Claude BYOK

Claude BYOK on a hosted coding agent: bring your own Anthropic API key in the sk-ant-api03-… format, or sign in with a Claude Pro / Max subscription via OAuth. Every AI charge goes direct to Anthropic with zero VibeKit markup — the token bill is between you and Anthropic, full stop. And the free tier is genuinely free.

Two ways to bring Claude

There's no third state. You either bring an Anthropic API key or you sign in with your Claude subscription — both route your agent's calls directly through Anthropic.

Anthropic API key

Paste a key in the sk-ant-api03-… format. Calls run direct against the Anthropic API and are billed by Anthropic on your own account. See the sk-ant-api03 format breakdown.

Claude Pro / Max OAuth

Already pay for Claude Pro or Max? Sign in with OAuth and the agent runs against your existing subscription quota — the same mechanism Claude Code uses. No API key, no per-token charge on top.

If you already have a Claude subscription, the OAuth path means VibeKit becomes a free shell on top of what you're already paying Anthropic. Nothing extra for AI.

Zero markup — the bill is yours

On Claude BYOK, VibeKit never sits in the billing path. Your sk-ant-api03 key (or your Pro / Max OAuth token) authenticates the call, it lands on Anthropic's meter, and that's the end of it. We can't pad the meter because the meter isn't ours.

No per-token upcharge. A task that costs $0.20 at Sonnet pricing costs you $0.20 — on your Anthropic console, not a bundled VibeKit invoice.
Anthropic's rate limits, not ours. If your account does 100 RPM, that's what the agent gets. We don't impose a quota on top.
Full spend visibility. Every task shows up on your Anthropic dashboard. No reconciling someone else's markup.

VibeKit only earns on non-BYOK platform-fallback traffic and on optional paid plans — never by clipping pennies off your Claude usage. That's a promise the architecture enforces, not a marketing line.

What you get free with BYOK

Bring a Claude key and the rest of VibeKit is genuinely free — none of it paywalled:

Hosting. Every app runs in its own AWS Fargate container, served at <name>.vibekit.bot.
iOS app. Drive your agents from your phone.
Telegram bot. Ship code from a chat thread.
Agent runtime. The persistent coding agent itself.
GitHub integration. Connect a repo and push directly.
Custom domains. Map your own domain — even buy and auto-configure one.

No Claude key? Platform fallback

You can still run the agent without a key. VibeKit's platform fallback routes Anthropic — Claude Sonnet and Haiku — through OpenRouter at OpenRouter list price plus a flat 20% markup, deducted from your prepaid credits. So the same task that's $0.20 on BYOK is about $0.24 on the fallback.

Other fallback providers exist (OpenAI, DeepSeek, and a free Qwen pool), but this is the Claude path. The moment you add an sk-ant-api03 key or sign in with Pro / Max, you're back on the zero-markup direct route. See the full BYOK hub →

Key security

Your Anthropic key is treated as a secret, because it is one:

Encrypted at rest with AES-GCM.
Decrypted in memory only at request time, when the call actually fires.
Never logged — it doesn't appear in any chat transcript, log, or telemetry stream we keep.
Per-app scoped — a key you paste for one app isn't shared with another.
Rotate or revoke anytime from Settings; the next request switches over instantly.

Setup

1. Profile → AI Provider → "Add key"
2. Paste sk-ant-api03-... (Claude API key)
   OR tap "Sign in with Claude" (Pro / Max OAuth)
3. Choose this key as the provider for an app
4. The agent's next request runs direct on your Anthropic account

Per-app: different apps can use different keys. Handy when one client requires their own Anthropic account, or you want a separate key per project. New to Claude API keys? See the sk-ant-api03 format breakdown for what each piece means and how to generate one.

FAQ

What does Claude BYOK mean?

Claude BYOK (bring-your-own-key) means you supply your own Anthropic credentials and the AI calls run on your account. Two ways: paste an Anthropic API key in the sk-ant-api03-… format, billed by Anthropic on your account, or sign in with a Claude Pro / Max subscription via OAuth so the agent runs against your existing subscription quota. Either way VibeKit never sits in the billing path — there's no per-token charge on top.

Can I use a Claude Pro or Max subscription instead of an API key?

Yes. Claude Pro and Max users can authenticate via OAuth and use their subscription's allowance directly through VibeKit — the same mechanism Claude Code uses. No API key needed and no per-token billing on top of what you already pay Anthropic. The agent runs against your subscription quota.

Does VibeKit add a markup to Claude BYOK usage?

No. On Claude BYOK there is zero VibeKit markup. The token bill is strictly between you and Anthropic — VibeKit never sits in the billing path. You see exactly what each task cost on your Anthropic console. VibeKit only earns on non-BYOK platform-fallback traffic and on optional paid plans, never by clipping pennies off your Claude usage.

Is my Anthropic API key safe?

Your sk-ant-api03 key is encrypted at rest with AES-GCM, decrypted in memory only at request time, and never logged. It's scoped per-app — a key for one app isn't shared with another — and you can rotate or revoke it at any time from Settings, with the next request switching over instantly.

What if I don't have a Claude key?

You can still use the agent. VibeKit's platform fallback routes Anthropic (Claude Sonnet / Haiku) through OpenRouter at OpenRouter list price plus a flat 20% markup, deducted from your prepaid credits. Other fallback providers — OpenAI, DeepSeek, and a free Qwen pool — are available too, but Claude BYOK stays the zero-markup path the moment you add a key.

Bring your Claude key. Zero markup.

sk-ant-api03 key or Claude Pro / Max OAuth. The token bill is yours — VibeKit never touches the meter.

Add Your Claude Key →