Appendix: Claude Code (CLI) on Cornell's AI Gateway

This is the command-line version, kept as an appendix for people who want it. Most people should use Installing Claude Desktop on macOS (Pilot) or Installing Claude Desktop on Windows (Pilot) instead.

This guide installs Claude Code, the command-line version of Claude, and connects it to Cornell's AI gateway.

Before you start, you need your personal gateway key. See Getting Your Cornell AI Gateway Key if you haven't created one yet.

Follow only the column for your computer.

Step 1 — Install Claude Code

⚠️ You may be prompted for admin permission. On a PC, approve with your local administrator account. On a Mac, open Self Service and grant temporary admin rights first.

🍎 Mac

Open the Terminal app (press Cmd + Space, type "Terminal", press Enter), then paste this and press Enter:

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

🪟 PC

Open PowerShell (press the Start button, type "PowerShell", press Enter), then paste this and press Enter:

irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

💡 Windows note: you do not need to install Git or "Git for Windows" first. Claude Code runs on Windows on its own (it uses PowerShell for any shell commands). Git for Windows is optional — add it later only if you'll have Claude run Bash-style commands.

When it finishes, close and reopen your Terminal / PowerShell window so the claude command is recognized.

Step 2 — Add your Cornell gateway settings

Claude Code reads its settings from a file called settings.json in your home folder. You'll create it once.

🍎 Mac

In Terminal, paste this and press Enter to open the file in a simple editor:

mkdir -p ~/.claude && nano ~/.claude/settings.json

🪟 PC

In PowerShell, paste this and press Enter:

mkdir "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude" -Force; notepad "$env:USERPROFILE\.claude\settings.json"

(If Notepad asks whether to create a new file, click Yes.)

Both — paste this in, then replace the key

Copy the entire block below into the file. Change only the PASTE-YOUR-KEY-HERE part — replace it with your personal key (it looks like sk-…).

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://api.ai.it.cornell.edu",
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "PASTE-YOUR-KEY-HERE",
    "CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC": "1",
    "CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_FEEDBACK_SURVEY": "1",
    "CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_BETAS": "1"
  }
}

Save and close:

• Mac (nano): press Ctrl + O, then Enter to save, then Ctrl + X to exit.
• PC (Notepad): File → Save, then close the window.

What these settings do: the first two lines point Claude at Cornell's gateway and your key. The last three turn off optional telemetry, auto-updates, and experimental features. Full explanation: Privacy — What We Turned Off and Why.

No model is set here on purpose. You choose one with /model in the next step, so this file never goes stale as Cornell's model list changes.

Step 3 — Start Claude and pick a model

In your Terminal / PowerShell window, type:

claude

Then type /model, press Enter, and choose one of the Cornell models.

Do this before your first prompt. The settings file deliberately doesn't name a model, so picking one now stops Claude reaching for a default that Cornell's gateway may not offer.

Fable 5 appears here only if you've opted in — see What Claude Desktop Can Do.

Now ask it something simple, like Say hello. If it replies, you're connected. 🎉

How do I know it worked?

• Claude answered your prompt without asking you to log in to a personal account.
• /model lists the Cornell models.
• Optional: run claude doctor for a configuration health check.

If anything failed, see Claude on Cornell's Gateway — Troubleshooting.

Adding MCP servers

The CLI is the practical home for MCP servers on this setup. Both kinds work — stdio (a program on your own machine) and streamable HTTP endpoints. Claude Code manages them through the claude mcp subcommands; run claude mcp --help for the current syntax.

Claude Desktop can do this too, under Settings → Developer, but it's a developer-facing corner of that app rather than an everyday feature.

Two things worth knowing:

• A server you add is yours to maintain. It runs with your access, so treat anything you connect as something you're vouching for.
• This is separate from Cornell's managed web-search connector, which AI at Cornell configures centrally and which needs nothing from you — see What Claude Desktop Can Do.

Want Claude inside VSCode too? You're already set up — just add the extension. See Claude Code in VSCode on Cornell's AI Gateway.