Claude Code Without a Claude Subscription
As of 2026-10-19, Claude Code works without a Claude subscription: on QCode, set ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL and ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN and you are set.
Updated 2026-10-19
Point this tool at the QCode endpoint — one key for Claude, GPT and Chinese models.
- Billed per token — live rates on /models
- Pay by card (Visa / Mastercard / AMEX), Apple Pay, Google Pay or crypto
- Self-service: top up and activate instantly
Four points that matter
The login paths Anthropic lists
The official authentication doc says Claude Code supports multiple authentication methods: individuals sign in with a claude.ai account, while teams use Claude for Teams or Enterprise, Claude Console or a cloud provider. Without a Claude subscription, you use the Console route or the cloud route.
What to set without a subscription
The official rule: set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY and approve it at the prompt, and Claude Code skips the login prompt. QCode uses a different variable: the key goes into ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN, which the authentication doc describes for routing through an LLM gateway.
How the coverage table reads
In the official coverage table, Claude Code sits in the not-covered column; the monthly API credits included with Max and Team plans cannot be used for Claude Code.
How Console billing works
The official docs say most organizations pay with prepaid usage credits. Purchased credits are valid for 1 year from the purchase date and the expiration date cannot be extended. When the credits run out, you can no longer call the API or use the playground until you add more.
How to run Claude Code without a Claude subscription
As of 2026-10-19, yes. Of the login paths the official Claude authentication doc lists, the Claude Console route is the most direct one without a subscription: for organizations that prefer API-based billing, access is set up through the Console, where both the sign-in and the billing happen. Billing there runs on prepaid usage credits, and purchased credits cover API access, playground usage and Claude Code.
What the one-click script does now (checked 2026-10-19)
As of 2026-10-19, the one-click install page on docs.qcode.cc says the script picks the fastest endpoint by speed test, prompts you to paste the key, writes the configuration, installs Node.js and the CLI if needed, and finally sends one minimal request to verify the connection; on macOS and Linux it writes the configuration into a shell managed block, on Windows into user-level environment variables.
Key dates
From version 2.1.236, Claude Code can set the default model for new sessions with ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_MODEL.
On 2026-09-22 Anthropic released claude-opus-5-5 with 1M context and 128K output; the QCode model page lists it as newly added.
On 2026-09-29 OpenAI released the updated GPT-6 Sol (gpt-6.1-sol) with a 1.05M context window; the QCode model page lists it as newly added.
What is verifiable and what is not
Stated in the official pages
Every point below can be found in the official pages: Claude Code supports multiple authentication methods, and which one you use depends on your setup; the paid Claude plans and the Claude Console are separate products, and the API is billed separately; credits bought on the Console side are valid for 1 year from the purchase date and are non-refundable.
Not announced by the official pages
The authentication docs only say that the method depends on your setup: they give no recommendation for people without a subscription, and no feature-by-feature comparison of the listed login paths.
claude.ai subscription sign-in vs. Claude Console / API Key
claude.ai subscription sign-in
Signing in with a claude.ai account takes the subscription route; the official authentication doc lists the subscription credentials as the default credentials for /login, and they come last in the credential precedence.
Claude Console / API Key
On the Console route, the authentication doc lists ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN and ANTHROPIC_API_KEY ahead of the subscription credentials; the two routes differ only in where the credentials come from.
How to get Claude Code running without a Claude subscription
First, install Claude Code: the QCode one-click script installs it and writes the configuration with one command (curl -fsSL https://qcode.cc/install/claude-code.sh | bash -s -- --lang en); the script prompts in English, and once it is done claude --version prints the version number. Second, get a key: create a key with the cr_ prefix in the QCode.cc dashboard, and the script asks you to paste it. Third, check it or configure it by hand: the script picks the fastest endpoint by speed test, prompts you to paste the key, writes the configuration and verifies the connection, so if you want to check it or set the variables yourself, run export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.qcode.cc/api" and put the key with the cr_ prefix into ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN, with no trailing slash and only up to the /api prefix. Fourth, verify the result: echo both variables first, then request /v1/models with curl; a 200 means the address and the key are good, 401 means the key is invalid, and 404 usually means the path prefix is wrong.
