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With an AI Gateway API key you can run Claude Desktop on the Claude models your organization gives you. Claude Desktop’s Gateway mode sends every chat, Cowork task and Claude Code session through AI Gateway: the key only reaches models you’re allowed, and usage counts toward your limit. You don’t need an Anthropic account.
Claude Desktop lists only Claude models in Gateway mode. Your organization’s other models (OpenAI, Gemini, DeepSeek and the rest) don’t appear in its model picker. Use them from Claude Code, Cursor or Codex.

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Set it up

Create a key in My Library › Models and pick Claude Desktop under Start using this key. Already have a key? Open its menu and select Set up. The page shows the two values to paste.
  1. Turn on Developer Mode. Open Claude Desktop (you don’t need to sign in) and select Help › Troubleshooting › Enable Developer Mode. A Developer menu appears.
  2. Open the inference settings. Select Developer › Configure Third-Party Inference… and set Connection to Gateway.
  3. Enter the gateway settings: Leave the sign-in fields (Client ID, Issuer URL, Authorization URL) and Sign-in session lifetime empty. Test connection checks the key and lists your models.
  4. Apply. Select Apply Changes (Apply locally in older versions), then Relaunch now, or quit Claude Desktop completely and open it again. If the start screen asks, choose Continue with Gateway (shown as Local configuration).
  5. Pick a model. The model picker under the message box lists your Claude models. The account menu at the bottom left shows Gateway.
To change the settings later, open the account menu and select Inference configuration.

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Models

Claude Desktop asks AI Gateway for your models when it starts and keeps those whose name is a Claude model. They have the same names as in Claude Code, for example openwork/claude-sonnet-4.5-k3f9, and show in the picker by their display name. Models your organization adds later appear after you relaunch Claude Desktop.

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When it doesn’t work

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Go back to your Claude account

Remove the Gateway connection in the inference settings and relaunch. Gateway mode doesn’t touch your Claude account’s chats: Claude Desktop keeps Gateway mode’s data separately.