Claude Code - VibeCodeCheap

Claude Code is a terminal-based coding agent that understands your codebase and helps you code faster through natural language commands - executing routine tasks, explaining complex code, and handling git workflows. Claude Code becomes even more powerful with Coding Plan — Pro plan offers more than Claude Pro (20 USD/month), Max plan offers more than Claude Max (200 USD/month). Code faster, debug smarter, and manage workflows seamlessly with more tokens and higher reliability.

Step 1: Install Claude Code

Recommended Installation
Cursor Guided Installation

Requirements: Node.js 18 or newer

# Install Claude Code
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

If you’re unfamiliar with npm but have Cursor, you can enter the command in Cursor for guided installation:

https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/overview
Help me install Claude Code

If you encounter permission errors during installation, try using sudo (MacOS/Linux) or run command prompt as administrator (Windows).

Step 2: Configure Coding Plan

Get API Key

Visit VibeCodeCheap Open Platform, Register or Login.
Create an API Key on the API Keys page.
Copy the API Key for use.

Configure Environment Variables

There are 2 ways to configure: via settings.json file (recommended) or via environment variable export.

Method 1: settings.json File (Recommended)
Method 2: Export Environment Variables
Method 3: Using --settings Flag

Step 1: Locate the correct settings.json file path

The configuration file is located in different paths depending on your operating system:

Windows
macOS
Linux

Path: %USERPROFILE%\.claude\settings.jsonExample: C:\Users\YourName\.claude\settings.json

Path: ~/.claude/settings.jsonExample: /Users/YourName/.claude/settings.json

Path: ~/.claude/settings.jsonExample: /home/YourName/.claude/settings.json

Step 2: Open settings.json for editing

Choose one of the following methods to open the file:

Using claude command
VS Code
Cursor
Notepad++ / Sublime / Vim
Manual Opening

# On Windows (Git Bash or WSL)
claude --settings "$USERPROFILE\.claude\settings.json"

# On macOS/Linux
claude --settings ~/.claude/settings.json

This command opens the file in your system’s default editor. If it doesn’t work, try another method below.

# On Windows
code "%USERPROFILE%\.claude\settings.json"

# On macOS/Linux
code ~/.claude/settings.json

# On Windows
cursor "%USERPROFILE%\.claude\settings.json"

# On macOS/Linux
cursor ~/.claude/settings.json

# Notepad++ (Windows)
notepad++ "%USERPROFILE%\.claude\settings.json"

# Sublime Text
subl ~/.claude/settings.json

# Vim
vim ~/.claude/settings.json

# Nano
nano ~/.claude/settings.json

Windows:

Open File Explorer
Type %USERPROFILE%\.claude in the address bar
Find settings.json and open with Notepad or any editor

macOS/Linux:

Open Finder/File Manager
Press Cmd+Shift+G (macOS) or Ctrl+H to show hidden files
Navigate to ~/.claude/
Open settings.json

Step 3: Add configuration to the file

Add the env fields to the settings.json file:

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "your_api_key",
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://api.vibecodecheap.com/v1/ai",
    "API_TIMEOUT_MS": "3000000"
  }
}

Replace your_api_key with your VibeCodeCheap API Key and save the file.

Common troubleshooting

File open command doesn't work or opens wrong file

Cause: Commands like code, cursor may not be in PATH, or file is opened in wrong location.Solution:

Verify file location:

# Windows (PowerShell)
ls $env:USERPROFILE\.claude\settings.json

# macOS/Linux
ls -la ~/.claude/settings.json

If file doesn’t exist, create directory and file:

# Windows (PowerShell)
mkdir -Force $env:USERPROFILE\.claude
echo '{"env":{}}' > $env:USERPROFILE\.claude\settings.json

# macOS/Linux
mkdir -p ~/.claude
echo '{"env":{}}' > ~/.claude/settings.json

Open file using absolute path:

