Want to use Claude Code without paying for a Claude subscription?

Here’s a simple way to run Claude Code through OpenRouter using a free model.

### 1️⃣ Install Claude Code

Windows PowerShell:

irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Mac/Linux:

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

### 2️⃣ Get an OpenRouter API Key

Create an account on OpenRouter → go to API Keys → Create Key.

### 3️⃣ Open Claude Code settings

From your terminal, open:

~/.claude/settings.json

If the file doesn't exist yet, just create it.

### 4️⃣ Add this configuration

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://openrouter.ai/api",
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "YOUR-OPENROUTER-API-KEY",
    "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "",
    "ANTHROPIC_MODEL": "stealth/space-bunny-alpha"
  },
  "model": "stealth/space-bunny-alpha",
  "effortLevel": "high"
}

Just replace:

YOUR-OPENROUTER-API-KEY

with your actual OpenRouter API key.

### 5️⃣ Start Claude Code 🚀

Go to your project folder:

cd your-project

Then run:

claude

And that's it.

Claude Code will now route through OpenRouter using Space Bunny Alpha, which is currently available for free and has a 1M context window.

So you can experiment with Claude Code without needing a Claude subscription.