Claude Code + NeoSmith

Claude Code is Anthropic’s CLI/IDE agent. It speaks the Anthropic Messages API and supports a configurable base URL — so it points cleanly at NeoSmith.

  • Endpoint: https://router.neosmith.ai (bare host — Claude Code appends /v1/messages)
  • Format: Anthropic Messages API
  • Works in: terminal, VS Code, all JetBrains IDEs, Cursor, Antigravity, Neovim — anywhere the Claude Code CLI/extension runs

The NeoSmith CLI configures Claude Code for you and runs a live connection check.

npx @neosmithai/cli init sk-plus-yourname-xxxxxx

This writes the right env keys into ~/.claude/settings.json and verifies against /whoami. Open a new Claude Code session — done.

Accepted key formats: NeoSmith issues keys as sk-plus-* (Pro / Opus-tier), sk-slm-* (Lite / SLM-only), and sk-std-* (Basic / Sonnet-tier), plus a Cognito JWT (starts with eyJ) for SSO. The CLI does not gate on prefix — whatever value you paste is stored and round-tripped against /whoami, which is the server-side source of truth for key validity (a 401 or 403 response means the key wasn’t accepted).

Interactive mode: run npx @neosmithai/cli init with no key and it prompts you to paste one securely instead of putting it in your shell history.

What init does, in order:

  1. Round-trips the key against https://router.neosmith.ai/whoami for server-side validation (the router is the authoritative validator — the CLI does not inspect the prefix).
  2. Backs up any existing Claude Code config to ~/.claude/settings.json.neosmith-backup (so uninstall can restore it).
  3. Writes the full NeoSmith config into ~/.claude/settings.json (file mode 0600 — owner read/write only):
    • Connection: ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL, ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN, ANTHROPIC_MODEL
    • Per-tier model ladder so the /model picker shows branded NeoSmith SKUs: ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_{OPUS,SONNET,HAIKU,FABLE}_MODEL plus _NAME and _DESCRIPTION for each
    • Top-level defaults: model (from your --model flag) and advisorModel (opus)
  4. Live-verifies the key against https://router.neosmith.ai/whoami and prints your dev slug, org, tier, and 30-day cap usage.

The settings.json the CLI writes 

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://router.neosmith.ai",
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "sk-plus-yourname-xxxxxx",
    "ANTHROPIC_MODEL": "neosmith.intelligent-pro",

    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL": "neosmith.intelligent-pro",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL_NAME": "NeoSmith Pro",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL_DESCRIPTION": "Cost-optimised with Opus escalation",

    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL": "neosmith.intelligent-basic",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL_NAME": "NeoSmith Basic",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL_DESCRIPTION": "Cost-optimised with Sonnet ceiling",

    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL": "neosmith.neolite",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL_NAME": "NeoSmith NeoLite",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL_DESCRIPTION": "Sealed budget tier · 512K · cheapest",

    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_FABLE_MODEL": "neosmith.intelligent-maestro",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_FABLE_MODEL_NAME": "NeoSmith Maestro",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_FABLE_MODEL_DESCRIPTION": "Highest-accuracy agentic coding"
  },
  "model": "opus",
  "advisorModel": "opus"
}

--model selects which tier is the default: --model maestro (or fable) sets ANTHROPIC_MODEL=neosmith.intelligent-maestro and model: "fable". neosmith off restores your prior config byte-for-byte from the snapshot.

IDE extension (VS Code / Cursor) auto-wiring

If the Claude Code extension is installed in VS Code and/or Cursor, neosmith claude on detects it and also writes the claudeCode.* block into that editor’s settings.json — including claudeCode.environmentVariables, which the extension injects into the model process. So the extension panel uses NeoSmith too, not just the terminal CLI:

{
  "claudeCode.preferredLocation": "panel",
  "claudeCode.disableLoginPrompt": true,
  "claudeCode.environmentVariables": [
    { "name": "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL", "value": "https://router.neosmith.ai" },
    { "name": "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY", "value": "sk-plus-yourname-xxxxxx" },
    { "name": "CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK", "value": "0" },
    { "name": "CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX", "value": "0" },
    { "name": "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL", "value": "neosmith.intelligent-pro" }
  ]
}

Each editor’s settings.json is snapshotted before the write and restored byte-for-byte by neosmith claude off. Reload the editor window (or fully restart) for the extension to pick up the change. neosmith claude status reports which editors are wired.

To check your installed key any time:

npx @neosmithai/cli verify

To revert to Anthropic-direct (restores your pre-NeoSmith config from the backup if present):

npx @neosmithai/cli uninstall

Option 2: Manual env vars

Set these in your shell profile (see your platform guide for the exact file and OS specifics):

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://router.neosmith.ai
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-plus-yourname-xxxxxx
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL=claude-opus-4      # optional; maps to intelligent-pro

Then launch Claude Code:

claude

Claude Code reads these variables at startup. If you set them after the IDE/terminal was already open, restart it.

Option 3: Claude Code settings file

~/.claude/settings.json (minimal — the CLI writes the full ladder shown in Option 1):

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://router.neosmith.ai",
    "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY":  "sk-plus-yourname-xxxxxx",
    "ANTHROPIC_MODEL":    "neosmith.intelligent-pro"
  }
}

Per-project override

To use NeoSmith only in a specific repo, add .claude/settings.json in the project root with the same env block. This overrides the global config for that project — handy for A/B comparing NeoSmith vs Anthropic-direct.

What works unchanged

All Claude Code features operate normally with NeoSmith as the backend:

  • Plan mode and inline diffs (accept / reject)
  • Checkpoint rewind
  • @terminal, @browser context references
  • MCP tool use
  • Multi-file agentic sessions
  • /compact and all slash commands

The only change: model calls route through NeoSmith’s ensemble. For genuinely hard tasks, the router escalates to Claude Opus automatically.

Verify it’s working

In a Claude Code session, run /status, or simply ask it to explain a function. To confirm the request was routed by NeoSmith, curl /whoami with your key (see verify-connection.md).

Troubleshooting

See reference/troubleshooting.md. Most common issue: env vars set in ~/.zshrc aren’t seen by GUI apps launched from the Dock on macOS — use ~/.zprofile or launch the IDE from a terminal.

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