# Windows
code "C:\Users\YourName\.claude\settings.json"

# macOS
code "/Users/YourName/.claude/settings.json"

Configuration doesn't take effect after saving

Check JSON format: Use JSONLint to validate
Close all terminals running Claude Code
Open a new terminal and run claude again
Run /status in Claude Code to verify configuration

Cannot find .claude directory

Cause: The .claude directory hasn’t been created because Claude Code hasn’t been run yet.Solution:

Run claude once (can exit immediately)

Or create manually:

# Windows
mkdir %USERPROFILE%\.claude

# macOS/Linux
mkdir -p ~/.claude

settings.json file being overwritten or losing configuration

Cause: Claude Code may automatically overwrite settings.json in some cases.Solution:

Backup configuration file:

cp ~/.claude/settings.json ~/.claude/settings.json.backup

Lock file to prevent overwriting (only when necessary):

# macOS/Linux
chmod 444 ~/.claude/settings.json

# Windows (PowerShell - run as admin)
Set-ItemProperty -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\settings.json" -Name IsReadOnly -Value $true

Unlock when need to edit:

# macOS/Linux
chmod 644 ~/.claude/settings.json

# Windows (PowerShell)
Set-ItemProperty -Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\settings.json" -Name IsReadOnly -Value $false

WSL: 'node: not found' error or wrong Node version

Cause: WSL is using Windows Node.js instead of Linux version.Check:

which node
which npm
# If result is /mnt/c/... then using Windows Node

Solution:

Install Node.js for Linux:

# Using nvm (recommended)
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bashrc
nvm install --lts

# Or using package manager
sudo apt update
sudo apt install nodejs npm

Fix PATH priority - Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

# Ensure nvm is loaded
export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"
[ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"

# Prioritize Linux paths
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:$PATH"

Apply changes:
```
source ~/.bashrc
```

macOS: Permission errors when editing files or running commands

Cause: macOS has gatekeeper and SIP (System Integrity Protection) security.Solution:

Allow terminal to access files:
- Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access
- Add Terminal.app or iTerm2

Fix directory permissions:

sudo chown -R $(whoami) ~/.claude
chmod -R u+w ~/.claude

This method is useful when settings.json doesn’t work or you want to test quickly.

Temporary (Current terminal session only)

# macOS/Linux
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="your_api_key"
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.vibecodecheap.com/v1/ai"
export API_TIMEOUT_MS="3000000"
claude

# Windows (PowerShell)
$env:ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="your_api_key"
$env:ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.vibecodecheap.com/v1/ai"
$env:API_TIMEOUT_MS="3000000"
claude

These environment variables only exist in the current terminal. When you close the terminal, you must export them again.

Permanent (Auto-load every time you open terminal)

macOS/Linux (Bash)
macOS (Zsh - default)
Windows (PowerShell)

Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_profile:

# Open file
nano ~/.bashrc
# or
nano ~/.bash_profile

# Add to end of file
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="your_api_key"
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.vibecodecheap.com/v1/ai"
export API_TIMEOUT_MS="3000000"

# Save file (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X)

# Apply changes
source ~/.bashrc
# or
source ~/.bash_profile

Add to ~/.zshrc:

# Open file
nano ~/.zshrc

# Add to end of file
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="your_api_key"
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.vibecodecheap.com/v1/ai"
export API_TIMEOUT_MS="3000000"

# Save file (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X)

# Apply changes
source ~/.zshrc

Add to PowerShell Profile:

# Check profile file
notepad $PROFILE

# If doesn't exist, create new
New-Item -Path $PROFILE -Type File -Force

# Add to file
$env:ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="your_api_key"
$env:ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.vibecodecheap.com/v1/ai"
$env:API_TIMEOUT_MS="3000000"

# Save and reload
. $PROFILE

Verify environment variables are set

# macOS/Linux
echo $ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN
echo $ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL

# Windows (PowerShell)
echo $env:ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN
echo $env:ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL

If settings.json is in a different location or you want to specify a custom file.

