Claude Code

Install and prepare a practice folder

These instructions were checked against official documentation on 2026-09-25. This is a setup and acceptance guide, not a new live-model acceptance result. You can use file assistants for marketing briefs, sales notes and operations checklists without writing software.

1. Follow the official native installer for your system. Open a new terminal and run claude --version to check installation. A terminal is the window where you enter the commands below; ask your administrator for one-time setup help if needed.
2. Create a practice folder and a fictional notes.md file. In the terminal, cd to that folder before starting Claude Code. Review any directory trust prompt and keep the normal permission prompts enabled.

• Official installation and quickstart
• Official gateway requirements

Confirm the service and model

Ask for a published Claude-compatible model served through Anthropic Messages, plus its exact customer alias and key permission. An OpenAI text model or an image model is not a substitute. The previous acceptance used a synthetic model; repeat it with the alias your administrator currently provides.

Use one authentication option below in the same terminal that launches claude, with the Gateway origin (no /v1 suffix). Clear the alternative variable in that terminal first. Merely setting ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL does not prove that an existing Claude subscription session is using Albatross; verify the model and the Albatross Usage record.

Choose exactly one authentication mode

Use ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN for Bearer authentication or ANTHROPIC_API_KEY for x-api-key authentication. Do not set both. Run one environment block in the same terminal (macOS/Linux shell) that will launch Claude Code. The variables last only until that terminal closes; on Windows use the corresponding shell syntax. Enter your practice folder, then run the separate launch command. Restart Claude Code after changing the environment.

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://staging-gateway.bulakua.com"
unset ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="<ALBATROSS_API_KEY>"
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL="<ALBATROSS_MODEL>"

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://staging-gateway.bulakua.com"
unset ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="<ALBATROSS_API_KEY>"
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL="<ALBATROSS_MODEL>"

claude --model "$ANTHROPIC_MODEL"

Model selection

Use the customer alias supplied by Albatross. If it does not match Claude Code's discovery naming rules, pass --model explicitly instead of renaming the alias.

First acceptance

1. Request a short response.
2. Read a disposable file.
3. Edit the file and inspect the result.
4. Run a harmless Bash command and verify its actual output.
5. Continue the session and verify tool context survives.
6. Test 401 and cancellation behavior.

Important boundaries

• Claude Code requires /v1/messages and may call /v1/messages/count_tokens.
• Client tools run in the local Claude Code environment, not on Albatross.
• Do not treat one successful text request as proof of Read, Edit, Bash, resume, cancellation, or billing behavior.

Switch Claude Code models with one authentication setup

Set the Gateway origin and one authentication mode once. Use ANTHROPIC_MODEL for the default or pass --model for a one-run override.

• Keep ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN and ANTHROPIC_API_KEY mutually exclusive.
• Pass --model explicitly when an alias does not satisfy discovery naming rules.

export ANTHROPIC_MODEL='<ALBATROSS_MESSAGES_FAST_ALIAS>'
claude --model "$ANTHROPIC_MODEL"
claude --model '<ALBATROSS_MESSAGES_QUALITY_ALIAS>'

Work example: turn meeting notes into a follow-up

1. Put fictional notes in notes.md: a bookstore needs a Saturday reading-event invitation; the venue is not confirmed. Start a new task in the practice project (Desktop) or run claude in that folder (Claude Code). Ask for a one-sentence greeting first.
2. Ask: Read notes.md, summarize confirmed facts and missing information, and propose a follow-up checklist. Do not modify any file yet. Review the reported file read and compare the summary with the original.
3. Then ask: Write the approved checklist to follow-up.md in this folder, leaving notes.md unchanged. Review any write permission prompt, allow only the intended action, then open follow-up.md to check the saved result.
4. Success means a completed reply, a real readable output file and matching Albatross Usage, not only a promise to write a file. These are acceptance steps you must verify on your installed version; they were not executed in this round.

Daily use, automation and troubleshooting

• Continue the same task when revising the same files; start a new task for a separate assignment. Inspect changes before using or sharing them. Keep backups before bulk file operations.
• Tools execute on your computer or the client's selected environment. Reading files may send their content to the configured model. Grant only the needed folder and commands; review a proposed command if you do not understand it.
• For repeated work, first validate a single manual run and its output. Scheduled automation, plugins, network access and external publishing need separate client setup and authorization; this guide does not certify them.
• If a key is not found, check the launch environment; if a model is denied, check the exact alias and key permission. If a tool fails, inspect its actual output and local permission before blaming the Gateway. After cancellation, inspect partial files before resuming.
• Each planning or tool-continuation model request may be billed. Client subscription fees and estimates are separate from Albatross customer charges. For help provide version, model, time and request ID, never the key or private files.

• Account and costs
• Troubleshooting