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This guide sets up Claude on your Cornell-managed Mac or PC, running on
Cornell's AI gateway — so your work uses Cornell-provided models rather than
a personal Claude account.
You do not need to be technical to follow it.
This is a pilot run by JCB IT with AI at Cornell and IT@Cornell, so
expect details to change as it develops.
Do these in order
Create your key. Go to https://keys.ai.business.cornell.edu/, click
Create key, and fill in the form, choosing Claude Desktop as the
intended use. Submitting the form opens a ticket for you, and that ticket is
your request for the pilot.
You can stop here for now, or carry on with the rest of
Getting Your Cornell AI Gateway Key and generate your secret straight away. If you do,
record the secret somewhere safe and treat it like a password: anyone who has
it can run up usage billed to your KFS account. Otherwise, generate it later,
when you reach the installation step below.
Wait to hear from JCB IT. They'll reply on the ticket that was created on
your behalf once you're all set to install.
Install Claude Desktop by following Installing Claude Desktop on macOS (Pilot) or
Installing Claude Desktop on Windows (Pilot). When it asks you to paste your secret,
either copy it from where you recorded it in step 1 or generate one now by
starting at Step 2 of Getting Your Cornell AI Gateway Key.
Learn what Claude can do (models, documents, skills):
What Claude Desktop Can Do.
(Later) Rotate, renew, or adjust your key:
Managing, Rotating, and Renewing Your Key.
🔌 The key portal needs a wired connection or the VPN
Creating your key and generating its secret both happen in the key portal,
which is only reachable on a wired Cornell connection or the
Cornell VPN. Claude itself works from anywhere once set up.
Already paying for Claude yourself? Read
Appendix: Moving from a Personal Claude Subscription first — very little transfers
automatically.
What "running on Cornell's gateway" means
- Your prompts go to Cornell's gateway (
api.ai.it.cornell.edu), not to
Anthropic's consumer service. Billing and access are handled by Cornell.
- Usage is attributed to the KFS account on your key, within a monthly spend
cap you set.
- Optional telemetry, error reporting, and experimental features are turned
off by the configuration IT applies. See Privacy — What We Turned Off and Why.
- Claude Desktop's Code tab is off by default and enabled per person on
request — some people here have it, some don't. See
Privacy — What We Turned Off and Why.
All current Claude models are available, Fable included, and Claude
lists them for you — there's nothing to configure, though which one you pick
affects both the answer and what it costs. See
What Claude Desktop Can Do.
AI at Cornell documents the gateway itself — available models, pricing, and how
it works — on its
AI API Gateway
Confluence page (NetID sign-in).
Do I need to install anything else?
No. Claude Desktop comes from your software catalog with everything it needs,
and you won't be asked for an administrator password.
Once you're set up
Read What Claude Desktop Can Do. It covers the things that aren't obvious
from the app itself:
- Which model to pick. Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku trade thinking power against
speed and cost — and the choice moves your monthly spend noticeably.
- Documents and your workspace folder — what Claude can read, and where your
files live.
- Skills — saving the instructions for a task you repeat every week.
Other ways to use Claude
Most people should stop after step 3. These exist for people who want a command
line:
Need help?