# Create settings.json at any location
nano ~/my-claude-config.json

# Add content
{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "your_api_key",
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://api.vibecodecheap.com/v1/ai",
    "API_TIMEOUT_MS": "3000000"
  }
}

# Run claude with --settings flag
claude --settings ~/my-claude-config.json

# Or create alias for permanent use
# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
alias claude-vcc='claude --settings ~/my-claude-config.json'

# Then just type
claude-vcc

Step 3: Get Started with Claude Code

After configuration, you can start using Claude Code in the terminal:

cd your-project-directory
claude

If you’re using Windows, you need to run claude using Git Bash or Ubuntu (WSL) for the first time.

When running Claude Code for the first time, you may see a security prompt asking for file access permission:

Do you trust the files in this folder?

 Claude Code may read, write, or execute files contained in this directory. 
 This can pose security risks, so only use files from trusted sources.

 ❯ 1. Yes, proceed
   2. No, exit

Select “Yes, proceed” and press Enter to grant Claude Code access to the files in your project directory.

FAQ

How to Change the Model in Use

Mapping between Claude Code internal model environment variables and models:

Model	Multiplier	Context
`claude-sonnet-4-5`	1x	200K tokens
`claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929`	1x	200K tokens
`claude-opus-4-5-20251101`	2x	200K tokens
`gpt-5-mini`	0x (free-using)	128K tokens
`glm-4.6`	0x (free-using)	200K tokens
`glm-4.7`	0x (free-using)	200K tokens

gpt-5-mini, glm-4.6 and glm-4.7 are free-using models with unlimited usage when subscribing to Coding Plan at VibeCodeCheap.

If you need to adjust, you can directly edit the configuration file ~/.claude/settings.json:

Claude Models
GPT-5 Mini
GLM 4.6
GLM 4.7

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL": "claude-haiku-4-5-20251001",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL": "claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL": "claude-opus-4-5-20251101"
  }
}

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL": "gpt-5-mini",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL": "gpt-5-mini",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL": "gpt-5-mini"
  }
}

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL": "glm-4.6",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL": "glm-4.6",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL": "glm-4.6"
  }
}

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL": "glm-4.7",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL": "glm-4.7",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL": "glm-4.7"
  }
}

How to Check the Current Model Status

Open a new terminal and run claude, enter /help to see all available commands.

Enter /status to check the current model status.
Enter /models to list all available models.

Manual Configuration Not Working

If you’ve edited the ~/.claude/settings.json file but changes don’t take effect:

Close all Claude Code windows, open a new terminal and run claude again.
If still not working, try deleting the ~/.claude/settings.json file and reconfigure.
Confirm the JSON format is correct, check variable names and ensure no missing or extra commas.

Recommended Claude Code Version

We recommend using the latest version of Claude Code:

# Check current version
claude --version

# Upgrade to latest version
claude update

​Step 1: Install Claude Code

​Step 2: Configure Coding Plan

​Step 1: Locate the correct settings.json file path

​Step 2: Open settings.json for editing

​Step 3: Add configuration to the file

​Common troubleshooting

​Temporary (Current terminal session only)

​Permanent (Auto-load every time you open terminal)

​Verify environment variables are set

​Step 3: Get Started with Claude Code

​FAQ

​How to Change the Model in Use

​How to Check the Current Model Status

​Manual Configuration Not Working

​Recommended Claude Code Version

Step 1: Install Claude Code

Step 2: Configure Coding Plan

Step 1: Locate the correct settings.json file path

Step 2: Open settings.json for editing

Step 3: Add configuration to the file

Common troubleshooting

Temporary (Current terminal session only)

Permanent (Auto-load every time you open terminal)

Verify environment variables are set

Step 3: Get Started with Claude Code

FAQ

How to Change the Model in Use

How to Check the Current Model Status

Manual Configuration Not Working

Recommended Claude Code Version