Comment by weird-eye-issue
1 day ago
The API is not banned only using the Claude Code subscription is
I actually tried this several months back to do a regular API request using the CC subscription token and it gave the same error message
So this software must have been pretending to be Claude Code in order to get around that
A Claude Code subscription should not work with other software, I think this is totally fair
> A Claude Code subscription should not work with other software.
why not though? aren't you paying for the model usage regardless of the client you use?
No, you are paying to use Claude code… it uses the model underneath, but you aren’t paying for raw model usage. For whatever reason, Anthropic thinks this is the best way to divide up their market.
They want to charge more for direct access to the model.
> No, you are paying to use Claude code
Why would anyone pay a subscription for barebones LLM agent?
You can beat that drum all you want, but you know it's bullshit. People pay the subscription for the AI, not the tool that consumes it. That tool being crap is why everyone started using third-party tools.
The reason they are blocking third-party usage is they want developers to use only their models and no competitors.
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That's not up to you or me. I think it's pretty clear by the phrase "Claude Code subscription" that it's meant for only "Claude Code". Why are you confused?
This could be so easily abused by companies who spend thousands of dollars per month for API costs you could just reverse engineer it and use the subscription tokens to get that down to a few hundred
That phrase isn't the official one. It's "The Max Plan" which "combines Claude Desktop and mobile apps and Claude Code in one subscription".
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Can I script and scrape Claude Code to provide the exact same data for consumption by the banned client? (This sounds like an interesting challenge for Claude Code to try...)
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I don't think they are confused. They are simply challenging the assertion that the model should not work with other software. Which is fair because there is a lot of precedent around whether a service can dictate how it must be consumed. It's not a simple answer and there are good reasons for both sides. Whichever path we take will have wide consequences and shape our future in a very distinct way. So it is an important decision, and ultimately up to us, as a society to influence and guide.
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It’s like saying Netflix is wrong to require an official Netflix client to access their service. Total dud of an argument if you ask me.
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IDK if Anthropic wants to offer a service at below cost, I don't think they should gate keep which client you access that service over. Or in other terms, I won't use a service that locks me into a client I don't like.
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But they get telemetry, feedback, good will, etc. That’s one reason why usage is discounted to a subscription fee.
They don't get any telemetry or feedback data from me, as I've turned all that off. So why should I be limited to CC?
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Good will, huh?
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> aren't you paying for the model usage
No, you’re paying for “Claude Code” usage.
>A Claude Code subscription should not work with other software, I think this is totally fair
Strongly disagree. They are just trying to moat.
It’s a private API. What part of this is hard to understand? This is why you don’t code against undocumented APIs with no contract. It’s self destructive.
Is Claude Code still available on IDEs through ACP?
Like https://zed.dev/docs/ai/external-agents
Should be, yes - ACP is basically just a different way of invoking the agent, so you're still using Claude Code. It's alternative clients like OpenCode, the CharmBracelet one and pi which will be affected - they basically reimplement the agent part and just call the API directly.
Yes. I've been using it today with Zed (a mind-blowing editor, by the way).
One must use an API key to work through Zed, but my Max subscription can be used with Claude Code as an external agent via Zed ACP. And there's some integration; it's a better experience than Claude Code in a terminal next to file viewing in an editor.
> A Claude Code subscription should not work with other software, I think this is totally fair
Why the hell not? What an L take - if I pay a subscription fee for an API, I should be able to use that API however I want. If they're forcing users to only consume their APIs with a proprietary piece of software, it really begs what's in that software that makes it valuable to them. Seems like there's something nefarious involved.
Came here to say this. Using opencode with the API works fine.
Same
but if something is used in CLI it makes sense it would be in order to be used with other things in the CLI
Yeah, you shouldn’t infringe the copywrite of a tool written by a company which is built off of copywrite infringement.
First of all you mean "copyright". Second of all this has literally nothing to do with copyright