Claude Desktop with a Third-Party API: Configure Third-Party Inference, Troubleshooting

Wokey Team · 2026-09-24

Short answer: the Claude desktop app has exactly one way to use a third-party API: Developer → Configure Third-Party Inference. It reads neither ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL nor ~/.claude/settings.json, so a setup that works in your terminal does nothing in the desktop app. This guide works through the problems people hit: a missing menu, settings that don't take effect, an empty model list, and features that simply aren't available in third-party mode. For the full first-time setup, see the Claude Desktop setup guide.

The right order

1. Launch the desktop app and don't sign in to an Anthropic account.

2. Open Help → Troubleshooting → Enable Developer Mode.

3. Open Developer → Configure Third-Party Inference….

4. In Connection, set Inference provider to Gateway, then fill in Gateway credentials:

   Field	Value
   Gateway base URL	https://api.wokey.ai (no /v1)
   Gateway API key	Your Wokey API key
   Credential kind	Static API key
   Gateway auth scheme	Bearer (Wokey also accepts x-api-key; keep the default)

5. Click Apply Changes, then Save & Restart.

System requirements:

• macOS: 14 (Sonoma) or later, on Apple silicon or Intel.
• Windows: Windows 10 build 19041 or later, on x64 or Arm64.

The Developer menu is missing

The Developer menu only appears once developer mode is on: Help → Troubleshooting → Enable Developer Mode. If that item isn't in the Help menu either, update the app to the latest version; older versions don't have the third-party inference settings.

The configuration window is read-only

If the machine already has a configuration pushed by an administrator, such as an MDM profile from your company, the window opens read-only and you can't change it locally. Ask your administrator, or use an unmanaged machine.

Environment variables have no effect

This is the most common mistake. The desktop app takes its gateway settings only from the third-party inference configuration. It reads neither ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL nor settings.json.

The desktop app's Code tab behaves the same way. It runs the same Claude Code engine as the CLI, but the gateway address and credential come straight from the desktop configuration. User-level settings in ~/.claude/settings.json can't override them.

It works the other way too: the desktop configuration doesn't affect claude in your terminal. Set each up separately; for the terminal, see the Claude Code base URL guide.

The model list is empty or missing models

Without a model list of your own, the app requests the gateway's GET /v1/models and keeps only models whose IDs are recognizably Claude. With Wokey, auto-discovery therefore shows models like claude-opus-5 and claude-sonnet-5, and filters out GPT, Grok and other models. That's expected.

To fix the list or choose the default model, enter full model IDs in the configuration window's model list (Model list, the inferenceModels key):

• The first entry is the default, and new sessions in the Code tab start on it too.
• When every entry is a full ID, the app skips the /v1/models request.
• If /v1/models fails and the list is empty, the picker is empty.

Errors

Gateway was unreachable: the app can't reach the gateway. Check the Gateway base URL for typos, then test from a terminal with curl:

curl -X POST https://api.wokey.ai/v1/messages \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer your Wokey API key" \
  -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
  -H "content-type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model":"claude-sonnet-5","max_tokens":1,"messages":[{"role":"user","content":"."}]}'

If curl works and the app doesn't, the cause is usually a proxy: the terminal goes through one and the app doesn't, or the reverse.

401 with code invalid_api_key: the request reached Wokey, but the key is missing or wrong. Wokey accepts both auth schemes, so there's no need to change that setting. Paste the key again.

invalid x-api-key: the request went to Anthropic, so the third-party configuration isn't in effect. Usually Save & Restart wasn't clicked, or the Anthropic sign-in was chosen on the sign-in screen afterwards. See the invalid x-api-key guide.

For more detail: export a report with Help → Troubleshooting → Generate Diagnostic Report. Three files in it are useful:

• managed-config.txt: the configuration in effect.
• provider-status.txt: the gateway connection status.
• deployment-mode.txt: the current mode.

The logs are at:

• macOS: ~/Library/Logs/Claude-3p/main.log
• Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Claude-3p\Logs\main.log

Features unavailable in third-party mode

These depend on an Anthropic account or Anthropic's cloud services, so they're unavailable with a gateway. This isn't a configuration problem:

• Mobile and claude.ai web access
• Voice mode
• Project and plugin sharing
• Claude Design, Claude Security and Claude Tag
• Computer use
• Remote Control and Anthropic-hosted cloud environments

Two more are off by default:

• Tool search and experimental beta features. The app turns these off for compatibility with strict gateways. Turn tool search back on with toolSearchEnabled.
• SSH remote sessions. These are in beta in third-party mode and need an administrator to set up a host allowlist.

Going back to your Anthropic account

Choose the Anthropic sign-in option on the sign-in screen to return to the standard Claude desktop app.