Use Claude Code with Parallel AI

Overview

Parallel AI’s /api/v0/claude endpoints are compatible with the Anthropic Messages API. Point Claude Code — or any Anthropic SDK — at Parallel AI and it works out of the box, billed against your Parallel AI credits like any other API usage.

Endpoint	Description
`POST /api/v0/claude/v1/messages`	Create a message (streaming and non-streaming, tool use supported)
`POST /api/v0/claude/v1/messages/count_tokens`	Estimate token count for a request
`GET /api/v0/claude/v1/models`	List available models

The model field accepts any Parallel AI model — not just Anthropic models — so you can run Claude Code on any model the platform offers.

Authentication

Authentication works exactly like the rest of the API: send your API key as Authorization: Bearer <key> or x-api-key: <key>. Personal Access Keys (pak_...) also work but require the X-Company-ID header, which Claude Code cannot send by default — use a Company API Key for Claude Code.

Setting up Claude Code

Install Claude Code

Skip this if it’s already installed.

# macOS / Linux / WSL — native installer
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

# Or via npm (requires Node.js 18+)
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

On Windows (PowerShell):

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

Verify the install with claude --version. See the official docs for more install options.

Get a Company API Key

In the dashboard, go to Integrations → API Keys → Generate New Key.

Configure Claude Code

Either export environment variables in your shell:

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.parallellabs.app/api/v0/claude"
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="YOUR_COMPANY_API_KEY"
claude

Or persist the settings in ~/.claude/settings.json (applies to all projects) or .claude/settings.local.json in a project. Set the model variables to any Parallel AI model names — for example:

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://api.parallellabs.app/api/v0/claude",
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "YOUR_COMPANY_API_KEY",
    "ANTHROPIC_MODEL": "qwen3.8-max",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL": "kimi-k3",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL": "qwen3.8-max",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL": "deepseek-v4-flash-0731"
  }
}

Verify

Run /status inside Claude Code — it should show your custom base URL — or test the endpoint directly:

curl -X POST "https://api.parallellabs.app/api/v0/claude/v1/messages" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_COMPANY_API_KEY" \
  -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "qwen3.8-max", "max_tokens": 64, "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]}'

Model names

The model field accepts any model name from GET /api/v0/models — any provider, not just Anthropic. When Claude Code sends its default Anthropic model IDs (e.g. claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929), they are routed by tier to Parallel AI models:

Opus-class requests run on the platform’s highest-capability model
Sonnet-class requests run on the balanced default model
Haiku-class requests (background tasks) run on the fastest low-cost model

Set ANTHROPIC_MODEL and the ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_*_MODEL variables to exact Parallel AI model names for full control over routing. Optionally set CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_GATEWAY_MODEL_DISCOVERY=1 so Claude Code lists Parallel AI’s models in its /model picker.

Using the Anthropic SDK directly

import anthropic

client = anthropic.Anthropic(
    base_url="https://api.parallellabs.app/api/v0/claude",
    auth_token="YOUR_COMPANY_API_KEY",
)

response = client.messages.create(
    model="kimi-k3",
    max_tokens=1024,
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}],
)
print(response.content[0].text)

import Anthropic from "@anthropic-ai/sdk";

const client = new Anthropic({
  baseURL: "https://api.parallellabs.app/api/v0/claude",
  authToken: "YOUR_COMPANY_API_KEY",
});

const response = await client.messages.create({
  model: "kimi-k3",
  max_tokens: 1024,
  messages: [{ role: "user", content: "Hello" }],
});
console.log(response.content[0].text);

Notes and limitations

Streaming is fully supported (Anthropic SSE event format with keep-alive pings).
Tool use is supported: Claude Code’s client-side tools (file edits, bash, etc.) are forwarded to the model and executed locally by Claude Code — never on Parallel AI’s servers.
Server-side Anthropic tools (web search, code execution), extended thinking blocks, and prompt caching directives are accepted but ignored.
Usage is billed per request based on real token counts and appears in your usage dashboard under the chat feature.

Get Started

Platform

Integrations

Use Claude Code with Parallel AI

Overview

Authentication

Setting up Claude Code

Model names

Using the Anthropic SDK directly

Notes and limitations

​Overview

​Authentication

​Setting up Claude Code

​Model names

​Using the Anthropic SDK directly

​Notes and limitations

Overview

Authentication

Setting up Claude Code

Model names

Using the Anthropic SDK directly

Notes and limitations