Claude Switcher

Switch between Claude Code login mode (subscription) and API key mode easily.

❓ The Problem

Claude Code prioritizes ANTHROPIC_API_KEY over your subscription login. This means:

• If you have an API key set, Claude always uses it (and charges your API account)
• To use your Pro/Max subscription, you must manually unset the environment variable
• Switching between modes is tedious

✨ The Solution

claude-switcher (or cs) lets you choose which mode to use when launching Claude:

cs login    # Use subscription (ignores API key)
cs api      # Use API key
cs status   # Check current configuration

🎁 Features

• 🎯 Zero configuration needed – Works out of the box with existing Claude Code installations
• ⚡ Instant mode switching – Seamlessly toggle between subscription and API key modes
• 🔐 Secure credential management – No passwords stored, uses system keychain
• 📝 Clear status information – Always know which mode you're running in
• 🔄 Seamless Claude integration – All Claude flags and arguments supported

📦 Installation

Install directly from GitHub:

npm install -g github:wlsdnen/claude-switcher

Or using a specific version/tag:

npm install -g github:wlsdnen/claude-switcher#v1.0.0

Updating

To update to the latest version:

npm install -g github:wlsdnen/claude-switcher

🚀 Usage

Login Mode (Subscription)

Run Claude using your Pro/Max/Team subscription, even if ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is set:

cs login

This temporarily removes the ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable for the Claude session.

API Key Mode

Run Claude using your API key:

cs api

Requires ANTHROPIC_API_KEY to be set in your environment.

Check Status

See your current authentication configuration:

cs status

Output example:

📊 Claude Switcher Status
────────────────────────────────────────

Claude CLI:
  ✓ Installed
    Credentials stored in macOS Keychain

API Key (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY):
  ✓ Set (sk-ant-...xxx)

────────────────────────────────────────
Mode Selection:
  ⚠  Running claude directly will use API key
     (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY takes priority over subscription)

Usage:
  cs login  → Use subscription (ignores API key)
  cs api    → Use API key

Passing Arguments to Claude

All arguments after the mode are passed directly to Claude:

# Start Claude in a specific directory
cs login -p ./my-project

# Continue previous session
cs login --continue

# Use with any Claude flags
cs api --model opus

🔧 How It Works

┌─────────────┐     ┌──────────────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐
│ cs login    │ ──▶ │ Remove API key from  │ ──▶ │ claude      │
│             │     │ environment          │     │ (subscription)
└─────────────┘     └──────────────────────┘     └─────────────┘

┌─────────────┐     ┌──────────────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐
│ cs api      │ ──▶ │ Keep API key in      │ ──▶ │ claude      │
│             │     │ environment          │     │ (API)       │
└─────────────┘     └──────────────────────┘     └─────────────┘

⚙️ Setting Up Your API Key

If you want to use API mode, set your API key:

# For current session
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

# To persist (add to shell config)
echo 'export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-api-key"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Get your API key at: https://console.anthropic.com/

📋 Requirements

• Node.js 18 or later
• Claude Code CLI installed (npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code)

🌍 Platform Support

• macOS
• Linux
• Windows

🔍 Troubleshooting

Claude CLI not found

Make sure Claude Code is installed:

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

API key not working

1. Check if the key is set: echo $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
2. Verify the key format starts with sk-ant-
3. Make sure the key is valid at https://console.anthropic.com/

Login mode still uses API key

This shouldn't happen, but if it does:

1. Run cs status to verify the setup
2. Try running Claude directly without the key: unset ANTHROPIC_API_KEY && claude

🤝 Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome! Feel free to check issues page if you want to contribute.

Found a bug? Have a feature request? Please open an issue.

📄 License

MIT

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Version: 1.0.0 | Status: Production Ready | Last Updated: 2026-02-06