FAQ & Troubleshooting

General

What is BytePass?

BytePass is an API gateway for AI models. It provides a single API endpoint and key that gives you access to models from Anthropic (Claude) and OpenAI (GPT) — no VPN, no foreign credit card required.

How is billing calculated?

BytePass uses a balance-based system (not subscription). You buy credits and they're deducted based on token usage. Different model families have different multipliers:

See the models page for the full list.

What tools are supported?

Any tool that supports the OpenAI-compatible API format works with BytePass. Popular choices:

• Claude Code — Anthropic's terminal coding assistant → Setup guide
• Codex CLI — OpenAI's terminal coding tool → Setup guide
• Gemini CLI — Google's terminal tool
• Cherry Studio — Cross-platform AI chat client
• OpenCode — Terminal AI coding assistant
• Alma — AI chat client

What is the API endpoint?

https://api.bytepass.ai

For tools using the OpenAI format (Codex, Cherry Studio, etc.), the base URL with path is https://api.bytepass.ai/v1.

For Claude Code, use https://api.bytepass.ai (no /v1 — Claude Code adds the path automatically).

Is my data secure?

BytePass acts as a transparent proxy. Your requests are forwarded to the upstream provider (Anthropic/OpenAI) and the responses are returned to you. BytePass does not store your conversation content.

Troubleshooting

401 Unauthorized

• Your API key is incorrect or has expired
• Your account has no remaining balance
• Fix: Check your key and balance at bytepass.ai/dashboard

400 Bad Request

• The base URL format is wrong (e.g., added /v1 to Claude Code's URL when it shouldn't be there)
• Fix: Claude Code uses https://api.bytepass.ai (no /v1). Codex/OpenAI tools use https://api.bytepass.ai/v1.

429 Too Many Requests

• You've hit the rate limit
• Fix: Wait a moment and retry. If persistent, check your key's rate limit settings in the dashboard

Connection timeout

• Network issues
• Fix: Test with curl https://api.bytepass.ai/v1/models -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY". If this works, the issue is in your tool configuration

Claude Code keeps asking to log in

• The API key is not configured, or your terminal doesn't have the env vars loaded
• Fix: Configure via CC-Switch (recommended) or set ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN and ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL in ~/.claude/settings.json. Open a new terminal after configuring.

Environment variables not taking effect

• You edited your shell profile but didn't open a new terminal
• There are conflicting variables from a previous setup
• Fix: Open a new terminal. Check with env | grep ANTHROPIC or env | grep OPENAI

"model not found"

• You're requesting a model that BytePass doesn't support
• Fix: Check available models at bytepass.ai/models or via the API: GET https://api.bytepass.ai/v1/models

Quick debug checklist

# 1. Check API connectivity
curl https://api.bytepass.ai/v1/models -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY"

# 2. Check Claude Code config
cat ~/.claude/settings.json

# 3. Check Codex config
cat ~/.codex/config.toml
cat ~/.codex/auth.json

# 4. Check Claude Code version
claude --version

If all checks pass and you're still having issues, try reinstalling your tool or using CC-Switch to reset the configuration.