Issue configuring OpenRouter free models via .claude/settings.local.json

[Sarthak8822]

Hey everyone! 👋 I'm relatively new to this and could use a little guidance.

I am trying to use a free model from OpenRouter (google/gemma-4-26b-a4b-it:free) instead of the default generic models. To do this, I updated the settings.local.json file to point the Anthropic base URL to OpenRouter's API and changed the model name. It is happening with every free model.

However, I'm running into an issue where the model isn't triggering correctly. I've attached a screenshot of my current setup for reference.

Am I configuring this in the right place, or is there another step I'm missing to get OpenRouter models working? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Also please suggest me some other ways too if this is wrong approach, as it says it is free.

[fahimimtiaz12]

You’re using the right file if it’s .claude/settings.local.json, but the key detail is that Claude Code expects these values inside the env block.

---

✅ Working OpenRouter setup

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://openrouter.ai/api",
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "YOUR_OPENROUTER_API_KEY",
    "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": ""
  }
}

---

🔍 Things to check

1) Log out first

If you previously logged into Claude Code with Anthropic, run:

/logout

2) Restart Claude Code

3) Verify with /status

You should see something like:

• Auth token: ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN
• Anthropic base URL: https://openrouter.ai/api

---

⚠️ Likely issue

If you’re trying to use:

google/gemma-4-26b-a4b-it:free

that may be the actual problem.

Even if OpenRouter is configured correctly, Claude Code may not behave as expected with free non-Anthropic models.

---

✅ Best way to test it

First, confirm that OpenRouter is working with an Anthropic model:

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://openrouter.ai/api",
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "YOUR_OPENROUTER_API_KEY",
    "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6"
  }
}

---

💡 Conclusion

If that works, then your OpenRouter setup is fine, and the issue is probably the specific model choice, not the settings file itself.

If your goal is strictly to use free non-Anthropic models, Claude Code may not be the best fit for that workflow.

[santifer]

Sorry for the slow reply here, @Sarthak8822 — busy stretch, and your question deserved better. What you're hitting: pointing ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL at OpenRouter fails because the API formats don't match (tool/skill calls in Claude Code's format aren't translated by OpenRouter's compatibility layer, so models can't follow the skill files). The paths that DO work today: (1) opencode + OpenRouter — see Discussion #700 where the community documented running career-ops completely free that way; (2) Gemini CLI (free tier) — supported since #349. A native OpenRouter runner is also in review (#53). Marking answered — the #700 route is your best bet right now.