Claude Code desktop

This page is only the Code tab inside the Claude desktop app. The command line is Claude Code CLI. The VS Code extension and the JetBrains plugin are VS Code and JetBrains.

Code in the desktop app runs Claude Code. It is not the normal chat box on claude.ai. Claude Code is the Code tab at the top of the sidebar.

The normal chat UI on claude.ai and in the mobile app cannot take a third-party key. It only accepts a Claude account. Cloud sessions at claude.ai/code also use the Claude subscription. They do not read the configuration on your computer.

Download and install

These links were checked against Anthropic's pages on 2026-11-02: claude.com/download and the desktop quickstart.

Download page: https://claude.com/download

Direct installers from the official desktop quickstart:

System	Installer
macOS (universal, Intel and Apple silicon)	Download the dmg
Windows x64	Download the installer
Windows ARM64	Download the installer

Windows can also use the Microsoft Store entry on the download page: Claude.

The Help Center lists macOS 13 (Ventura) or later, and Windows 10 or later. After install, open Claude from the Applications folder on Mac or the Start menu on Windows. The desktop app includes Claude Code. The Code tab does not need Node.js or a separate CLI install.

The Linux desktop app is marked beta. The download page has no direct installer link. It points at the docs: Claude Desktop on Linux. This page does not copy the apt steps from there.

On the default path, the Code tab asks you to sign in with an Anthropic account and requires a Pro, Max, Ultra, Team, or Enterprise subscription. Signing in does not send traffic to ModelFold. Use Developer Mode below for ModelFold.

Developer Mode and the third-party gateway

Anthropic's docs say the desktop app reads gateway routing from the in-app third-party inference form, not from ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL or from ~/.claude/settings.json. A terminal export does nothing there either. If you only edit the file, the desktop app stays on your Claude account. That file is for the CLI and for VS Code and JetBrains.

Open Console → API Keys and create a key that starts with mf-. Paste the raw key. Do not add Bearer .

Use the official third-party inference form (how to open it, gateway fields, which surface reads which setting):

1. Open the Claude desktop app.
2. On Mac, use the menu bar at the top of the screen. On Windows, use the application menu ☰ at the top left of the sign-in screen. Choose Help → Troubleshooting → Enable Developer Mode. The app restarts with a Developer menu.
3. Open Developer → Configure Third-Party Inference….
4. Under Connection, set Inference provider to Gateway, then fill in Gateway credentials:

Field	Value
Gateway base URL	https://modelfold.ai/anthropic
Gateway API key	Your mf- key, with no Bearer prefix
Credential kind	Static API key
Gateway auth scheme	Bearer (Bearer is the official default)

5. Save, then quit the app completely and open it again. On macOS, quit the process. Closing the window is not enough. Anthropic also lets you export a .mobileconfig (Mac) or .reg (Windows) for device management. On your own computer, the form is enough.

Stop the base URL at /anthropic. The app appends /v1/messages itself. https://modelfold.ai/anthropic/v1 or a URL that already includes /v1/messages is the wrong value. The Gateway API key is the raw key. With Bearer selected, the app sends it as Authorization: Bearer. A value that already starts with Bearer becomes Bearer Bearer … and the API returns 401. Do not switch the scheme to x-api-key. ModelFold's Anthropic-compatible API expects Bearer.

Limits, as written in Anthropic's docs. This page was not verified by sending a desktop-app message through ModelFold on this machine:

• Without Developer Mode and third-party inference, the Code tab requires an Anthropic account and a paid subscription.
• If your organization already deployed a configuration, the form is read-only and a local edit does not apply.
• With a gateway configuration, Anthropic says hosted cloud environments are not offered and Remote Control is unavailable.
• The gateway must serve POST /v1/messages, including streaming and tool use. ModelFold's Anthropic-compatible API is that protocol. GET /v1/models is optional in Anthropic's docs; ModelFold does serve it, and the app fills the model picker from that list, showing only ids it recognizes as Claude. If discovery fails, Anthropic says to set inferenceModels. This page did not click through that field in the app.
• Anthropic says it does not support routing Claude Code to non-Claude models through a gateway. The ModelFold Anthropic listing contains only Claude models. The id table and the curl command are under Models you can use on VS Code and JetBrains.

If the Developer menu disappears after you apply third-party inference, open Help → Troubleshooting → Enable Developer Mode again. Anthropic says Developer Mode stays on when you enable it while a third-party configuration is already running. If you enabled it earlier, the menu disappears when the app relaunches into that configuration.

Check that it works

After third-party inference is saved, quit the process and open the app again. Open Code, pick a local folder, and send a short message. That message spends ModelFold credits.

On the console usage page, confirm the request is logged against your key. Editing settings.json, or exporting variables in a terminal, does not switch the desktop app to ModelFold.

Common problems

What you see	Why
401, or a header that says Bearer Bearer	The key is wrong or revoked, or the Gateway API key includes a Bearer prefix. Paste only the raw mf- key, and leave Gateway auth scheme on Bearer.
404, or a URL that contains /v1/v1/messages	Gateway base URL includes /v1 or /v1/messages. Use only https://modelfold.ai/anthropic.
Still asked to sign in to a Claude account	The desktop app does not read settings.json or a terminal export. Use Developer → Configure Third-Party Inference, then quit the process and open the app again.
The Developer menu is gone	Enabling Developer Mode before the third-party configuration means the menu disappears when the app relaunches into that configuration. Open Help → Troubleshooting → Enable Developer Mode again.
402, billing_error, insufficient credits	The ModelFold balance is too low (under 1 credit, or less than the pre-charge for this call). Add credits in the console. This is not a key-format error.
The model is unavailable, or the model list is empty	Gateway model discovery did not match. Use the command on the IDE page to confirm GET /v1/models returns 200. Anthropic says to set inferenceModels when discovery fails. This page did not click through that field.
claude.ai chat on the web or phone rejects the key	The normal chat UI does not accept a third-party key. Use the desktop app on this page, the CLI, or VS Code and JetBrains.

Other CLI pitfalls are on Claude Code CLI.