free-claude-code-proxy

name	free-claude-code-proxy
description	Run Claude Code CLI, VS Code, or JetBrains ACP through a local proxy that routes to NVIDIA NIM, Kimi, OpenRouter, DeepSeek, or local LLMs
triggers	["set up free claude code proxy","configure claude code with local models","route claude code to nvidia nim","use claude code with openrouter","run claude code through local proxy server","configure free-claude-code providers","switch claude code backend models","manage claude code proxy settings"]

free-claude-code-proxy

Skill by ara.so — Claude Code Skills collection.

Free Claude Code is a local proxy server that intercepts Anthropic Messages API calls from Claude Code and routes them to alternative providers like NVIDIA NIM, Kimi, Wafer, OpenRouter, DeepSeek, LM Studio, llama.cpp, Ollama, OpenCode Zen, or Z.ai. It maintains Claude Code's client-side protocol while letting you choose free, paid, or local models with full streaming, tool use, and reasoning block support.

Installation

Prerequisites

Install uv and Python 3.14:

# macOS/Linux
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
uv self update
uv python install 3.14

# Windows PowerShell
powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"
uv self update
uv python install 3.14

Install Claude Code

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

Install Free Claude Code Proxy

uv tool install --force git+https://github.com/Alishahryar1/free-claude-code.git

Update to latest version with the same command.

Starting the Proxy

fcc-server

Output shows:

Server URL: http://127.0.0.1:8082
Admin UI: http://127.0.0.1:8082/admin

The server runs on port 8082 by default (configurable via PORT env var).

Admin UI Configuration

Open http://127.0.0.1:8082/admin in your browser to configure providers and models through a local web interface.

Quick Setup: NVIDIA NIM

1. Get API key from https://build.nvidia.com/settings/api-keys
2. In Admin UI, paste into NVIDIA_NIM_API_KEY
3. Click Validate then Apply
4. Default MODEL is already set to nvidia_nim/z-ai/glm4.7

Environment Variables

The Admin UI manages these settings (or set via .env file):

# Server config
PORT=8082
AUTH_TOKEN=freecc
LOG_LEVEL=INFO

# Provider API keys (set one or more)
NVIDIA_NIM_API_KEY=nvapi-xxx
KIMI_API_KEY=sk-xxx
WAFER_API_KEY=sk-xxx
OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-xxx
DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=sk-xxx
OPENCODE_API_KEY=sk-xxx
ZAI_API_KEY=sk-xxx

# Local provider URLs
LM_STUDIO_BASE_URL=http://localhost:1234
LLAMACPP_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080
OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://localhost:11434

# Model routing (prefix with provider/)
MODEL=nvidia_nim/z-ai/glm4.7
MODEL_OPUS=nvidia_nim/moonshotai/kimi-k2.5
MODEL_SONNET=open_router/deepseek/deepseek-r1-0528:free
MODEL_HAIKU=lmstudio/unsloth/GLM-4.7-Flash-GGUF

Provider Configuration

NVIDIA NIM

# In Admin UI or .env
NVIDIA_NIM_API_KEY=nvapi-your-key-here
MODEL=nvidia_nim/z-ai/glm4.7

Popular models:

• nvidia_nim/z-ai/glm4.7
• nvidia_nim/z-ai/glm5
• nvidia_nim/moonshotai/kimi-k2.5
• nvidia_nim/minimaxai/minimax-m2.5

Kimi

KIMI_API_KEY=sk-your-key-here
MODEL=kimi/kimi-k2.5

Wafer

WAFER_API_KEY=sk-your-key-here
MODEL=wafer/DeepSeek-V4-Pro

Popular models:

• wafer/DeepSeek-V4-Pro
• wafer/MiniMax-M2.7
• wafer/Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
• wafer/GLM-5.1

OpenRouter

OPENROUTER_API_KEY=sk-your-key-here
MODEL=open_router/stepfun/step-3.5-flash:free

Browse models at https://openrouter.ai/models

DeepSeek

DEEPSEEK_API_KEY=sk-your-key-here
MODEL=deepseek/deepseek-chat

Uses Anthropic-compatible endpoint, not OpenAI chat completions.

