ai-claude-start

ai-claude-start

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Multi-profile Claude Code launcher with secure credential management.

Features

• Simplified Configuration: Only 3-4 fields needed - name, base URL, optional model, and token
• Multi-Profile Support: Manage multiple API configurations (Anthropic, Moonshot, BigModel, or custom)
• Secure Credential Storage: Uses keytar for OS-level secure storage, with automatic fallback to local file storage
• Environment Sanitization: Cleans all ANTHROPIC_* variables before injection to prevent conflicts
• Unified Authentication: Always uses ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN for credentials
• Interactive Setup: Guided wizard with 3 built-in presets
• Interactive Selection: Shows a selection menu when multiple profiles are configured
• Model Configuration: Optional model name configuration, automatically passed to Claude CLI
• Testing Support: Built-in --cmd flag and CLAUDE_CMD environment variable for testing without Claude CLI

Installation

npm install -g ai-claude-start

Or use directly with npx:

npx ai-claude-start

Quick Start

1. First-time Setup

Run the setup wizard to create your first profile:

ai-claude-start setup

You'll be guided through selecting a preset (Anthropic, Moonshot, IMDS) or creating a custom profile.

2. Launch Claude

With interactive selection (multiple profiles):

claude-start
# Shows selection menu:
# ? Select a profile to use:
# ❯ anthropic (default)
#   moonshot
#   bigmodel

Auto-select (single profile):

claude-start
# Automatically uses the only profile

Specify profile directly:

claude-start my-profile

Quick profile syntax (shorthand):

claude-start -moonshot           # Use -profilename syntax
claude-start -bigmodel --version # Combine with Claude arguments

Pass arguments to Claude:

claude-start my-profile --version
claude-start --help  # Shows selection, then passes --help

Commands

setup

Interactive wizard to create or update a profile.

ai-claude-start setup

list

Display all configured profiles with their settings and credential status.

ai-claude-start list

default <name>

Set the default profile to use when no profile is specified.

ai-claude-start default my-profile

delete <name>

Delete a profile and its stored credentials.

ai-claude-start delete my-profile

doctor

Check system health: keytar availability, profiles, credentials, and Claude CLI presence.

ai-claude-start doctor

Profile Configuration

A profile consists of 3-4 fields:

{
  name: string;           // Unique identifier
  baseUrl: string;        // API base URL
  model?: string;         // Optional model name
  token: string;          // ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN (stored securely)
}

Built-in Presets

• Anthropic (Official)

  • Base URL: https://api.anthropic.com
  • Model: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929
  • Use: Official Anthropic API

• Moonshot

  • Base URL: https://api.moonshot.cn/anthropic
  • Model: moonshot-v1-8k
  • Use: Moonshot API (Anthropic-compatible)

• BigModel (智谱)

  • Base URL: https://open.bigmodel.cn/api/anthropic
  • Model: glm-4-plus
  • Use: 智谱清言 API (Anthropic-compatible)

• Custom

  • Define your own base URL and model
  • Any Anthropic-compatible API

Environment Handling

Sanitization

When launching Claude, all existing ANTHROPIC_* environment variables are removed to prevent conflicts.

Injection

Two environment variables are set:

• ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN: Your credential (always)
• ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL: The base URL (only if not the default Anthropic URL)

Example for Moonshot:

ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN=your-moonshot-token
ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=https://api.moonshot.cn/anthropic

Model Configuration

If a model is configured in the profile, the --model parameter is automatically added:

claude --model glm-4-plus [other arguments...]

Testing Without Claude CLI

For testing or development without the actual Claude CLI installed:

Using --cmd Flag

ai-claude-start --cmd "node -e 'console.log(process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY)'"

Using CLAUDE_CMD Environment Variable

export CLAUDE_CMD="node -e 'console.log(process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY)'"
ai-claude-start

This is useful for:

• Testing credential injection
• Debugging environment setup
• CI/CD pipelines
• Development without Claude CLI

Security

Keytar (Preferred)

When available, credentials are stored in your operating system's secure keychain:

• macOS: Keychain
• Windows: Credential Vault
• Linux: Secret Service API (libsecret)

File Fallback

If keytar is unavailable (e.g., missing system dependencies), credentials are stored in:

~/.ai-claude-profiles.json

⚠️ Warning: Fallback mode stores credentials in plaintext. The tool will display a warning when using this mode.

