Claude in GitHub Copilot — No Anthropic Account Needed

You do not need an Anthropic account, a waitlist invite, or a corporate billing relationship to use Claude inside GitHub Copilot. Buy a key, paste it into Copilot's Custom Endpoint, and you are running. New keys start with WELCOME5 for five dollars of free credit, so you can prove it works before paying anything.

Get a key first

Skip the part where most guides assume you already have Anthropic access.

There is no organization to join and no approval to wait on. The key works the moment you receive it, which is the whole reason to go the bought-key route rather than chasing direct provider onboarding.

This matters most if you have hit Anthropic's signup friction before — region restrictions, a billing setup that stalls, or a wait for higher rate limits. A purchased key sidesteps all of that, because the access has already been provisioned on the service side and handed to you ready to use. That head start is the whole appeal of buying a key rather than negotiating direct access.

Open Copilot's Custom Endpoint

In VS Code open the model picker, choose Manage Language Models, then Add Models, and select Custom Endpoint. Older walkthroughs mention OpenAI Compatible — that option was retired, so Custom Endpoint is where you go now.

This is the bring-your-own-key path, and a bought key is exactly the kind of key it expects. You will create one entry per Claude model you want to appear in the picker.

If you have followed an out-of-date guide and cannot find OpenAI Compatible anywhere, that is expected — you are not missing a setting. Custom Endpoint is its replacement and accepts the same kind of bought key, so just use it in place of whatever the older instructions named. Following the current menu rather than an old screenshot saves the most time here.

Set the type, URL and key

Choose the Messages API type, set the URL to {SITE}/v1/messages, and paste your purchased key. The key from claudeapikey.dev is a drop-in for an Anthropic key here, so nothing else about the flow changes.

Add the model id the service supports, such as claude-sonnet-4-5 for daily work or claude-opus-4-8 for the hardest problems. Keep maxInput plus maxOutput within the context window so requests are accepted cleanly.

Because the bought key authenticates exactly like an Anthropic key, every other field in the entry is filled in the normal way — there is nothing special to do for a purchased key versus a direct one. If a generic Copilot tutorial works for someone with Anthropic access, it works for you too once you paste your key. In short, a bought key asks nothing extra of you beyond pasting it where any Claude key would go.

Try it on the free credit

That is enough to confirm the key, the URL, and the model id are all correct.

Only top up once you have seen it work. There is no subscription to cancel and no minimum commitment, so the bought-key model stays pay-as-you-go from the very first request.

Use the free credit to settle on which model you actually want in the picker. Try a few completions on Sonnet and a harder prompt on Opus, see which fits your work, and only then decide what to keep — all before you have spent anything of your own. Spending the free credit on exploration first means your paid usage starts already pointed at the right model.

If the model does not appear

The usual snag is a saved model not showing in the picker; restarting VS Code refreshes the cached list and it appears. This happens to everyone and is not a problem with your bought key.

If agent mode misbehaves, make sure the model entry supports tool calling, since the agent drives tools. Otherwise the key, URL, and type are all you need — no GitHub Copilot subscription quirk changes how the purchased key authenticates.

Should something still fail after a restart, confirm the URL ends in /v1/messages and the API type is set to Messages, since a mismatch between those two is the most common cause. Your purchased key is rarely the issue — it either authenticates or it does not, and a clear auth error would tell you immediately if it were wrong. Reading the error type before touching anything is the fastest way back to a working setup.

// VS Code -> model picker -> Manage Language Models -> Add Models
// -> Custom Endpoint  (NOT the deprecated OpenAI Compatible)
// API type:  Messages
// URL:       https://claudeapikey.dev/v1/messages
// Model id:  claude-sonnet-4-5
// API key:   <your gateway key>
// maxInput + maxOutput must be <= the model context window
// Restart VS Code if the model does not appear in the picker.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an Anthropic account to use Claude in Copilot?
No. Buy a key from claudeapikey.dev and paste it into Copilot's Custom Endpoint with the Messages API type and URL {SITE}/v1/messages.

How do I add the bought key to Copilot?
Model picker, Manage Language Models, Add Models, Custom Endpoint. Set API type Messages, the /v1/messages URL, your key, and a Claude model id.

My model isn't showing — is the key bad?
Almost never. Restart VS Code to refresh the cached picker list. A bought key authenticates the same way an Anthropic key would.

Claude API Key is an independent API gateway. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a reseller of Anthropic. Claude and related model names are trademarks of their respective owners.