Anthropic Direct API

Use your Anthropic API key directly to access Claude models without going through CLIProxy. Perfect for users who already have Anthropic subscriptions and want direct API control.

Overview

Field	Details
Preset ID	`anthropic`
Aliases	None
Default Profile Name	`anthropic`
Default Model	`claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929`
Base URL	`api.anthropic.com` (auto-configured)
Auth Method	API Key (`sk-ant-...`)
Category	Recommended

Quick Start

# Create profile with your Anthropic API key
ccs api create --preset anthropic

# When prompted, enter your API key (sk-ant-...)

# Use the profile
ccs anthropic "explain this code"

Authentication

Getting Your API Key

Visit Anthropic Console

Go to console.anthropic.com

Navigate to API Keys

Click on your profile → Settings → API Keys

Create New Key

Click Create Key and copy the generated keyFormat: sk-ant-...

Keep this key secure. Treat it like a password. Do not commit to git or share publicly.

Create CCS Profile

ccs api create --preset anthropic
# Paste your API key when prompted

Rotating Keys

When you need to change your API key:

# Re-create or update the profile
ccs api create --preset anthropic

# Or edit the profile manually
ccs config

# Navigate to anthropic profile and update ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN

Configuration

Default Setup

# Interactive setup
ccs api create --preset anthropic

# You'll be prompted for:
# - API Key: sk-ant-...
# - Profile name (default: anthropic)

Manual Configuration

Edit ~/.ccs/config.yaml:

profiles:
  anthropic:
    env:
      ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL: ""  # Leave empty - uses official Anthropic API
      ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN: "sk-ant-your-key-here"
      ANTHROPIC_MODEL: "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929"
      ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL: "claude-opus-4-1-20250805"
      ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL: "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929"
      ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL: "claude-3-5-haiku-20241022"

Custom Base URL (Advanced)

For organizations using Anthropic Workbench or custom deployments:

# Via CLI
ccs api create --preset anthropic --base-url https://your-custom-api.anthropic.com

# Or manual config
profiles:
  anthropic-custom:
    env:
      ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL: "https://your-custom-api.example.com"
      ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN: "sk-ant-your-key"
      ANTHROPIC_MODEL: "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929"

Available Models

Claude 4.6 Series (Latest)

Model	Context	Use Case
`claude-opus-4-6`	200K	Extended thinking, hardest problems
`claude-sonnet-4-6`	200K	Balanced (latest generation)

Claude 4.5 Series

Model	Context	Use Case
`claude-opus-4-1-20250805`	200K	Complex reasoning, system design
`claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929`	200K	Balanced (default profile model)
`claude-3-5-haiku-20241022`	100K	Fast responses, high volume

Claude 3 Series (Previous)

Model	Context	Use Case
`claude-3-opus-20240229`	200K	Complex analysis
`claude-3-sonnet-20240229`	200K	General purpose
`claude-3-haiku-20240307`	100K	Fast tasks

Usage Examples

Basic Chat

# Use default model
ccs anthropic "explain quantum computing"

# Check current model
ccs anthropic "what model are you?"

Model Selection

# Use Opus for complex tasks
ANTHROPIC_MODEL=claude-opus-4-1-20250805 ccs anthropic "design a microservices architecture"

# Use Haiku for quick tasks
ANTHROPIC_MODEL=claude-3-5-haiku-20241022 ccs anthropic "what's 2+2?"

Temperature and Creativity

# Higher temperature = more creative
ANTHROPIC_TEMPERATURE=0.9 ccs anthropic "brainstorm creative names"

# Lower temperature = more deterministic
ANTHROPIC_TEMPERATURE=0.2 ccs anthropic "calculate the answer"

# Default = 1.0
ccs anthropic "analyze this code"

Response Length Control

# Longer responses
ANTHROPIC_MAX_TOKENS=2000 ccs anthropic "write a detailed guide"

# Shorter responses
ANTHROPIC_MAX_TOKENS=300 ccs anthropic "summarize briefly"

API Features Supported

Full Feature Support

Direct Anthropic API access supports all Claude features:

✅ Vision (image analysis)
✅ Extended thinking
✅ Tool use (function calling)
✅ Batch processing
✅ Long context (200K tokens)
✅ Token counting
✅ Streaming

How to Enable

# Vision is handled automatically - just describe or share images
ccs anthropic "analyze this screenshot"

# Extended thinking (via ANTHROPIC_THINKING_BUDGET)
ANTHROPIC_THINKING_BUDGET=8000 ccs anthropic "solve this complex problem"

Billing & Rate Limits

Usage Tracking

Check your API usage:

# View current usage in dashboard
ccs config  # Navigate to anthropic profile section

# Check spending at console.anthropic.com/dashboard

Rate Limits

Default limits (can be increased):

Limit	Value	Applies To
Requests/minute	600	All models
Tokens/minute	Varies	Per model subscription
Concurrent requests	10	Streaming + non-streaming

Enterprise users can request higher limits at Anthropic console.

