Why I Built This

If you're already paying for Claude Code (Max plan), you have access to an incredibly powerful AI right in your terminal. I wanted to get more out of that subscription — use it from my web apps, Slack bots, CI pipelines, and Python scripts running on other machines.

Anthropic does have an official API, but it's pay-per-token — a separate cost. Since I'm already paying for a subscription, I figured: why not use what I've got?

There are some great open-source wrappers like coder/agentapi and claude-code-api, but they're designed for local use only. I needed something that works remotely too — without having to set up reverse proxies, TLS certificates, and authentication from scratch.

What It Does

claude-api-bridge lets you use your existing Claude Code subscription as a REST API, accessible from anywhere.

One command. That's it.

npx claude-api-bridge start

And you get:

✅ Claude Code CLI detected
🚀 API server running on http://localhost:3456
🔑 Admin Token: cab-a1b2c3d4e5f6...
🌐 Public URL: https://random-words.trycloudflare.com

Now you have a real HTTPS endpoint that you can call from any app, anywhere in the world.

How It Works

Your App (anywhere on the internet)
 │
 │ HTTPS
 ▼
Cloudflare Tunnel (automatic SSL, zero config)
 │
 ▼
claude-api-bridge (your desktop)
 ├─ Token Authentication (SHA256)
 ├─ Request Queue
 └─ Claude Code CLI (your subscription)

Your desktop becomes the API server. Claude Code runs locally using your existing subscription. Cloudflare Tunnel handles the networking — no port forwarding, no ngrok, no reverse proxy setup.

Key Features

Quick Example

Python

import requests, time

BASE = "https://your-url.trycloudflare.com"
TOKEN = "cab-your-token"
H = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {TOKEN}", "Content-Type": "application/json"}

def ask(msg):
 r = requests.post(f"{BASE}/api/ask", json={"message": msg}, headers=H)
 rid = r.json()["requestId"]
 while True:
 p = requests.get(f"{BASE}/api/ask/{rid}", headers=H).json()
 if p["status"] == "completed": return p["response"]
 time.sleep(2)

print(ask("Write a function to check if a number is prime"))

JavaScript

async function askClaude(message) {
 const res = await fetch(`${BASE_URL}/api/ask`, {
 method: "POST",
 headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${TOKEN}`, "Content-Type": "application/json" },
 body: JSON.stringify({ message }),
 });
 const { requestId } = await res.json();

 while (true) {
 const poll = await fetch(`${BASE_URL}/api/ask/${requestId}`, {
 headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${TOKEN}` },
 });
 const data = await poll.json();
 if (data.status === "completed") return data.response;
 await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 2000));
 }
}

How It Compares

Limitations (Being Honest)

• Your desktop must be running — Claude CLI executes on your machine
• One request at a time — Claude CLI is single-threaded, requests are queued
• Free tunnel URL changes on restart — use a Cloudflare account for a fixed domain
• Response time varies — typically 10 seconds to 2 minutes depending on the task

Try It

npx claude-api-bridge start

GitHub: github.com/smy383/claude-api-bridge
npm: npmjs.com/package/claude-api-bridge

Star ⭐ if you find it useful!

Built by the team behind ttapp — the mobile remote for Claude Code.