How to do it on QCode
Besides the official login paths, Claude Code can also point at QCode's endpoint through ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL: set ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL to https://api.qcode.cc/api (only up to the /api prefix, the SDK appends /v1/messages on its own) and ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN to the key with the cr_ prefix from the dashboard. The same key works across protocols; the endpoint setup for other tools is in the docs. Callable models include claude-opus-5-5 and claude-sonnet-5-5 (the models on offer are listed on /models); usage is billed per token and per-model rates are listed on /models. If you do not want a monthly plan, Pay-as-you-go Packs start at $4 for one lump-sum quota you use within 7–90 days (top-ups start at $1); requests return HTTP 402 when the quota runs out and HTTP 401 after the key expires.
Frequently asked questions
Can Claude Code be used at all without a Claude subscription?
Yes. The official authentication doc lists the Console and cloud providers as routes that work without a subscription, and with ANTHROPIC_API_KEY set and approved at the prompt, Claude Code skips the login prompt.
Can I sign in to Claude Console without creating an API key, and which version do I need?
The official authentication doc says you can sign in to your Console account without creating an API key, even when your organization does not let developers create them; that route needs Claude Code v2.1.242 or later.
How does billing work on the Claude Console side?
With prepaid credits. The official article says most organizations pay with prepaid usage credits, and purchased credits cover API access, playground usage and Claude Code; when the credits run out you can no longer call the API or use the playground until you add more, and purchased credits are non-refundable.
Which login methods does Claude Code offer without a subscription?
These are the paths the official authentication doc lists: individuals sign in with a claude.ai account (Claude Pro or Max subscription), teams use Claude for Teams or Enterprise, and organizations use the Claude Console or a cloud provider. Without a Claude subscription you take one of the last two, and the Console route is the most direct one.
If I do not want a monthly plan, how do I buy a one-off quota on QCode?
QCode's balance has to be topped up before you buy a plan. A personal plan is bought by the month and gives you a daily quota that resets at 00:00 Beijing time. If you do not want a monthly plan, take a Pay-as-you-go Pack: from $4 for a one-time quota you use within 7 to 90 days (top-ups start at $1). Each account has one pack key and buying again adds to the quota; 5 concurrent requests, the same models as Personal Plans; billed per token, per-model rates on /models. Packs are non-refundable once purchased.
Which payment methods does QCode accept?
Top-ups start at $1, and you can pay with Alipay or WeChat Pay; credit cards (Visa / Mastercard / AMEX), Apple Pay, Google Pay and cryptocurrency are accepted too. After topping up, you pick a Personal Plan or a one-off quota.
Sources
Anthropic's official docs: the Claude Code authentication page (the login paths it lists, sign-in with a claude.ai subscription, Claude for Teams or Enterprise, sign-in with the Console, cloud providers and the cloud gateway, the credential precedence, ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN for gateway routing) and the setup page (the claude --version check); the API credits page on the Claude Platform (the coverage table for the credits that come with subscription plans); the platform billing article (how credits are bought and how long they are valid); and the support article on why API usage is billed separately from a subscription (paid plans and Console are separate products). docs.qcode.cc: environment variables (ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL, ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN, the cr_ prefix, creating the key in the dashboard, no trailing slash, one key across protocols, the version and date behind ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_MODEL); one-click install (the install command, the speed test for the endpoint, pasting the key, writing the configuration, the connection check); payment methods (top-ups from $1, Alipay, WeChat Pay, credit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, cryptocurrency); the quota page (the validity, the concurrency limit and the return codes 402 and 401). The model list on qcode.cc (the models and the release dates of the newly listed ones). All of this was checked on 2026-10-19.
Run Claude Code without a Claude subscription
Set ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL and ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN on QCode, and you can call models such as claude-opus-5-5 and claude-sonnet-5-5; usage is billed per token and per-model rates are listed on /models.
Related reading
Claude Code Pay-as-you-go Packs: No Subscription, 7–90 Days
One lump-sum quota, valid for 7–90 days; every later pack is added to the same key.
Claude Max & Team API Credits (Oct 2026): $100/$200/$500
How much API credit the Max and Team plans include each month, and when it expires.
Install Claude Code on Windows, macOS & Linux (Oct 2026)
Two ways to install Claude Code on your own machine: the official commands and the one-click script.
Crypto payment guide
Nine coins, 56 networks, zero platform fee for AI coding API credits.
The information on this page was checked on 2026-10-19 against Anthropic's official documentation and the pages on docs.qcode.cc and qcode.cc; official changes are not announced separately. The models on offer on the QCode side are listed on /models, and the rules for Claude subscriptions and credits follow Anthropic's official pages.