Claude Code via GitHub Copilot

Canonical version: Claude Code via GitHub Copilot.

How to route Claude Code through your GitHub Copilot subscription using a local LiteLLM proxy. This lets you use Claude Code without a direct Anthropic subscription, authenticated via GitHub OAuth.

How it works

LiteLLM acts as a local proxy that translates Claude Code's Anthropic API calls into GitHub Copilot API calls. Claude Code is configured to point at localhost:4000 instead of Anthropic's servers. LiteLLM handles OAuth authentication with GitHub and stores the resulting token locally.

Prerequisites

• claude.exe available at %USERPROFILE%/.local/bin
• Git 2.46 specifically — newer versions break the setup
• Git Bash

Setup

1. Clone and configure the proxy

Clone https://github.com/NationalBankBelgium/litellm-claude-code-proxy, then:

• Copy .env.example to .env
• Set LITELLM_MASTER_KEY to a value of your choice (acts as your local API key)
• Update litellm_config.yaml with the model list below

2. LiteLLM configuration

litellm_settings:
  master_key: "os.environ/LITELLM_MASTER_KEY"
  ssl_verify: false
  additional_drop_params: ["response_format"]
model_list:
  - model_name: claude-opus-4-7*
    litellm_params:
      model: github_copilot/claude-opus-4.7
      extra_headers: {"Editor-Version": "vscode/1.85.1", "Copilot-Integration-Id": "vscode-chat"}
  - model_name: claude-opus-4-6*
    litellm_params:
      model: github_copilot/claude-opus-4.6
      extra_headers: {"Editor-Version": "vscode/1.85.1", "Copilot-Integration-Id": "vscode-chat"}
  - model_name: claude-sonnet-4-6*
    litellm_params:
      model: github_copilot/claude-sonnet-4.6
      extra_headers: {"Editor-Version": "vscode/1.85.1", "Copilot-Integration-Id": "vscode-chat"}
  - model_name: claude-haiku-4-5*
    litellm_params:
      model: github_copilot/claude-haiku-4.5
      extra_headers: {"Editor-Version": "vscode/1.85.1", "Copilot-Integration-Id": "vscode-chat"}
  - model_name: gpt-4
    litellm_params:
      model: github_copilot/gpt-4
      extra_headers: {"Editor-Version": "vscode/1.85.1", "Copilot-Integration-Id": "vscode-chat"}

3. Authenticate with GitHub

Run ./start_proxy.sh from the project folder. LiteLLM will print a GitHub URL. Approve the connection in your browser; then paste the single-use code back into the terminal. LiteLLM stores the resulting token at %USERPROFILE%/.config/litellm/github_copilot.

4. Configure Claude Code

Edit %USERPROFILE%/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "http://localhost:4000",
    "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "<your LITELLM_MASTER_KEY value>"
  }
}

5. Run Claude Code

Run claude (no --model flags needed for the default model). Test with a prompt.

Critical constraints

• Disable Extended Thinking (Alt+T) — the GitHub Copilot provider does not support it; leaving it on causes API errors
• The LiteLLM proxy must be running every time you use Claude Code in this mode — there is no fallback

References

• https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/providers/github_copilot
• https://blog.f12.no/wp/2025/09/22/using-claude-code-with-github-copilot-a-guide/
• https://kazuhira--r-hatenablog-com.translate.goog/entry/2026/03/12/114041
• https://github.com/NationalBankBelgium/litellm-claude-code-proxy

Related

• Claude Code
• GitHub Copilot
• LiteLLM
• LiteLLM Proxy Configuration
• LiteLLM Claude Code Proxy
• Claude Code Installation

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