Claude Desktop Third-party Gateway Configuration Guide

This guide is for users who have Claude Desktop (the GUI client) installed and want to connect it to a third-party Gateway that is compatible with the Anthropic Messages API. This article uses https://claude-code.club/api as the example.

If you are only using the Claude Code CLI, please refer to Configure Base URL and Auth Token instead.

1. Core Concepts and Address Selection

Claude Desktop’s third-party inference configuration is used to forward model requests to a custom Gateway. The Gateway must be compatible with the Anthropic Messages API; it is different from an OpenAI-style /v1/responses endpoint.

Configuration	Recommended Value / Notes
Gateway base URL	`https://claude-code.club/api`
Authentication method	`bearer` (i.e. `Authorization: Bearer <your API Key>`)
Extra request headers	Generally leave blank unless the provider explicitly requires them

⚠️

Do not mix up addresses. Claude Desktop’s Gateway configuration should use an Anthropic-compatible address (e.g. https://claude-code.club/api); do not enter an OpenAI / Codex-style address (e.g. https://claude-code.club/openai) into Claude Desktop.

2. Pre-configuration Checklist

Latest Claude Desktop is installed
A valid API Key has been obtained (see Get API Key)
Do not use an old Key that has already been exposed in chats, screenshots, or repositories; if leaked, invalidate it immediately and create a new one
Able to fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop (third-party inference configurations typically require an application restart to take effect)

3. GUI Configuration (Recommended)

3.1 Open the Third-party Inference Configuration

Open Claude Desktop
In the menu bar, go to Help → Troubleshooting
Enable Enable Developer mode
Go to the menu Developer → Configure third-party inference

3.2 Fill in Gateway Credentials

UI Field	What to Enter
`Gateway base URL`	`https://claude-code.club/api`
`Gateway API key`	Your valid API Key (do not expose the real value in documentation or screenshots)
`Gateway auth scheme`	`bearer`
`Gateway extra headers`	Leave blank

3.3 Apply the Configuration

Prefer clicking Apply locally
After seeing the success prompt, fully quit Claude Desktop
Reopen Claude Desktop and send a test message
If it replies normally, the configuration is in effect

⚠️

Fully quit means you must ensure the process has ended — on macOS, use Activity Monitor to confirm the Claude process has exited; on Windows, end all Claude processes in Task Manager. Simply closing the window often does not apply the configuration.

4. Export as Fallback

If Apply locally does not work, or you need to deploy the same configuration to multiple machines in bulk, you can use Export to generate a system-level configuration file.

macOS: Export .mobileconfig

On the Configure third-party inference page, click Export
Select macOS configuration profile (.mobileconfig)
Save to a secure location on your machine
Double-click the .mobileconfig file and follow the system prompts to install it via System Settings
After installation, fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop

⚠️

The .mobileconfig may contain the API Key in plain text. Only install it on trusted devices, and securely delete the original file after use.

Export Option	Purpose
`Windows registry file (.reg)`	Recommended fallback format for Windows; imports into the registry
`macOS configuration profile (.mobileconfig)`	Recommended fallback format for macOS; system configuration profile
`Plain JSON (.json)`	Usually not imported directly; used for troubleshooting or secondary processing by management systems
`Firewall allowlist (.txt)`	Firewall allowlist — not a Gateway account configuration
`Copy to clipboard (redacted)`	Suitable for sharing with others for configuration troubleshooting; sensitive values are hidden, so cannot be used as a complete import

6. CLI Environment Variables (Optional)

If you also use Claude Code CLI in the terminal, you can additionally configure environment variables. The Claude Desktop Gateway GUI configuration and CLI environment variables are two separate entry points, but it is recommended to use the same address and Key for both.

Write the variables into your zsh / bash configuration:

cat >> ~/.zshrc <<'EOF'
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://claude-code.club/api"
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="your-api-key"
export CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC="1"
EOF
source ~/.zshrc

Verify they took effect:

echo $ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL
echo $ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN
echo $CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC

7. Verification

Claude Desktop starts normally
After sending a message, no errors such as authentication, invalid api key, or gateway unavailable appear
Response speed and model behavior match the Gateway service expectations
If also using CLI, you can run echo commands to confirm the environment variable values exist

If you have previously successfully configured via Apply locally and the conversation is working normally, the local Gateway configuration is already in effect.

8. Troubleshooting

Symptom	Action
`Invalid API key`	Key is wrong, expired, disabled, or does not belong to this Gateway. Regenerate and re-enter it
Connection failed / `Gateway unavailable`	Check the network; verify the Gateway base URL is `https://claude-code.club/api` with no extra `/v1/messages` appended
Model unavailable	The current account or Gateway does not support the requested model; contact the provider to confirm available models
`Apply locally` not taking effect	Fully quit Claude Desktop and restart; on Windows try `.reg`, on macOS try `.mobileconfig`
Configuration file still fails after import	Reopen the configuration page and check Base URL, auth scheme, and extra headers for correctness

9. Restore Default Configuration

If a .mobileconfig profile was installed, find it in System Settings under Profiles / Device Management, delete the corresponding Claude configuration profile, then restart Claude Desktop.

The entry name may vary slightly across macOS versions (System Preferences / System Settings / Profiles).

10. Security Guidelines

⚠️

An API Key is equivalent to a password; do not write it into public documents, screenshots, or Git repositories
Exported .reg / .mobileconfig / .json files may contain the Key in plain text; keep them only for a short time
If a Key is copied to a chat, screenshot, log, or repository, invalidate it immediately and regenerate a new one
When sharing configurations with a team, share only the steps and placeholders — never share the real key

11. Recommended Final Configuration

Field	Value
`Gateway base URL`	`https://claude-code.club/api`
`Gateway API key`	Your valid API Key
`Gateway auth scheme`	`bearer`
`Gateway extra headers`	Leave blank

On both Windows and macOS, prefer Apply locally first; only export the platform-specific configuration file if local apply fails, you need bulk deployment, or you need to back up the configuration.

12. References

Get API Key — claude-code.club API Key application process
Configure Base URL and Auth Token — Three configuration methods from the Claude Code CLI perspective
Claude Desktop Third-party Inference / Gateway Configuration Docs
Claude Desktop Installation Instructions

Connect GPT Models Claude Code Diagnostic Tool