Using Kimi K2 with Claude Code in China

When I first saw that Kimi K2 was compatible with the Claude API, I didn't quite get it. But then I saw some promotional materials showing Claude Code being used with Kimi K2, and it all clicked.

Applying for an API Key

Claude Code

The prerequisite is to install Node.js, version 18 or higher(Windows Need to install Git). Beginners can just go to the official Node.js website and download the LTS version to get started. After installation, paste the following into your command line and press Enter:

shell

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

Claude Code Configuration

First, run claude once in your terminal to ensure that the .claude.json file is created in your user directory, i.e., ~/.claude.json:

claude

What is ~/? How do I open ~/.claude.json?
~ refers to your current user directory. For example, if my username is gan, the user directory on macOS and Linux is /home/gan/, and on Windows, it's C:\Users\gan (if your system is on the C: drive).
On macOS, you can open it with open ~/.claude.json. On Windows, use notepad $env:USERPROFILE\.claude.json. Advanced Linux users, you're on your own (perhaps use nano, or teach yourself vim).

Open ~/.claude.json with your preferred editor, delete the third line (the one starting with autoUpdates), and paste the following:

json

{
  "installMethod": "unknown",
  "autoUpdates": false,
  "hasCompletedOnboarding": true,
  "env": {
    "CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS": 8192,
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://api.moonshot.ai/anthropic/",
    "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
  }
  //...
}

Save the configuration, exit Claude Code (press Ctrl+C twice), and then run it again:

claude

It will detect a custom API and default to "No" (do not accept). Press the up arrow key and then Enter to select "Yes".

After that, you can select a few more options and start using it.

429 Error

This does not affect usage and is typically a rate limit issue, often related to insufficient concurrency for tier-1 users.

Other Optional Methods

Modifying Environment Variables in `~/.claude/setting.json`

Although we successfully configured the environment variables in the "Claude Code Configuration" section, this configuration disappears after the program runs. It gets moved to ~/.claude/setting.json, looking something like this:

json

{
  "env": {
    "CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS": 8192,
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://api.moonshot.ai/anthropic/",
    "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "sk-..."
  }
}

If you need to make changes later, you can edit this file. You can refer to the Environment Variables section in the Claude Code documentation (Chinese version).

Temporarily Configuring the API_KEY with System Environment Variables

You need to configure environment variables. Replace YOUR_API_KEY_HERE with your actual key.

For Linux and macOS:

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://api.moonshot.ai/anthropic/
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY_HERE

For Windows PowerShell:

powershell

$env:ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL = "https://api.moonshot.ai/anthropic/"
$env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"

Note: With this method, you currently need to set these environment variables every time you open a new terminal session. To avoid this, you can add them to your shell's startup configuration file.

Using Kimi K2 with Claude Code in China ​

Applying for an API Key ​

Claude Code ​

Claude Code Configuration ​

429 Error ​

Other Optional Methods ​

Modifying Environment Variables in ~/.claude/setting.json ​

Temporarily Configuring the API_KEY with System Environment Variables ​