Claude Code

Claude Code Integration

Bring Ask Sage's AI models directly into your terminal with Claude Code CLI

About Claude Code

Bring Ask Sage's AI models directly into your terminal or IDE with Claude Code—Anthropic's official CLI for Claude, now integrated with Ask Sage.

Table of Contents

Prerequisites
Installation
Configuration Methods
Privacy & Data Usage Controls
DoD/DoW Network Configuration
Troubleshooting
Additional Resources

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

Ask Sage Account

Ask Sage API Key

Valid user API Key from Ask Sage

Claude Code

Installed on your system

Node.js

Required for Claude Code installation

Installation

Claude Code can be installed in two ways:

Option 1: VSCode Extension

Install the Claude Code extension directly in Visual Studio Code:

Open VSCode and navigate to the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X or Cmd+Shift+X on Mac)

Search for "Claude Code for VS Code" by Anthropic

Click the Install button to add the extension to your VSCode

Claude Code VSCode Extension Installation

Option 2: CLI Installation (via npm)

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
# Verify installation
claude-code --version

Configuration Methods

Claude Code can be configured to work with Ask Sage using two methods. Choose the method that best fits your workflow.

Method 1: Using ~/.claude/settings.json (Recommended)

If on Windows, this file ~/.claude/settings.json might need to be created where you have Claude Code installed. For example: C:\Users\username\.claude

Create or edit ~/.claude/settings.json with the following configuration:

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://api.asksage.ai/server/anthropic",
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "your-asksage-token-here", 
    "CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC": 1
  },
  "permissions": {
    "allow": ["*"],
    "deny": ["Delete"]
  }
}

  Required Parameters: ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL: Your Ask Sage Server Base URL with /anthropic path. Note this varies based on instance of Ask Sage you are using. 
ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN: Your Ask Sage API Key
CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC: Set to 1 to disable all non-essential traffic to Anthropic services (including telemetry, error reporting, and bug reports)
 

Method 2: Environment Variables (Terminal Session)

Export the following environment variables in your terminal before launching Claude Code:

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.asksage.ai/server/anthropic"
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="your-asksage-token-here"
export CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC=1

Then launch Claude Code from the same terminal session.

Important: Method 2 only works in the terminal where the exports were set, and the exports will be cleared once the terminal is closed. Method 1 persists as long as the file is not deleted.

Privacy & Data Usage Controls

Claude Code can send operational telemetry to Anthropic services. You have full control over this data sharing through environment variables.

  Ask Sage Default Behavior: When using Ask Sage's API endpoint (similar to Bedrock or Vertex providers), non-essential traffic to Anthropic is disabled by default. Ask Sage follows a "fire and forget" approach—your data is never used for model training and is not retained after generating responses. 

Disable All Non-Essential Traffic

To ensure no operational data is sent to Anthropic services (including telemetry, error reporting, and bug reports), set the following environment variable:

export CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC=1

Configuration Examples

Method 1: Add to ~/.claude/settings.json (Recommended)

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://api.asksage.ai/server/anthropic",
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "your-asksage-token-here",
    "CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC": 1
  },
  "permissions": {
    "allow": ["*"],
    "deny": ["Delete"]
  }
}

Method 2: Export in Terminal Session

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.asksage.ai/server/anthropic"
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="your-asksage-token-here"
export CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC=1

What Data is Affected?

Setting this environment variable disables the following Anthropic services:

Statsig Metrics: Operational telemetry including latency, reliability, and usage patterns (no code or file paths)
Sentry Error Reporting: Operational error logs for debugging Claude Code itself
Bug Reports: Prevents the /bug command from sending conversation history to Anthropic

All data sent to these services is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest (AES-256). However, disabling these services ensures no operational data leaves your environment.

Individual Service Controls (Advanced)

For finer control, you can disable specific services individually:

# Disable telemetry metrics only
export DISABLE_TELEMETRY=1

# Disable error reporting only
export DISABLE_ERROR_REPORTING=1

# Disable bug report command only
export DISABLE_BUG_COMMAND=1

Ask Sage Privacy: Regardless of these Claude Code settings, Ask Sage maintains strict data privacy. All queries use a "fire and forget" approach—your data is processed for immediate responses only and is never retained, logged, or used for model training. For more details, see our FAQ on Security & Data Privacy.

DoD/DoW Network Configuration

  Government Users: For users working on DoD or DoW networks, additional certificate configuration is required. 

Prerequisites

You'll need the same DoD root certificate (PEM format) that was configured for the Continue.Dev extension. If you haven't already created this file, see the Continue.Dev DoD Certificate Configuration for instructions.

Configuration for VSCode Extension

Add the following to your VSCode settings.json:

{
  "claudeCode.environmentVariables": [
    { "name": "NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS", "value": "C:\\Path\\TO\\AskSage_DoD_Root.pem"},
    { "name": "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL", "value": "https://api.genai.army.mil/server/anthropic/"},
    { "name": "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN", "value": "ASK-SAGE-API-KEY"},
    { "name": "CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC", "value": 1}
  ]
}

Important Notes:

Replace C:\\Path\\TO\\AskSage_DoD_Root.pem with your actual certificate path
Use double backslashes (\\) in Windows paths for JSON
Replace ASK-SAGE-API-KEY with your actual Ask Sage API Key.
For Army GenAI environment, use https://api.genai.army.mil/server/anthropic/
You can use the same PEM file that was set up for the Continue.Dev extension

Example Configuration File

For usage on DoD/DoW networks, add the certificate to your ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "env": {
    "NODE_EXTRA_CA_CERTS": "/path/to/AskSage_DoD_Root.pem",
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://api.genai.army.mil/server/anthropic",
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "your-asksage-token-here",
    "CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC": 1
  },
  "permissions": {
    "allow": ["*"],
    "deny": ["Delete"]
  }
}

Linux/Mac users: Use forward slashes in paths: /path/to/AskSage_DoD_Root.pem

Troubleshooting

Issue: "Token is invalid" error

Solutions:

Verify your API Key is correct
Remove any extra spaces from the token string

Issue: Connection errors

Solutions:

Verify the ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL is correct and accessible
Verify your Ask Sage API Key is correct
Ensure there are no firewall rules blocking the connection

Issue: Certificate errors in DoD/DoW environment

Solutions:

Verify certificate path is correct in your configuration
Ensure certificate is in PEM format (not DER)
Check you have the complete certificate chain
Windows users: Use double backslashes (\\) in JSON configuration

Additional Resources

Documentation & Resources

Claude Code Official Documentation
Claude Code Settings Reference
Claude Code Data Usage & Privacy - Learn about telemetry and privacy controls
Continue.Dev Integration - For IDE-based alternative

Have Questions? Reach out to us at support@asksage.ai