Claude Code + OpenLimits
Claude Code is Anthropic’s terminal-based coding agent. When used with a single account, rate limits can interrupt long sessions. OpenLimits provides access through a pool of accounts to reduce these interruptions. The setup process is straightforward.
Prerequisites
- Claude Code CLI installed (
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code) - An OpenLimits account — sign up here
Step 1: Get Your API Key
After signing up, go to your OpenLimits dashboard. Your API key is displayed on the overview page. Copy it.
Step 2: Set Environment Variables
Add these two lines to your shell profile (~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc, or ~/.bash_profile):
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://openlimits.app
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-openlimits-keyThen reload your shell:
source ~/.zshrc # or ~/.bashrcStep 3: Verify It Works
Start a Claude Code session:
claudeSend a message. Then check your OpenLimits dashboard — you should see the request appear in the live feed with model, token count, and latency information.
What Changes
With OpenLimits configured, Claude Code behaves exactly the same — except:
- No rate limits: No 5-hour rolling window, no 7-day cap, no Opus weekly limit
- No cooldowns: You'll never see “please wait” messages again
- No model downgrades: Claude Code won't silently switch you to Haiku when limits are reached
- Full analytics: See every request in your dashboard with token breakdowns
Everything else is identical: streaming, extended thinking, tool use, file operations, multi-turn conversations — all work exactly as they do with the direct API.
Works with Conductor Too
If you use Conductor for parallel Claude Code sessions, the same environment variables apply. Conductor inherits your Claude Code CLI settings, so OpenLimits works automatically across all your parallel agents.
Troubleshooting
Requests aren't showing in the dashboard
Make sure you reloaded your shell after adding the environment variables. Run echo $ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL to verify it's set to https://openlimits.app.
Getting “Invalid API key” errors
Double-check that ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is set to your OpenLimits key (not an Anthropic API key). You can find your key on the dashboard overview page.
Connection timeouts
OpenLimits is served from dedicated VPS infrastructure. If you're behind a corporate proxy or VPN, make sure openlimits.app is not blocked.
Extended thinking not working
Extended thinking works the same as with the direct API. Make sure you're using a model that supports it (Sonnet or Opus). If Claude Code is auto-selecting models, it will use thinking when appropriate.
Related
- Claude Code Rate Limits Explained — understand what limits exist and how OpenLimits eliminates them
- Cursor Integration Guide — set up Cursor with OpenLimits
- API Documentation — full API reference for custom integrations
- Claude Proxy Comparison — how OpenLimits compares to other solutions