Skip to main content
Claude Code sends Anthropic Messages requests, and Prism exposes an Anthropic-compatible /v1/messages endpoint, so you can point the CLI at Prism with environment variables. No gateway is required.

Copy for your agent

If no key exists, create one at prisminference.com/signup first.

Configure

Set these variables in the environment that launches claude:
Use the host without a /v1 suffix. Claude Code appends /v1/messages itself, so a /v1 in ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL produces /v1/v1/messages and a 404. ANTHROPIC_MODEL overrides Claude Code’s built-in Claude model IDs, which Prism does not serve. ANTHROPIC_SMALL_FAST_MODEL covers background requests such as title generation; set it to a Prism model so those requests succeed too.

Verify

You should see PRISM OK. The request appears in your Prism usage once it completes.

Notes

  • Prism accepts both ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN (Bearer) and ANTHROPIC_API_KEY (x-api-key). Prefer ANTHROPIC_API_KEY if you want to leave your claude.ai login untouched.
  • Messages, streaming, thinking blocks, tool use, structured output, and count_tokens are supported. Prompt-cache hints such as context_management are accepted and ignored.
  • Prism discards request inputs and outputs after processing. See Zero data retention.
Last modified on September 25, 2026