Connect OpenClaude to the gateway with my keys

Claude Code UX with third-party API keys via Orchemax. Not for Cursor/Claude plan logins.

Prompt#

Point OpenClaude at Orchemax so it uses my OpenRouter / Groq API keys with rotation. (I am not on an Anthropic / Cursor plan for this seat.)

What the Chair does#

Nothing — this one is yours. There is no MCP tool for it: the commands write a key vault and OpenClaude's user settings.json, so they run once from a human terminal.

CLI#

orch gateway                            # start the gateway first
orch gateway connect openclaude --allow-user-scope
orch gateway status

--allow-user-scope is required: Orchemax merges into ~/.openclaude/settings.json (outside the workshop) and keeps your existing model / other env keys.

Expected response#

Created or Updated OpenClaude settings → <path>, then a note that transport is OpenAI-compat (CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI=1). Restart OpenClaude (or open a new session).

The env block becomes:

{
  "CLAUDE_CODE_USE_OPENAI": "1",
  "OPENAI_BASE_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:8788/v1",
  "OPENAI_API_KEY": "orch_gk_…",
  "OPENAI_MODEL": "orchemax/auto"
}

Gotchas#

  • OpenClaude ≠ Claude Code plan, and ≠ Cursor. Cursor and Claude with a subscription keep their login — do not run gateway connect for those seats. OpenClaude is for API keys / third-party providers with the Claude Code UX.
  • Rotation needs the OpenAI lane. Anthropic /v1/messages is passthrough and does not walk your OpenRouter key ring.
  • Consent flag. Without --allow-user-scope connect refuses (same rule as OpenCode).
  • Keys stay in machine-home keys.env. Only the virtual orch_gk_… enters settings.json.