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Claude Code + Gonka AI - LLM for the terminal

Claude Code is a powerful AI assistant for development right in the terminal. It works with Git, the file system, runs tests, and refactors code. But native Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3-15 per 1M tokens, and with active work, the bill can exceed $200 in a week.

JoinGonka Gateway supports the native Anthropic API (/v1/messages) — Claude Code connects directly, without a proxy. Kimi K2.6 model via the decentralized Gonka network for $0.0047/1M tokens — hundreds of times cheaper, with comparable quality on coding tasks.

Setup takes 2 minutes — two environment variables.

Step 1: Get API Key

If you don't have a JoinGonka Gateway key yet:

  1. Sign up at gate.joingonka.ai/register.
  2. Get a bonus of 1.5M free tokens.
  3. Create an API key in Dashboard → API Keys.
  4. Copy the key (format: jg-xxx).

One key works with any OpenAI-compatible tool: Cursor, Aider, LangChain, etc.

Step 2: Connect Claude Code

JoinGonka Gateway natively supports the Anthropic Messages API (/v1/messages) — no proxy required.

Recommended method — one-command installer:

npx @joingonka/setup --tool claude-code

This is the universal JoinGonka installer: run it without flags — npx @joingonka/setup — and it will offer to select a tool (Claude Code, OpenClaw, or Cline). The installer will ask for your API key, back up your current config, and carefully add only the necessary fields to your Claude Code settings without affecting your other parameters. More details: GitHub.

Setup manually (Plan B)

Or manually — using two environment variables:

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://gate.joingonka.ai
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN=jg-your-key
claude

That's it. Claude Code will send requests to the JoinGonka Gateway in the native Anthropic format. The Gateway converts them into requests to the Gonka network and returns the response in the Anthropic format.

Supported features:

  • Streaming — response starts appearing immediately (SSE in Anthropic format: message_start, content_block_delta, message_stop)
  • Tool calling — Claude Code actively uses functions for working with files and commands. Native tool calling via Kimi K2.6.
  • System prompts — system prompts are passed as is

Verification: ask any question in Claude Code. If a response appears, everything is working.

For Windows/PowerShell:

$env:ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://gate.joingonka.ai"
$env:ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="jg-your-key"
claude

The old specific installer npx @joingonka/claude-code has been replaced by the universal @joingonka/setup and is no longer maintained — please use the new one.

Cost Comparison with Anthropic

Claude Code is one of the most token-intensive AI tools: it sends full file context, command history, and diffs. A typical session consumes 20-50M tokens.

ProviderModelPrice input/output per 1M4h session (~30M tokens)Month (20 work days)
JoinGonkaKimi K2.6$0.0047 / $0.014$0.14$2.9
AnthropicClaude Sonnet 4.6$3.00 / $15.00$210$4,200
OpenAIGPT-5.5$5.00 / $30.00$300$6,000

The difference is three orders of magnitude. For $2.9 per month via JoinGonka, you get what costs $4,200+ at Anthropic. For an indie developer, this is the difference between "I can afford an AI assistant" and "I can't."

Usage Tips

A few recommendations for effective work with Claude Code via Gonka:

  • Context: Kimi K2.6 has a context window of 200K tokens (~100K words) — enough for most projects. The maximum response length via Gateway is up to 8192 tokens (for all network models). For long generations, you might need to split the task into parts. Current list of network models — GET https://gate.joingonka.ai/v1/models.
  • Streaming: The Gateway supports streaming in the native Anthropic format — the response starts displaying immediately, just like with native Claude.
  • Tool calling: Kimi K2.6 supports native tool calling, which is important for Claude Code — the tool actively uses functions for file and command operations.
  • Latency: The first request may take 5-10 seconds (node cold start). Subsequent ones — 1-3 seconds.
  • Other tools: JoinGonka Gateway is also compatible with the OpenAI API — Aider, OpenCode, and Cursor connect via /v1/chat/completions.

For developers who prefer other terminal tools, see also: Aider, OpenCode.

Claude Code + Gonka = a powerful terminal AI assistant for ~$0.60/month instead of $4,200 with Anthropic. Direct connection via Anthropic API — no proxies, 2 variables, 2 minutes. Free tokens upon sign-up.
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