LM Studio

LM_STUDIO_BASE_URL=http://localhost:1234
MODEL=lmstudio/your-model-name

Start LM Studio server and load a model with tool-use support.

llama.cpp

LLAMACPP_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080
MODEL=llamacpp/your-model

Start llama-server with sufficient context:

llama-server --model model.gguf --ctx-size 32768 --port 8080

Ollama

OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://localhost:11434
MODEL=ollama/llama3.1

Pull and serve model:

ollama pull llama3.1
ollama serve

OpenCode Zen

OPENCODE_API_KEY=sk-your-key-here
MODEL=opencode/gpt-5.3-codex

Popular models:

• opencode/gpt-5.3-codex
• opencode/claude-sonnet-4
• opencode/deepseek-v4-flash-free (free)
• opencode/big-pickle (free)

Z.ai

ZAI_API_KEY=sk-your-key-here
MODEL=zai/glm-5.1

Models:

• zai/glm-5.1
• zai/glm-5-turbo

Connecting Claude Code Clients

CLI (Recommended)

fcc-claude

This launcher:

• Reads current port and auth token from Admin UI config
• Sets ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL and ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN
• Launches the real claude command

Keep fcc-server running in another terminal.

Manual CLI Setup

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8082
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN=freecc
export CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_GATEWAY_MODEL_DISCOVERY=1
claude

VS Code Extension

Open Settings → search claude-code.environmentVariables → Edit in settings.json:

{
  "claudeCode.environmentVariables": [
    { "name": "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL", "value": "http://localhost:8082" },
    { "name": "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN", "value": "freecc" },
    { "name": "CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_GATEWAY_MODEL_DISCOVERY", "value": "1" }
  ]
}

Reload VS Code window.

JetBrains ACP

Edit installed ACP config:

• Windows: C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\JetBrains\acp-agents\installed.json
• Linux/macOS: ~/.jetbrains/acp.json

Add environment to acp.registry.claude-acp:

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "http://localhost:8082",
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "freecc",
    "CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_GATEWAY_MODEL_DISCOVERY": "1"
  }
}

Restart IDE.

Per-Tier Model Routing

Route different Claude Code model tiers to different providers:

# Fallback
MODEL=zai/glm-5.1

# Override specific tiers
MODEL_OPUS=nvidia_nim/moonshotai/kimi-k2.5
MODEL_SONNET=open_router/deepseek/deepseek-r1-0528:free
MODEL_HAIKU=lmstudio/unsloth/GLM-4.7-Flash-GGUF

Leave tier blank to inherit from MODEL.

Model Picker Support

With CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_GATEWAY_MODEL_DISCOVERY=1, Claude Code's /model picker shows models from the proxy's /v1/models endpoint.

The proxy returns configured models based on:

• Single provider: lists that provider's models
• Multiple providers: shows models from all configured providers
• Blank MODEL: returns empty list

Example: If you configure nvidia_nim and open_router, the picker shows models from both.

Code Examples

Python: Direct Proxy Request

import os
import requests

url = "http://localhost:8082/v1/messages"
headers = {
    "x-api-key": os.getenv("AUTH_TOKEN", "freecc"),
    "anthropic-version": "2023-06-01",
    "content-type": "application/json"
}
payload = {
    "model": "claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022",
    "max_tokens": 1024,
    "messages": [
        {"role": "user", "content": "Write a Python hello world"}
    ]
}

response = requests.post(url, json=payload, headers=headers, stream=True)
for line in response.iter_lines():
    if line:
        print(line.decode())

Python: Check Available Models

import requests

response = requests.get(
    "http://localhost:8082/v1/models",
    headers={"x-api-key": "freecc"}
)
models = response.json()
for model in models.get("data", []):
    print(f"{model['id']}: {model['name']}")

Shell: Test Proxy Streaming

curl -N http://localhost:8082/v1/messages \
  -H "x-api-key: freecc" \
  -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022",
    "max_tokens": 1024,
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}],
    "stream": true
  }'

JavaScript: Use Proxy in Custom Client

const response = await fetch('http://localhost:8082/v1/messages', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'x-api-key': process.env.AUTH_TOKEN || 'freecc',
    'anthropic-version': '2023-06-01',
    'content-type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    model: 'claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022',
    max_tokens: 1024,
    messages: [{role: 'user', content: 'Explain async/await'}]
  })
});

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data.content[0].text);

Common Workflows

Switch Between Providers

1. Open Admin UI: http://localhost:8082/admin
2. Update API key for new provider
3. Change MODEL to new provider prefix (e.g., kimi/kimi-k2.5)
4. Click Validate then Apply
5. Proxy restarts automatically

No need to restart fcc-claude — it reads config on each launch.

