> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.sphinx.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Connect Claude Desktop to an API gateway

> Configure Claude Desktop to send requests through the Sphinx API gateway.

Use Claude Desktop's third-party inference settings to route requests through the Sphinx API gateway.

## Video Tutorial

<iframe className="w-full aspect-video rounded-xl" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4VhLYnHdi-A" title="Connecting Claude Desktop to the Sphinx API Gateway" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowFullScreen />

## Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

* The latest version of [Claude Desktop](https://claude.com/download)
* Access to Claude Desktop
* Your organization is enabled for the Sphinx LLM Gateway
* Your Sphinx API key

## Configure the API gateway

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Claude Desktop">
    Launch Claude Desktop and sign in with your company email. <Note>Claude requires you to sign in at least once with an email or enterprise SSO. This account will NOT be used after this process is complete. You will instead be using Sphinx's private backend, which maintains stricter security standards.</Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enable Developer Mode">
    From the application menu, select **Help → Troubleshooting → Enable Developer Mode**.

    <Accordion title="Windows users">
      On Windows, the **Help** menu is located in the top-left corner of the Claude Desktop window. Click the menu button, then select **Help → Troubleshooting → Enable Developer Mode**.

      <Frame caption="Enable Developer Mode from the Help menu in Claude Desktop for Windows">
        <img src="https://mintcdn.com/sphinx-977f1673/hOUz7U-GmV1mJFXF/claude-desktop/enabled_developer_mode_windows.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=hOUz7U-GmV1mJFXF&q=85&s=a780cbfb09b450219718b5f5bdfecc27" alt="Claude Desktop for Windows with the top-left menu open, showing Help, Troubleshooting, and Enable Developer Mode" width="2402" height="1602" data-path="claude-desktop/enabled_developer_mode_windows.png" />
      </Frame>
    </Accordion>

    Confirm the warning when prompted. Claude Desktop restarts and adds a **Developer** menu to the application menu bar.

    <Note>
      If the **Developer** menu is already visible, Developer Mode is enabled and you can continue to the next step.
    </Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the third-party inference settings">
    Select **Developer → Configure Third-Party Inference**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose Gateway">
    In the configuration dialog, select **Gateway**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter the gateway credentials">
    Complete the form with the following values:

    | Field | Value |
    | - | - |
    | **Credential Kind** | **Static API Key** |
    | **Gateway Base URL** | `https://api.prod.sphinx.ai/ai-gateway/anthropic` |
    | **API Key** | Your Sphinx API key |
    | **Gateway Auth Scheme** | **Bearer** |

    Enter the gateway base URL exactly as shown.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Test the connection">
    Click **Test Connection**.

    Continue only after Claude Desktop confirms that the connection was successful.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Restart with the gateway">
    Restart Claude Desktop. When prompted to choose how to continue, select **Continue with Gateway**.
    <Note>After you log in with the gateway, your Claude Desktop application will no longer send data directly to Anthropic. All AI usage will instead go through Sphinx's secure API gateway.</Note>
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Additional steps for Windows users

<Warning>
  This section applies only to Windows users. If you are using macOS, skip to [Verify Claude Desktop](#verify-claude-desktop).
</Warning>

To use Cowork with the Sphinx LLM Gateway on Windows, complete these steps after restarting Claude Desktop with the gateway:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Claude Desktop">
    Launch Claude Desktop after it restarts with the gateway.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open Cowork">
    Click **Cowork** in the top-left panel.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install the virtualization software">
    When Claude Desktop reports that the Virtual Machine Platform is not available, click **Enable** to install the required Windows virtualization software.

    <Frame caption="Enable the Virtual Machine Platform required by Cowork on Windows">
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/sphinx-977f1673/hOUz7U-GmV1mJFXF/claude-desktop/install_virtual_machine_platform.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=hOUz7U-GmV1mJFXF&q=85&s=d6e8ef5736c0266e8c8f085af3f227d1" alt="Claude Desktop on Windows showing a Virtual Machine Platform not available message with an Enable button" width="2402" height="1602" data-path="claude-desktop/install_virtual_machine_platform.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Restart your computer">
    After the virtualization software is installed, click **Restart now** to restart your computer and finish the setup.

    <Frame caption="Restart Windows to finish setting up the Virtual Machine Platform">
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/sphinx-977f1673/hOUz7U-GmV1mJFXF/claude-desktop/restart_platform.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=hOUz7U-GmV1mJFXF&q=85&s=e0a4d32161f4212b1e34b01f9c9796da" alt="Claude Desktop on Windows prompting the user to restart the computer to finish Virtual Machine Platform setup" width="2402" height="1602" data-path="claude-desktop/restart_platform.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Use Cowork with Sphinx">
    After your computer restarts, open Claude Desktop and select **Cowork**. You can now use Cowork with the Sphinx LLM Gateway.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Verify Claude Desktop Is Connected

Start a new chat and send a simple prompt, such as:

```text theme={null}
Reply with: Gateway connection successful.
```

If Claude responds, Claude Desktop can reach AI models through the gateway.


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.