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Claude Code is a strong agent, but Claude tokens aren’t cheap. The thing is, the agent itself isn’t tied to Anthropic’s models. Through RuAPI you can run it on deepseek-v4-pro and get the same interface, the same file edits and command runs — at DeepSeek prices. Over one real working day that comes out about 24× cheaper on Flash, and about 4.5× on Pro. Here’s how it works: RuAPI accepts Claude Code’s requests in Anthropic format (/v1/messages) and translates them into the DeepSeek format itself. To Claude Code it all looks like ordinary Claude — no proxy, no router needed.
This builds on the base Claude Code setup. If Claude Code isn’t installed yet, start there — this page only covers what changes for DeepSeek.

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What you’ll need

  • A RuAPI key (sk-...) with a positive balance. Sign up at www.ruapi.ai; top up in USDT — see Top-up.
  • Claude Code installed — claude --version should print a version number. Installation is on the Claude Code page.

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Setup

Open ~/.claude/settings.json (on Windows, %USERPROFILE%\.claude\settings.json) and add:
A few lines, and all of Claude Code — background tasks and subagents included — runs on DeepSeek. Want it even cheaper? Put deepseek-v4.1-flash in ANTHROPIC_MODEL too.
Don’t append /v1 to ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL. The Anthropic client adds /v1/messages itself; an extra /v1 returns 404.
If you prefer environment variables or switching via CC Switch, both methods from the base guide work the same way — you just change the model names to deepseek-v4-pro and deepseek-v4.1-flash.

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First run

Open a new terminal so the settings load, and go into a project:
Give it a coding task:
Claude Code will read files, call tools and answer — as usual. In RuAPI Console → Usage Logs you’ll see a fresh request with model deepseek-v4-pro (not Claude) and the tokens it spent — that’s your confirmation it’s going through DeepSeek.

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What to expect

  • Tools work. Reading and editing files, running commands, searching the project — Claude Code’s whole agent loop runs through DeepSeek.
  • Streaming is on: the answer prints as it’s generated.
  • You’ll see the reasoning. DeepSeek V4 is a reasoning model, so before answering Claude Code sometimes shows a thinking block. That’s expected.
DeepSeek can’t read images. Paste a screenshot into Claude Code and DeepSeek won’t process it — the line has no vision. For that, switch to a vision model mid-session with /model claude-sonnet-5.

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When to go back to Claude

DeepSeek V4 Pro handles almost everything, but now and then you want top quality. Without leaving the session, switch the model:
The same way gets you back to deepseek-v4-pro. It’s convenient to keep DeepSeek as the default and bring in Claude only for the hardest spots or image tasks. One RuAPI key covers every model, with no surcharge for switching.

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How much it saves

Saving money is the whole point of the combo. For one real day of Claude Code — 405 million tokens — the bill on Claude Sonnet 4.6 would be $167; on deepseek-v4.1-flash it’s about $7 (roughly 24× less), and on deepseek-v4-pro about $37. The line-by-line breakdown is in DeepSeek vs Claude: what one day of work actually costs.

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Troubleshooting

ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN must be a RuAPI key (sk-...), not an Anthropic key (sk-ant-...). Check for stray spaces when copying, and that the token is active in Console → API Keys.
Check the spelling: deepseek-v4-pro, deepseek-v4-flash, deepseek-v4.1-flash. And don’t append /v1 to ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL.
Top up in USDT — see Top-up. Tokens burn slowly on DeepSeek, but long tool-heavy sessions still spend from your balance.
That’s by design: DeepSeek has no vision. Switch to a vision model with /model — see Claude models.

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Next

Base Claude Code setup

Install, configuration methods and provider switching.

DeepSeek vs Claude: cost of a day

A line-by-line breakdown: about 24× cheaper on Flash.

DeepSeek API

Pro and Flash: how they differ and what they do.

Top up your balance

USDT, networks and top-up discounts.