud/models).

## Setup

<Steps>
  <Step title="Install Claude Code">
    Install the Claude Code CLI if you do not have it yet. Follow Anthropic's install instructions, then confirm `claude` is on your `PATH`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create an Orbit API key">
    Sign up at [tryorbit.cloud](https://tryorbit.cloud/sign-up) and create a key from [API Keys](https://tryorbit.cloud/api-keys).

    ```bash theme={"theme":"github-dark"}
    export ORBIT_API_KEY="sk-orbit-..."
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Point Claude Code at Orbit">
    ```bash theme={"theme":"github-dark"}
    export CLAUDE_CODE_USE_GATEWAY=1
    export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.tryorbit.cloud/api"
    export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="$ORBIT_API_KEY"
    export ANTHROPIC_MODEL="claude-sonnet-5"

    claude
    ```

    When it is pointed at Orbit you should see a cloud gateway banner against `api.tryorbit.cloud`.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Persist the config

Add the same exports to `~/.zshrc` or `~/.bashrc` so every new terminal uses Orbit.

To try a different model for one session:

```bash theme={"theme":"github-dark"}
ANTHROPIC_MODEL="claude-opus-5" claude
```

## How this maps to the API

Claude Code calls Orbit the same way the official Anthropic SDK does:

| Setting               | Value                                |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
| Base URL              | `https://api.tryorbit.cloud/api`     |
| Auth                  | `ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN` / `x-api-key` |
| Route the client hits | `/v1/messages`                       |

See [Anthropic compatibility](/api/anthropic) for raw SDK usage.

<Tip>
  Keep a dedicated key named `claude-code` so you can revoke it without rotating keys used by your app.
</Tip>