Cost Estimation

Visit console.anthropic.com/pricing for current rates. Typical usage:

Claude 3.5 Sonnet: ~$3-10/month for light use
Extended thinking: Additional cost based on thinking tokens

Comparison with CLIProxy Providers

Feature	Direct API	CLIProxy Claude
Cost	Pay-per-use	Depends on CLIProxy setup
Setup	Single API key	OAuth browser login
Privacy	Your key, direct connection	Your key through CLIProxy
Rate limits	Anthropic’s limits	CLIProxy’s limits
Best for	Existing Anthropic users	Users with CLIProxy accounts

Troubleshooting

Invalid API Key

Symptom: Error: 401 Unauthorized or Invalid authentication credentials Solutions:

Verify key starts with sk-ant-
Check key hasn’t expired or been revoked
Copy key again from console.anthropic.com/settings/keys
Update with: ccs api create --preset anthropic

# Debug: check what key is being used
ccs config | grep ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN

Rate Limited

Symptom: Error: 429 Too Many Requests or Rate limit exceeded Solutions:

Wait a few minutes before retrying
Reduce concurrent requests
Use Haiku for high-volume tasks (cheaper, faster)
Request higher limits at Anthropic console

# Switch to faster model
ANTHROPIC_MODEL=claude-3-5-haiku-20241022 ccs anthropic "quick task"

# Or reduce token limit
ANTHROPIC_MAX_TOKENS=500 ccs anthropic "brief response"

Connection Timeout

Symptom: Error: Request timeout or ECONNREFUSED Causes & Solutions:

Network issue — Check internet connection
API down — Check Anthropic status
Firewall blocked — Check firewall/proxy settings

# Test connection
curl -I https://api.anthropic.com

# Increase timeout if on slow network
ANTHROPIC_TIMEOUT=60000 ccs anthropic "test"

Insufficient Balance

Symptom: Error: Insufficient balance or Credit limit exceeded Solutions:

Check remaining balance at console.anthropic.com/dashboard
Add payment method or credits
Switch to lower-cost model (Haiku)

Cost Optimization

Use Right Model for Task

# Complex tasks (use Opus)
ANTHROPIC_MODEL=claude-opus-4-1-20250805 ccs anthropic "design system architecture"

# Routine tasks (use Sonnet - default)
ccs anthropic "fix this function"

# Quick tasks (use Haiku)
ANTHROPIC_MODEL=claude-3-5-haiku-20241022 ccs anthropic "translate to Spanish"

Limit Response Length

# Reduce tokens to lower cost
ANTHROPIC_MAX_TOKENS=500 ccs anthropic "summarize in 100 words"

Batch Processing

For bulk operations, use Anthropic’s Batch API (available through direct API):

# Store multiple requests in a file
# Process them with batch API for 50% discount
# See Anthropic docs for batch API usage

Storage Locations

Path	Description
`~/.ccs/config.yaml`	Stores encrypted API key in profile
`~/.ccs/settings.json`	Dashboard settings and preferences
`console.anthropic.com`	API key management and usage tracking

Security Best Practices

Never commit API keys — Use .gitignore for config files
Rotate keys regularly — Generate new keys, revoke old ones
Use environment variables — For CI/CD pipelines instead of files
Monitor usage — Check console.anthropic.com regularly for suspicious activity
Limit key scope — Create separate keys for different applications if possible

Next Steps

API Profiles

Learn more about creating and managing API profiles

Claude Accounts

Compare with OAuth-based Claude accounts

All Providers

Explore other available providers

Dashboard

Manage profiles via web interface

Getting Started

Providers

Features

Tutorials

Documentation Index

​Anthropic Direct API

​Overview

​Quick Start

​Authentication

​Getting Your API Key

​Rotating Keys

​Configuration

​Default Setup

​Manual Configuration

​Custom Base URL (Advanced)

​Available Models

​Claude 4.6 Series (Latest)

​Claude 4.5 Series

​Claude 3 Series (Previous)

​Usage Examples

​Basic Chat

​Model Selection

​Temperature and Creativity

​Response Length Control

​API Features Supported

​Full Feature Support

​How to Enable

​Billing & Rate Limits

​Usage Tracking

​Rate Limits

​Cost Estimation

​Comparison with CLIProxy Providers

​Troubleshooting

​Invalid API Key

​Rate Limited

​Connection Timeout

​Insufficient Balance

​Cost Optimization

​Use Right Model for Task

​Limit Response Length

​Batch Processing

​Storage Locations

​Security Best Practices

​Next Steps

API Profiles

Claude Accounts

All Providers

Dashboard

Anthropic Direct API

Overview

Quick Start

Authentication

Getting Your API Key

Rotating Keys

Configuration

Default Setup

Manual Configuration

Custom Base URL (Advanced)

Available Models

Claude 4.6 Series (Latest)

Claude 4.5 Series

Claude 3 Series (Previous)

Usage Examples

Basic Chat

Model Selection

Temperature and Creativity

Response Length Control

API Features Supported

Full Feature Support

How to Enable

Billing & Rate Limits

Usage Tracking

Rate Limits

Cost Estimation

Comparison with CLIProxy Providers

Troubleshooting

Invalid API Key

Rate Limited

Connection Timeout

Insufficient Balance

Cost Optimization

Use Right Model for Task

Limit Response Length

Batch Processing

Storage Locations

Security Best Practices

Next Steps