Use Local Model with Tool Support

# Start LM Studio with a tool-capable model
# In Admin UI:
LM_STUDIO_BASE_URL=http://localhost:1234
MODEL=lmstudio/deepseek-coder-6.7b-instruct

# Or for llama.cpp:
llama-server --model deepseek-coder-6.7b-instruct.Q4_K_M.gguf \
  --ctx-size 16384 --port 8080

LLAMACPP_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080
MODEL=llamacpp/deepseek-coder-6.7b-instruct

Mix Free and Paid Models

# Free tier for Haiku
MODEL_HAIKU=open_router/deepseek/deepseek-r1-0528:free

# Paid NVIDIA NIM for Opus
MODEL_OPUS=nvidia_nim/moonshotai/kimi-k2.5

# Fallback to free OpenCode
MODEL=opencode/big-pickle

Debug Proxy Requests

Set log level in Admin UI or .env:

LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG

Restart proxy to see full request/response logs.

Troubleshooting

Proxy returns 401 Unauthorized

• Check AUTH_TOKEN matches in proxy and client
• Verify ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN env var in Claude Code client
• Admin UI shows current AUTH_TOKEN value

Claude Code says "Invalid API key"

• Ensure provider API key is set correctly in Admin UI
• Click Validate to test the key
• Check provider dashboard for key status

Local model returns HTTP 400

For llama.cpp/LM Studio:

• Increase --ctx-size for llama.cpp
• Verify model supports tool use
• Check server logs for context length errors
• Try a smaller conversation history

Model picker shows no models

• Verify CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_GATEWAY_MODEL_DISCOVERY=1 is set
• Check that at least one provider is configured with valid credentials
• Visit http://localhost:8082/v1/models to see raw response

VS Code extension doesn't use proxy

• Reload VS Code window after changing settings.json
• Check Output panel → Claude Code for environment variable logs
• Verify claudeCode.environmentVariables syntax is correct JSON array

Admin UI changes don't apply

• Click Apply after Validate
• Proxy auto-restarts on runtime setting changes
• Check terminal for restart confirmation message

Port 8082 already in use

Change port in Admin UI or .env:

PORT=8083

Restart proxy and update client ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL accordingly.

llama.cpp/Ollama not found

• Verify server is running: curl http://localhost:8080/health (llama.cpp) or curl http://localhost:11434 (Ollama)
• Check *_BASE_URL doesn't include /v1 suffix for Ollama
• Ensure firewall allows localhost connections

Advanced Features

Discord Bot Integration

# In Admin UI or .env
MESSAGING_PLATFORM=discord
DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=your-bot-token
ALLOWED_DISCORD_CHANNELS=123456789,987654321
CLAUDE_WORKSPACE=./agent_workspace

Start bot:

fcc-bot

Voice Transcription

# Local Whisper
VOICE_PROVIDER=whisper
WHISPER_MODEL=base

# Or NVIDIA NIM
VOICE_PROVIDER=nvidia_nim
NVIDIA_NIM_API_KEY=nvapi-xxx

Health Check Endpoint

curl http://localhost:8082/health

Returns proxy status and configured provider.

Request Optimization

The proxy automatically:

• Strips unsupported parameters for local models
• Converts thinking blocks for providers without native support
• Handles streaming SSE format differences
• Retries with fallback models on provider errors

Development

Clone and install for development:

git clone https://github.com/Alishahryar1/free-claude-code.git
cd free-claude-code
uv sync
uv run pytest

Run from source:

uv run fcc-server

The project uses:

• uv for dependency management
• pytest for testing
• ruff for linting/formatting
• loguru for logging
• ty for type checking