> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://code.claude.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Authentication

> Log in to Claude Code and configure authentication for individuals, teams, and organizations.

Claude Code supports multiple authentication methods depending on your setup. Individual users can log in with a Claude.ai account, while teams can use Claude for Teams or Enterprise, the Claude Console, or a cloud provider like Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud's Agent Platform, or Microsoft Foundry.

## Log in to Claude Code

After [installing Claude Code](/en/setup#install-claude-code), run `claude` in your terminal. On first launch, Claude Code opens a browser window for you to log in.

If the browser doesn't open automatically, press `c` to copy the login URL to your clipboard, then paste it into your browser.

If your browser shows a login code instead of redirecting back after you sign in, paste it into the terminal at the `Paste code here if prompted` prompt. This happens when the browser can't reach Claude Code's local callback server, which is common in WSL2, SSH sessions, and containers.

You can authenticate with any of these account types:

* **Claude Pro or Max subscription**: log in with your Claude.ai account. Subscribe at [claude.com/pricing](https://claude.com/pricing?utm_source=claude_code\&utm_medium=docs\&utm_content=authentication_pro_max).
* **Claude for Teams or Enterprise**: log in with the Claude.ai account your team admin invited you to.
* **Claude Console**: log in with your Console credentials. Your admin must have [invited you](#claude-console-authentication) first.
* **Cloud providers**: if your organization uses [Amazon Bedrock](/en/amazon-bedrock), [Google Cloud's Agent Platform](/en/google-vertex-ai), or [Microsoft Foundry](/en/microsoft-foundry), set the required environment variables before running `claude`. No browser login is needed.
* **Cloud gateway**: if your organization runs a self-hosted [Claude apps gateway](/en/claude-apps-gateway), sign in with corporate SSO through `/login`. The gateway-issued token is the session's only credential.

To log out and re-authenticate, type `/logout` at the Claude Code prompt.

If you're having trouble logging in, see [authentication troubleshooting](/en/troubleshoot-install#login-and-authentication).

## Set up team authentication

For teams and organizations, you can configure Claude Code access in one of these ways:

* [Claude for Teams or Enterprise](#claude-for-teams-or-enterprise), recommended for most teams
* [Claude Console](#claude-console-authentication)
* [Claude apps gateway](/en/claude-apps-gateway), a self-hosted gateway that signs developers in with your IdP and routes inference to the cloud provider you configure
* [Amazon Bedrock](/en/amazon-bedrock)
* [Google Cloud's Agent Platform](/en/google-vertex-ai)
* [Microsoft Foundry](/en/microsoft-foundry)

### Claude for Teams or Enterprise

[Claude for Teams](https://claude.com/pricing?utm_source=claude_code\&utm_medium=docs\&utm_content=authentication_teams#team-&-enterprise) and [Claude for Enterprise](https://anthropic.com/contact-sales?utm_source=claude_code\&utm_medium=docs\&utm_content=authentication_enterprise) provide the best experience for organizations using Claude Code. Team members get access to both Claude Code and Claude on the web with centralized billing and team management.

* **Claude for Teams**: self-service plan with collaboration features, admin tools, and billing management. Best for smaller teams.
* **Claude for Enterprise**: adds SSO, domain capture, role-based permissions, compliance API, and managed policy settings for organization-wide Claude Code configurations. Best for larger organizations with security and compliance requirements.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Subscribe">
    Subscribe to [Claude for Teams](https://claude.com/pricing?utm_source=claude_code\&utm_medium=docs\&utm_content=authentication_teams_step#team-&-enterprise) or contact sales for [Claude for Enterprise](https://anthropic.com/contact-sales?utm_source=claude_code\&utm_medium=docs\&utm_content=authentication_enterprise_step).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Invite team members">
    Invite team members from the admin dashboard.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install and log in">
    Team members install Claude Code and log in with their Claude.ai accounts.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Claude Console authentication

For organizations that prefer API-based billing, you can set up access through the Claude Console.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create or use a Console account">
    Use your existing Claude Console account or create a new one.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add users">
    You can add users through either method:

    * Bulk invite users from within the Console: Settings -> Members -> Invite
    * [Set up SSO](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/13132885-setting-up-single-sign-on-sso)
  </Step>

  <Step title="Assign roles">
    When inviting users, assign one of:

    * **Claude Code** role: users can only create Claude Code API keys
    * **Developer** role: users can create any kind of API key
  </Step>

  <Step title="Users complete setup">
    Each invited user needs to:

    * Accept the Console invite
    * [Check system requirements](/en/setup#system-requirements)
    * [Install Claude Code](/en/setup#install-claude-code)
    * Log in with Console account credentials
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Cloud provider authentication

For teams using Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud's Agent Platform, or Microsoft Foundry:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Follow provider setup">
    Follow the [Amazon Bedrock docs](/en/amazon-bedrock), [Google Cloud's Agent Platform docs](/en/google-vertex-ai), or [Microsoft Foundry docs](/en/microsoft-foundry).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Distribute configuration">
    Distribute the environment variables and instructions for generating cloud credentials to your users. Read more about how to [manage configuration here](/en/settings).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install Claude Code">
    Users can [install Claude Code](/en/setup#install-claude-code).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Credential management

Claude Code securely manages your authentication credentials:

