Claude Code

Claude Code speaks Anthropic's native Messages API, which RouterPlex doesn't expose — so it can't point at us directly. The bridge is Claude Code Router (CCR): it runs a local gateway that translates Claude Code's requests to the OpenAI format and routes each request role to the model you choose.

Works on macOS, Linux, and Windows.

Option A — CCR desktop app (recommended) #

1. Install. Download the installer for your OS from the CCR releases page (macOS .dmg, Windows installer, Linux package), and install Claude Code itself if you haven't:

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

1. Add RouterPlex as a provider. In CCR open Providers → Add Provider → Other / custom API endpoint and fill in:

Name:      routerplex
Base URL:  https://api.routerplex.com/v1
Protocol:  OpenAI compatible (chat/completions)
API Key:   sk-...        # your RouterPlex key
Models:    claude-opus-4-8, claude-sonnet-4-6, claude-haiku-4-5, gemini-3.1-pro

Run the connectivity check if offered, then save.

1. Map routing roles. In the routing settings, assign a model per role:

1. Start the gateway. Open Server → Start — CCR listens on http://localhost:8080.

1. Point Claude Code at it. The cross-platform way is Claude Code's own settings file — create ~/.claude/settings.json (Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.claude\settings.json):

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "http://localhost:8080",
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "ccr"
  }
}

Or per shell session — macOS/Linux:

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN=ccr   # any value, unless you set an API key in CCR
claude

Windows (PowerShell):

$env:ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL = "http://localhost:8080"
$env:ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN = "ccr"
claude

Run /status inside Claude Code to confirm it's talking to the router.

Option B — classic CLI (headless / servers) #

The npm CLI still works and needs no GUI. Install both:

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

Configure RouterPlex in ~/.claude-code-router/config.json (Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.claude-code-router\config.json):

{
  "Providers": [
    {
      "name": "routerplex",
      "api_base_url": "https://api.routerplex.com/v1/chat/completions",
      "api_key": "sk-...",
      "models": ["claude-opus-4-8", "claude-sonnet-4-6", "claude-haiku-4-5", "gemini-3.1-pro"]
    }
  ],
  "Router": {
    "default": "routerplex,claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "think": "routerplex,claude-opus-4-8",
    "background": "routerplex,claude-haiku-4-5",
    "longContext": "routerplex,gemini-3.1-pro",
    "longContextThreshold": 60000
  }
}

Then start Claude Code through the router (it sets the env vars for you):

ccr code

Switch models inside a session with /model routerplex,claude-opus-4-8.