How to Use Claude Code Free With AgentRouter

Claude Code normally requires an active Anthropic subscription or metered API billing. AgentRouter removes that barrier by acting as a free proxy gateway — it sits between Claude Code and Anthropic's models, issuing free credits that let developers run real coding sessions on Claude Opus 5, Claude Opus 4.8, and OpenAI's Codex 5.6 Sol without a credit card.

This guide covers what AgentRouter actually is, how much it gives away for free, the exact setup steps for Claude Code, and where it falls short — based on hands-on testing by the HyzenPro team.

What AgentRouter Actually Is

AgentRouter is a unified, OpenAI-compatible API gateway. Instead of managing separate accounts and billing dashboards with Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google, a developer points one base URL and one API key at the gateway, then routes requests to whichever model fits the task — Claude, GPT, Gemini, or open-source alternatives.

It works the same way OpenRouter does, but with a free credit pool designed specifically for agentic coding tools — Claude Code, Cursor, Cline, Roo Code, and Kilo Code all connect to it out of the box with a one-line environment variable change.

What's Free, Exactly

New accounts receive a starting credit balance — commonly reported between $150 and $200 depending on the referral link used — with no card required at signup. Accounts that stay active for a full year receive an additional $50 credit refresh, usable on Claude Opus 5, Claude Opus 4.8, and Codex 5.6 Sol. Gateway bonus terms can change; confirm the current balance on your account dashboard after signup.

Step-by-Step: Connect Claude Code to AgentRouter

1. Install Claude Code. Run the command below in a terminal, then verify the install with claude --version.

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

2. Create an AgentRouter account. Sign up at agentrouter.org and generate an API token from the console under Settings → API Tokens.
3. Set the three environment variables. These redirect Claude Code's API calls through AgentRouter instead of billing Anthropic directly.

   macOS / Linux — add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrcexport ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://agentrouter.org/"
   export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="sk-your-key-here"
   export CLAUDE_CODE_USE_AUTH_TOKEN="true"

   Windows — run in PowerShell (then restart terminal)setx ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL "https://agentrouter.org/"
   setx ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN "sk-your-key-here"
   setx CLAUDE_CODE_USE_AUTH_TOKEN "true"

4. Pick a model. Set ANTHROPIC_MODEL to the Claude variant needed. Opus for deep refactors; a lighter model for routine edits.

   Example — set Opus 4.8 as defaultexport ANTHROPIC_MODEL="claude-opus-4-8"

5. Launch Claude Code. Run claude inside the project directory. All requests now route through AgentRouter — your Anthropic account is not billed.

Which Model to Use for What

Switching models only requires changing one environment variable. That makes comparative testing across Claude Opus 4.8 and Codex 5.6 Sol genuinely fast — see the Claude Opus 4.8 full review and the GPT-5.6 Sol preview for benchmark context before deciding which model to run as default.

What Testing This Actually Showed

Running a real project through AgentRouter for two weeks surfaced a few honest notes. Response latency was consistently a beat slower than a direct Anthropic API connection. Credit burn on Opus-tier models was faster than the dashboard estimate suggested. And support responses were slow — expected from a free, community-subsidized gateway rather than a commercial enterprise service.

None of that makes it unusable. It makes it a trial tool, not a production backbone. For evaluating a model before committing to a paid plan, or for side projects that don't justify a full subscription, the free tier delivers exactly what it promises.

AgentRouter vs. OpenRouter

For production systems at scale, OpenRouter's breadth and maturity are hard to argue with. For a developer who wants to experiment with Claude Code, Codex, or Gemini CLI before spending anything, AgentRouter's free credit head start changes the math entirely.