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Providers

Claude Max API proxy

claude-max-api-proxy is a community tool that exposes your Claude Max/Pro subscription as an OpenAI-compatible API endpoint. This allows you to use your subscription with any tool that supports the OpenAI API format.

Why use this?

Approach Cost Best For
Anthropic API Pay per token (~$15/M input, $75/M output for Opus) Production apps, high volume
Claude Max subscription $200/month flat Personal use, development, unlimited usage

If you have a Claude Max subscription and want to use it with OpenAI-compatible tools, this proxy may reduce cost for some workflows. API keys remain the clearer policy path for production use.

How it works

Your App → claude-max-api-proxy → Claude Code CLI → Anthropic (via subscription)
     (OpenAI format)              (converts format)      (uses your login)

The proxy:

  1. Accepts OpenAI-format requests at http://localhost:3456/v1/chat/completions
  2. Converts them to Claude Code CLI commands
  3. Returns responses in OpenAI format (streaming supported)

Getting started

  • Install the proxy

    Requires Node.js 20+ and Claude Code CLI.

    npm install -g claude-max-api-proxy

# Verify Claude CLI is authenticated
claude --version

  • Start the server

    claude-max-api
# Server runs at http://localhost:3456

  • Test the proxy

    # Health check
curl http://localhost:3456/health

# List models
curl http://localhost:3456/v1/models

# Chat completion
curl http://localhost:3456/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "claude-opus-4",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}]
  }'

  • Configure OpenClaw

    Point OpenClaw at the proxy as a custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint:

    {
  env: {
    OPENAI_API_KEY: "not-needed",
    OPENAI_BASE_URL: "http://localhost:3456/v1",
  },
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      model: { primary: "openai/claude-opus-4" },
    },
  },
}

    • Built-in catalog

    Model ID Maps To
    claude-opus-4 Claude Opus 4
    claude-sonnet-4 Claude Sonnet 4
    claude-haiku-4 Claude Haiku 4

    Advanced configuration

    Proxy-style OpenAI-compatible notes

    This path uses the same proxy-style OpenAI-compatible route as other custom /v1 backends:

    • Native OpenAI-only request shaping does not apply
    • No service_tier, no Responses store, no prompt-cache hints, and no OpenAI reasoning-compat payload shaping
    • Hidden OpenClaw attribution headers (originator, version, User-Agent) are not injected on the proxy URL
    Auto-start on macOS with LaunchAgent

    Create a LaunchAgent to run the proxy automatically:

    cat > ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.claude-max-api.plist << 'EOF'
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
  <key>Label</key>
  <string>com.claude-max-api</string>
  <key>RunAtLoad</key>
  <true/>
  <key>KeepAlive</key>
  <true/>
  <key>ProgramArguments</key>
  <array>
    <string>/usr/local/bin/node</string>
    <string>/usr/local/lib/node_modules/claude-max-api-proxy/dist/server/standalone.js</string>
  </array>
  <key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
  <dict>
    <key>PATH</key>
    <string>/usr/local/bin:/opt/homebrew/bin:~/.local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin</string>
  </dict>
</dict>
</plist>
EOF

launchctl bootstrap gui/$(id -u) ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.claude-max-api.plist

    Notes

    • This is a community tool, not officially supported by Anthropic or OpenClaw
    • Requires an active Claude Max/Pro subscription with Claude Code CLI authenticated
    • The proxy runs locally and does not send data to any third-party servers
    • Streaming responses are fully supported
    Anthropic provider

    Native OpenClaw integration with Claude CLI or API keys.
    OpenAI provider

    For OpenAI/Codex subscriptions.
    Model selection

    Overview of all providers, model refs, and failover behavior.
    Configuration

    Full config reference.