How to configure Claude Code CLI with Azure AI Foundry

claude-code-foundry.md

Configuring Claude Code CLI with Azure AI Foundry

This is from 2026-01. Your mileage may vary.

This guide explains how to configure Claude Code CLI to use Azure AI Foundry as the model provider for Anthropic Claude models.

Prerequisites

• Claude Code CLI installed (npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code)
• An Azure AI Foundry resource with Anthropic Claude models deployed
• Your Azure AI Foundry API key

Setup

Option 1: Environment Variables

Set the following environment variables:

# Required: Enable Foundry mode
export CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRY=1

# Required: Your Foundry API key
export ANTHROPIC_FOUNDRY_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

# Required: Your Azure AI Foundry endpoint
export ANTHROPIC_FOUNDRY_BASE_URL="https://YOUR-RESOURCE-NAME.openai.azure.com/anthropic"

# Optional: Specify model names (defaults shown)
export ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL="claude-sonnet-4-5"
export ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL="claude-haiku-4-5"
export ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL="claude-opus-4-5"

# Make sure Vertex is disabled
export CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX=0

Add these to your shell profile (~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc, etc.) for persistence.

Option 2: Shell Wrapper Script

Create a wrapper script claude-foundry in your PATH:

#!/bin/bash
ANTHROPIC_FOUNDRY_API_KEY="your-api-key-here" \
CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX=0 \
CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRY=1 \
ANTHROPIC_FOUNDRY_BASE_URL="https://YOUR-RESOURCE-NAME.openai.azure.com/anthropic" \
ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL="claude-sonnet-4-5" \
ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL="claude-haiku-4-5" \
ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL="claude-opus-4-5" \
claude "$@"

Make it executable: chmod +x claude-foundry

Key Configuration Notes

Environment Variable	Description
CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRY	Must be 1 to enable Azure AI Foundry mode
CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX	Set to 0 to disable Google Vertex AI
ANTHROPIC_FOUNDRY_API_KEY	Your Azure AI Foundry API key
ANTHROPIC_FOUNDRY_BASE_URL	Your Azure endpoint with /anthropic suffix
ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL	Claude Sonnet model deployment name
ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL	Claude Haiku model deployment name
ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL	Claude Opus model deployment name

Finding Your Azure Endpoint

1. Go to Azure AI Foundry or Azure Portal
2. Navigate to your Azure AI Foundry resource
3. Find the endpoint URL (looks like https://YOUR-RESOURCE-NAME.openai.azure.com/)
4. Append /anthropic to get the base URL for Claude models

Testing

Run a simple test:

claude -p "hello"

You should see a response from Claude without being prompted to log in.

Troubleshooting

Authentication Errors

• Verify ANTHROPIC_FOUNDRY_API_KEY is set correctly
• Check that your API key has access to the Claude model deployments

Model Not Found

• Ensure the model names in ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_*_MODEL match your Azure deployment names
• Verify Claude models are deployed in your Azure AI Foundry resource

Still Prompting for Login

• Make sure CLAUDE_CODE_USE_FOUNDRY=1 is set
• Verify CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX=0 to avoid conflicts

References

• Claude Code CLI
• Azure AI Foundry
• Anthropic Claude Documentation