To enable secure storage, ensure your system has the required dependencies for keytar.

Development

Setup

git clone <repository-url>
cd ai-claude-start
npm install
npm run build
npm link

Running Tests

npm test

Build

npm run build

Safe Local Testing

To test without affecting your real Claude Code configuration:

# Use isolated config file
export AI_CLAUDE_CONFIG_PATH="/tmp/test-config.json"

# Now all commands use the test config
ai-claude-start setup
ai-claude-start list
ai-claude-start doctor

# Clean up
rm /tmp/test-config.json
unset AI_CLAUDE_CONFIG_PATH

Or run the safe demo script:

./demo-safe.sh

See TESTING.md for comprehensive testing strategies.

Project Structure

ai-claude-start/
├── src/
│   ├── types.ts          # Type definitions and presets
│   ├── storage.ts        # Configuration and credential management
│   ├── commands.ts       # CLI command implementations
│   ├── executor.ts       # Claude execution and environment handling
│   ├── cli.ts            # Main CLI entry point
│   ├── executor.test.ts  # Tests for executor
│   └── storage.test.ts   # Tests for storage
├── dist/                 # Compiled JavaScript (generated)
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
├── vitest.config.ts
├── .gitignore
├── LICENSE
├── README.md
├── README_CN.md          # Chinese documentation
└── Other docs...

Documentation

• SIMPLE_GUIDE.md - Simplified usage guide
• MODEL_CONFIG.md - Model configuration guide
• USAGE_EXAMPLES.md - Usage examples
• TESTING.md - Testing strategies
• TROUBLESHOOTING.md - Troubleshooting guide
• CHANGELOG.md - Change log

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Troubleshooting

"keytar not available" Warning

If you see this warning, keytar couldn't be loaded. Credentials will be stored in plaintext. To fix:

macOS: Usually works out of the box Linux: Install libsecret-1-dev:

sudo apt-get install libsecret-1-dev  # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo yum install libsecret-devel      # Fedora/RHEL

Windows: Usually works out of the box

Then reinstall:

npm install -g ai-claude-start --force

"Claude CLI not found"

The tool requires the Claude CLI to be installed and in your PATH. Install it from https://claude.ai or use the --cmd flag for testing.

Profile Not Found

Run ai-claude-start list to see available profiles, or ai-claude-start setup to create a new one.

Environment Variable Verification

Verify that environment variables are correctly injected:

ai-claude-start profile-name --cmd "node -e \"console.log('Token:', process.env.ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN ? 'SET' : 'NOT SET'); console.log('URL:', process.env.ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL)\""

Should output:

Token: SET
URL: https://api.moonshot.cn/anthropic  (if not default URL)

See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for more troubleshooting information.

Usage Examples

Configure Multiple APIs

# Configure Anthropic official
ai-claude-start setup
# Choose: Anthropic
# Name: anthropic
# Token: [your Anthropic API key]

# Configure Moonshot
ai-claude-start setup
# Choose: Moonshot
# Name: moonshot
# Token: [your Moonshot API key]

# Configure BigModel
ai-claude-start setup
# Choose: BigModel (智谱)
# Name: bigmodel
# Model: glm-4-plus (or leave empty for default)
# Token: [your BigModel API key]

Switch Between APIs

# Method 1: Interactive selection
claude-start
? Select a profile to use:
❯ anthropic (default)
  moonshot
  bigmodel

# Method 2: Direct specification
claude-start moonshot      # Use Moonshot
claude-start bigmodel      # Use BigModel
claude-start anthropic     # Use Anthropic

# Method 3: Quick syntax (shorthand)
claude-start -moonshot     # Use -profilename
claude-start -bigmodel     # Faster typing

Set Default Profile

# Set the most commonly used as default
ai-claude-start default moonshot

# Now direct run will use moonshot by default
claude-start

Create Aliases for Quick Switching

Add to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc:

# Quick launch specific profiles
alias claude-cn="claude-start moonshot"
alias claude-zp="claude-start bigmodel"
alias claude-official="claude-start anthropic"

# Usage
claude-cn        # Use Moonshot (China)
claude-zp        # Use BigModel (智谱)
claude-official  # Use Anthropic official

See USAGE_EXAMPLES.md for more real-world usage scenarios.