Claude-Zhipu Parallel CLI Setup

This setup allows you to use Claude Code CLI with Zhipu’s API (api.z.ai) in parallel with your existing Claude Max / Anthropic CLI installation.
The new command is called claude-zhipu and it won’t interfere with your normal claude.

Zhipu AI recently launched their GLM-4.5 model with native support for Claude’s API format, making it seamless to use existing Claude tools with their infrastructure.

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# 📦 Installation Steps

1. Prerequisites

• Node.js v18+ and npm installed:

  node -v && npm -v

If missing, install via nvm or your system package manager.

• Ensure ~/bin exists and is in your $PATH:

  mkdir -p ~/bin
  echo $PATH | tr ':' '\n' | grep -x "$HOME/bin" || echo 'export PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc

2. Create a Local Install Folder

mkdir -p ~/claude-zhipu
cd ~/claude-zhipu
npm init -y
npm install @anthropic-ai/claude-code

3. Create a Separate Config Folder

mkdir -p ~/.claude-zhipu

Optional: pre-seed settings.json (not required if using env vars in wrapper):

cat > ~/.claude-zhipu/settings.json <<'JSON'
{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "YOUR_ZHIPU_API_KEY",
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://api.z.ai/api/anthropic",
    "API_TIMEOUT_MS": 3000000
  }
}
JSON
chmod 600 ~/.claude-zhipu/settings.json

4. Create a Wrapper Script

cat > ~/bin/claude-zhipu <<'BASH'
#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Wrapper for Claude Code CLI using Zhipu API

CLAUDE_BIN="$HOME/claude-zhipu/node_modules/.bin/claude"

# Inject API credentials
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="YOUR_ZHIPU_API_KEY"
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.z.ai/api/anthropic"
export API_TIMEOUT_MS=3000000

# Keep a separate config dir (optional)
export CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR="$HOME/.claude-zhipu"

exec "$CLAUDE_BIN" "$@"
BASH

chmod +x ~/bin/claude-zhipu

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# ▶️ Usage

Run the Zhipu-connected CLI with:

claude-zhipu --version
claude-zhipu chat

Your original Anthropic/Max subscription CLI is still available as:

claude

So you now have two parallel Claude CLIs:

• claude → uses your existing Anthropic account / subscription
• claude-zhipu → uses Zhipu API with your custom key

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# 🔄 Updating

To update the Zhipu CLI:

cd ~/claude-zhipu
npm update @anthropic-ai/claude-code

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# 🗑️ Uninstall

Remove everything with:

rm -rf ~/claude-zhipu
rm -f ~/bin/claude-zhipu
rm -rf ~/.claude-zhipu

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# ⚠️ Security

• Keep your API key secret. The wrapper file contains it in plain text.

• Restrict permissions if needed:

  chmod 700 ~/bin/claude-zhipu

For more security, you can modify the wrapper to prompt for the key at runtime instead of hardcoding.

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# 📚 Additional Resources

• Official Zhipu Claude Development Guide - Complete documentation for developing with Claude-compatible APIs
• GLM-4.5 Model Announcement - Technical details about Zhipu’s latest model