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Mar 27 (edited) • General discussion
🚨 If you're on Claude Max and using Claude Code -- read this.
Look, I'll be honest — if I'd read my own posts more carefully, I probably would have caught this sooner. But here we are.
This likely affects maybe .01% of you, but if you're in that .01%, you've been quietly paying for something your Max subscription already covers. Check your credit card statement and your Anthropic console billing. If you see API charges and you're on Max, keep reading.
I just burned API credits I didn't need to spend. Here's what happened and how to fix it.
Quick context: Claude Code is the terminal-based version of Claude. It runs right in your Mac terminal and can read/write files, run scripts, and build things directly. If you're not using it yet, worth looking into.
The problem: When Claude Code first launched, you had to set it up with an Anthropic API key. That key goes into your environment and Claude Code uses it for billing -- separate from your claude.ai subscription.
When Anthropic added Claude Code to the Max plan, it didn't automatically switch over. If you had an API key configured, Claude Code kept hitting that instead of your Max account.
So you could be paying for Max AND getting charged API credits on top of it. Two billing systems. Neither one tells you the other exists.
How to check:
echo $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
If that returns anything, your Claude Code is running on API billing, not your Max plan. If it returns blank, you're already good.
How to fix it:
Open your shell config:
nano ~/.zshrc
Find and delete the line that sets ANTHROPIC_API_KEY.
To save and exit nano: Ctrl+O, then Enter, then Ctrl+X.
Then reload your config and clear the variable from your current session:
source ~/.zshrc
unset ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
Using bash instead of zsh? Check ~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_profile instead.
Next time you open Claude Code, it'll show Claude Max in the header instead of API Usage Billing. That's how you know you're good.
Why this matters: Claude Code with agents and parallel tasks burns through API credits fast. If you're running automations, multi-agent workflows, or any heavy usage, you could be spending real money on something your subscription already covers.
Check your setup. Fix it if needed. Drop a comment if you hit any issues.
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🚨 If you're on Claude Max and using Claude Code -- read this.
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