I built a $10/month Claude API — here's the curl command

Most developers don't know you can run Claude Code against a custom API endpoint.

Anthropic built in a variable called ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL specifically for this. You point it at any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, and Claude Code routes all its requests there instead of directly to Anthropic.

I've been running this setup for a while now. Here's exactly how to use it.

The one-liner setup

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://simplylouie.com/api/claude
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_simplylouie_key
claude

That's it. Claude Code now routes through SimplyLouie's API instead of hitting Anthropic directly.

Why would you want this?

Anthropic charges per token. A heavy Claude Code session can easily cost $5-15 in API calls. SimplyLouie's developer tier gives you Claude API access for a flat $10/month — unlimited calls, same claude-3-5-sonnet model.

For developers doing CI/CD automation, testing pipelines, or just heavy daily coding sessions, the math is obvious.

curl examples

Basic message completion

curl https://simplylouie.com/api/claude \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022",
    "max_tokens": 1024,
    "messages": [
      {"role": "user", "content": "Write a Python function to parse JSON"}
    ]
  }'

Code review automation

curl https://simplylouie.com/api/claude \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d "{
    \"model\": \"claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022\",
    \"max_tokens\": 2048,
    \"messages\": [
      {\"role\": \"user\", \"content\": \"Review this code for bugs and security issues: $(cat myfile.js | head -50 | jq -Rs .)\"}
    ]
  }"

Streaming responses

curl https://simplylouie.com/api/claude \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Accept: text/event-stream" \
  -d '{
    "model": "claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022",
    "max_tokens": 1024,
    "stream": true,
    "messages": [
      {"role": "user", "content": "Explain async/await in JavaScript"}
    ]
  }'

Using it with Claude Code directly

This is the most powerful use case. Claude Code has native support for custom base URLs:

# Add to your .bashrc or .zshrc
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://simplylouie.com/api/claude
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sl_your_key_here

# Now just run claude normally
claude "refactor this authentication module"

Every Claude Code session now routes through the proxy. You get:

• Flat-rate pricing (no per-token surprises)
• Same claude-3-5-sonnet model
• All Claude Code features work identically
• Works with hooks, subagents, MCP servers

CI/CD pipeline integration

# .github/workflows/code-review.yml
name: AI Code Review
on: [pull_request]

jobs:
  review:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: Run AI code review
        env:
          ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL: https://simplylouie.com/api/claude
          ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.SIMPLYLOUIE_KEY }}
        run: |
          # Install claude CLI
          npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
          # Review changed files
          git diff HEAD~1 | claude "Review these changes for bugs, security issues, and style problems. Be concise."

Python SDK integration

import anthropic

client = anthropic.Anthropic(
    api_key="sl_your_key_here",
    base_url="https://simplylouie.com/api/claude"
)

message = client.messages.create(
    model="claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022",
    max_tokens=1024,
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Explain the difference between async and threading in Python"}
    ]
)

print(message.content[0].text)

Node.js integration

import Anthropic from '@anthropic-ai/sdk';

const client = new Anthropic({
  apiKey: 'sl_your_key_here',
  baseURL: 'https://simplylouie.com/api/claude',
});

const message = await client.messages.create({
  model: 'claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022',
  max_tokens: 1024,
  messages: [{ role: 'user', content: 'Write unit tests for this function' }],
});

console.log(message.content[0].text);

Pricing comparison

Method	Cost	Rate limits
Anthropic direct API	~$15/1M tokens	Hard limits
Claude Pro	$20/month	Session limits
SimplyLouie Developer	$10/month flat	Generous

For developers running multiple sessions per day or automating Claude in pipelines, the flat rate beats per-token pricing almost immediately.

Get started

→ simplylouie.com/developers

7-day free trial, no card required to start. The API key works in curl, Python SDK, Node SDK, and directly with claude CLI via ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL.

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SimplyLouie is a $2/month Claude proxy built by one person. 50% of revenue goes to animal rescue. simplylouie.com