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Using Claude Code

This guide explains how to set up Claude Code, Anthropic’s command-line interface for Claude, to work with Liona. By using Liona with Claude Code, you can securely access Claude’s capabilities in your development environment while maintaining control over spending.

Understanding Claude Code Integration

Claude Code is a powerful developer tool that brings Claude AI directly into your command-line environment. When integrated with Liona:

  • Your teams can access Claude AI models without needing individual API keys
  • You maintain centralized spending controls and usage limits
  • All usage is tracked and can be monitored in your Liona dashboard

Setting Up Claude Code with Liona

Install Claude Code

First, if you haven’t already, install Claude Code using npm:

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

This will make the claude command available in your terminal.

Get a Liona access key

You’ll need a Liona access key to connect Claude Code to Liona:

  1. Sign in to your Liona dashboard
  2. Navigate to the Users section
  3. Find or create the user who needs Claude Code access
  4. Generate an access key for this user
Note

Make sure the user has a policy that allows access to Claude models.

Configure Claude Code environment variables

Set up the required environment variables to direct Claude Code to use Liona:

# Add these to your shell profile (.bashrc, .zshrc, etc.)
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_liona_access_key_here
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://api.liona.ai/v1/provider/anthropic

You can also set these variables for a single session:

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_liona_access_key_here ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://api.liona.ai/v1/provider/anthropic claude <command>

Verify the configuration

Test that Claude Code is correctly configured to work with Liona:

claude "Tell me a short joke"

If everything is configured correctly, you should receive a response from Claude through Liona.

Usage Tips

Project-Specific Configuration

For projects where you want to use specific settings, you can create a .env file in your project directory:

# .env file in your project root
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_liona_access_key_here
ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://api.liona.ai/v1/provider/anthropic

Then, when you use Claude Code in that directory, it will pick up these settings automatically if you’re using a tool like direnv or if you source the variables manually.

Command-Line Usage Examples

Here are some common ways to use Claude Code once it’s configured with Liona:

# Ask Claude a question
claude "What is quantum computing?"
 
# Get Claude to analyze code in a file
claude --file path/to/code.js
 
# Use Claude in interactive mode
claude

Troubleshooting

Rate Limit or Policy Errors

If you encounter an error message about rate limits or policy violations:

  1. Check your usage in the Liona dashboard
  2. Verify that the user has the correct policy assigned
  3. Consider increasing the limits in the policy if needed

Authentication Errors

If Claude Code can’t authenticate:

  1. Verify that the access key is correct and hasn’t expired
  2. Ensure the ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable is set correctly
  3. Check that the ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL is set to https://api.liona.ai/v1/provider/anthropic

Model Availability Errors

If you receive errors about model availability:

  1. Make sure the Claude provider is properly set up in your Liona dashboard
  2. Verify that the policy assigned to the user allows access to the requested model

Next Steps

Now that you’ve configured Claude Code to work with Liona, you might want to:

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