Run Claude Code on GLM-5.3 with InferSpeed

Point Claude Code at InferSpeed's Anthropic-compatible endpoint and set the model to glm-5.3. You keep Claude Code's tools and workflow and pay per token from a prepaid balance. No subscription required.

Last checked: 2026-10-18 (the date the site re-verified this config) · Claude Code 2.1.302

Setup

export INFERSPEED_API_KEY="sk-****"   # create one at https://inferspeed.ai/keys
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.inferspeed.ai"
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="$INFERSPEED_API_KEY"
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL="glm-5.3"
export ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL="glm-5.3"
export ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL="glm-5.3"
export ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL="glm-5.3"
export ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_FABLE_MODEL="glm-5.3"
export CLAUDE_CODE_SUBAGENT_MODEL="glm-5.3"
export CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC=1
claude

Keep the model variables. Without them Claude Code asks for its built-in claude-* names; those are routed to glm-5.3, but Claude Code's own cost display then lists them under the claude-* name.

Or write it into ~/.claude/settings.json with the installer (it shows a diff and backs up first):

curl -fsSL https://inferspeed.ai/setup.sh | sh -s -- claude --model glm-5.3 --dry-run
curl -fsSL https://inferspeed.ai/setup.sh | sh -s -- claude --model glm-5.3

Check it works

claude -p "reply with the word ok"

In -p mode Claude Code may print unrecognized_model for glm-5.3 on stderr; it still works.

Price (USD per 1M tokens)

Live prices for every model: https://inferspeed.ai/model-plaza

Where the model comes from

glm-5.3 is published by Z.ai. It is served from the vendor's published model through more than one route; a route may run the vendor's FP8 weights on our own hardware. Vendor-reported scores and our own measurement method: https://inferspeed.ai/benchmarks.md

Limits

• One key calls every live model (glm-5.3, kimi-k3, ...): name the model in the request. Each request is billed at the price of the model that served it.
• Default: 30 requests per minute and 5 concurrent requests per account.
• Hosted tools such as web search are not executed by the gateway.

FAQ

How do I go back to my previous setup?
Unset the variables. If you used the installer, it copied your old ~/.claude/settings.json to <file>.bak-<timestamp> before writing.

How do I check what I was charged?
Call GET https://api.inferspeed.ai/v1/usage with your key: it returns today's and total tokens and actual_cost. How we check billing (charged amount equals billed tokens × published price) and how to run that check yourself: https://inferspeed.ai/benchmarks.md

We run InferSpeed.