* **Storage location**:
  * On macOS, credentials are stored in the encrypted macOS Keychain.
  * On Linux, credentials are stored in `~/.claude/.credentials.json` with file mode `0600`.
  * On Windows, credentials are stored in `%USERPROFILE%\.claude\.credentials.json` and inherit the access controls of your user profile directory, which restricts the file to your user account by default.
  * If you've set the `CLAUDE_CONFIG_DIR` environment variable on Linux or Windows, the `.credentials.json` file lives under that directory instead.
  * Claude Code manages `.credentials.json` through `/login` and `/logout`. To route requests through a custom API endpoint, set the [`ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL`](/en/env-vars) environment variable instead.
* **Supported authentication types**: Claude.ai credentials, Claude API credentials, Azure Auth, Bedrock Auth, Vertex Auth, and [Claude apps gateway](/en/claude-apps-gateway) session tokens.
* **Custom credential scripts**: the [`apiKeyHelper`](/en/settings#available-settings) setting can be configured to run a shell script that returns an API key.
* **Refresh intervals**: by default, `apiKeyHelper` is called after 5 minutes or on HTTP 401 response. Set `CLAUDE_CODE_API_KEY_HELPER_TTL_MS` environment variable for custom refresh intervals.
* **Slow helper notice**: if `apiKeyHelper` takes longer than 10 seconds to return a key, Claude Code displays a warning notice in the prompt bar showing the elapsed time. If you see this notice regularly, check whether your credential script can be optimized.

`apiKeyHelper`, `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`, and `ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN` apply to the CLI and the surfaces that wrap it, including the VS Code extension, the Agent SDK, and GitHub Actions. Claude Desktop and cloud sessions do not call `apiKeyHelper` or read these environment variables: they use OAuth, except desktop sessions running an [organization-distributed third-party inference configuration](/en/llm-gateway-connect#desktop-app), which authenticate with that configuration's credential.

### Renew an expiring login

When the login you created with `/login` is within five days of expiring, Claude Code shows a warning at startup: `Your login expires in 3 days · run /login to renew`. Requires Claude Code v2.1.203 or later.

Run `/login` to renew. The warning is informational and never blocks a request: authentication keeps working until the login actually expires. The login lifetime itself is unchanged; the advance warning is what v2.1.203 adds.

The warning appears only when a claude.ai or Claude Console login is the active credential, and not when a cloud provider, `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`, `ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN`, or `apiKeyHelper` supplies the credential.

Renewing early matters most for sessions that run unattended. A [background session in agent view](/en/agent-view) or a [Remote Control](/en/remote-control) session that outlives the login stops making progress once the credential expires and can't recover until you sign in again.

### Authentication precedence

When multiple credentials are present, Claude Code chooses one in this order:

1. Cloud provider credentials, when `CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK`, `CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX`, or `CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRY` is set. See [third-party integrations](/en/third-party-integrations) for setup.
2. `ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN` environment variable. Sent as the `Authorization: Bearer` header. Use this when routing through an [LLM gateway or proxy](/en/llm-gateway) that authenticates with bearer tokens rather than Anthropic API keys.
3. `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` environment variable. Sent as the `X-Api-Key` header. Use this for direct Anthropic API access with a key from the [Claude Console](https://platform.claude.com). In interactive mode, you are prompted once to approve or decline the key, and your choice is remembered. To change it later, use the "Use custom API key" toggle in `/config`. In non-interactive mode (`-p`), the key is always used when present.
4. [`apiKeyHelper`](/en/settings#available-settings) script output. Use this for dynamic or rotating credentials, such as short-lived tokens fetched from a vault.
5. `CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN` environment variable. A long-lived OAuth token generated by [`claude setup-token`](#generate-a-long-lived-token). Use this for CI pipelines and scripts where browser login isn't available.
6. Subscription OAuth credentials from `/login`. This is the default for Claude Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise users.

A signed-in [Claude apps gateway](/en/claude-apps-gateway) session sits outside this list: it is a provider selection like Amazon Bedrock or Google Cloud's Agent Platform, and it outranks them. When a gateway session exists, the CLI authenticates with the gateway token even if `CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK`, `CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX`, or `CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRY` is set, and the bearer token, API key, and `apiKeyHelper` entries above are not used.

If you have an active Claude subscription but also have `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` set in your environment, the API key takes precedence once approved. This can cause authentication failures if the key belongs to a disabled or expired organization. Run `unset ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` to fall back to your subscription, and check `/status` to confirm which method is active.

[Claude Code on the Web](/en/claude-code-on-the-web) always uses your subscription credentials. `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` and `ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN` in the sandbox environment do not override them.

### Generate a long-lived token

For CI pipelines, scripts, or other environments where interactive browser login isn't available, generate a one-year OAuth token with `claude setup-token`:

```bash theme={null}
claude setup-token
```

The command walks you through OAuth authorization and prints a token to the terminal. It does not save the token anywhere; copy it and set it as the `CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN` environment variable wherever you want to authenticate:

```bash theme={null}
export CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN=your-token
```

This token authenticates with your Claude subscription and requires a Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise plan. It is scoped to inference only and cannot establish [Remote Control](/en/remote-control) sessions.

[Bare mode](/en/headless#start-faster-with-bare-mode) does not read `CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN`. If your script passes `--bare`, authenticate with `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` or an `apiKeyHelper` instead.