CLI Menu

Model Family Selection

Claude Code Running Through the Claude-NIM Proxy

Claude Code Launched via Proxy with Session Stats

Claude Code Native /model Picker with FCC Gateway Models

Requirements

• VS Code 1.80+
• NVIDIA NIM API key — free at build.nvidia.com
• Claude Code CLI — auto-installed on first use

Quick Start

VS Code Extension

1. Install from the Marketplace or Open VSX
2. Run Claude NIM Proxy: Manage NVIDIA NIM API Key to set your key
3. Run Claude NIM Proxy: Launch Claude Code with Proxy or press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+N

CLI (npm)

# Install globally
npm install -g claude-nim

# Run
claude-nim                                # Interactive terminal UI
claude-nim --model deepseek-ai/deepseek-r1  # Explicit model
claude-nim --port 8080 --api-key nvapi-xxx  # Custom port + key
claude-nim --serve-only --port 3456        # Proxy server only (no Claude Code)
claude-nim --version                       # Show version
claude-nim --help                          # All options

CLI (bunx — no install)

bunx --yes claude-nim                    # Interactive setup
bunx claude-nim --model deepseek-r1      # Explicit config

How It Works

Claude Code  ──→  Claude-NIM Proxy  ──→  NVIDIA NIM API
(Anthropic API)   (localhost:3456)       (OpenAI-compatible)

1. Install the extension and set your API key
2. Start the proxy from the status bar or command palette
3. Launch Claude Code through the proxy
4. Stop the proxy — everything reverts, zero permanent changes

Why Claude-NIM Proxy?

| | Claude-NIM Proxy | CLI Proxies | CCProxy | Claude Code Router | |---|---|---|---|---| | VS Code integration | Status bar, commands, SecretStorage, model browser | None | CLI only | None | | Security | Prompt injection scrubbing, context pruning, AES-256-GCM keys | None | None | None | | Setup | One command or extension install | Manual env vars + config files | Binary + config | npm install + ccr start | | Model routing | Gateway IDs, 100+ NIM catalog, /model picker | Generic passthrough | Generic | Generic | | Language | TypeScript, zero runtime deps | Python/Go | Go | Node.js + YAML | | Tests | 104+ unit tests + stress tests | Minimal | None public | Minimal | | Live settings | Port/timeout/cache apply without restart | Requires restart | Requires restart | Requires restart |

Features

Model Router & Gateway

• Gateway model IDs — FCC-compliant anthropic/nvidia_nim/<modelId> format
• Native /model picker — All NIM models appear in Claude Code's model selector
• Real-time switching — Change models without restarting
• 100+ models — DeepSeek, Llama, Qwen, Mistral, Gemma, Phi, Nemotron, and more

Full Anthropic Content Translation

| Content Type | Handling | |---|---| | text / tool_use / tool_result | Full conversion to OpenAI format | | Image (base64) | Converted to image_url data URI | | Mixed text + tools | Split into separate messages | | system prompt (string/array) | Converted to system message | | tool_choice (auto/any/tool) | Full mapping |

Security

• Prompt injection scrubbing — Neutralizes ignore previous instructions patterns
• Context pruning — Auto-trims large tool outputs (>100K chars)
• 10 MB body limit — Prevents memory exhaustion
• Unicode sanitization — Strips encoding corruption characters
• Localhost-only binding — Never exposed to network

VS Code Commands

| Command | Shortcut | Description | |---|---|---| | Toggle Proxy Server | Ctrl+Shift+N | Start or stop the proxy | | Launch Claude Code | Ctrl+Shift+Alt+N | Open pre-configured terminal | | Manage API Key | — | Set, update, or clear your key | | Select Default Model | — | Browse 100+ NIM models | | Toggle Debug Logging | — | Enable/disable debug output | | Toggle Show Reasoning | — | Show/hide <think> output |

Configuration

| Setting | Default | Description | |---|---|---| | nvidia-nim.proxyPort | 3456 | Proxy server port | | nvidia-nim.defaultModel | "" | Default model (empty = require in request) | | nvidia-nim.modelsCacheTTL | 5 | Model cache TTL in minutes | | nvidia-nim.requestTimeout | 120 | Stream idle timeout in seconds |

Dashboard

Open http://127.0.0.1:3456/dashboard for:

• Real-time request visualization
• Live stats (tokens, latency, throughput)
• Model browser and switcher
• Request history with filtering
• Live log stream

API Endpoints

| Endpoint | Method | Description | |---|---|---| | /api/model | GET/POST | Get or set current model | | /api/models | GET | List available NIM models | | /api/key | POST | Update API key | | /api/metrics | GET | SSE stream of real-time metrics | | /api/stats | GET | Aggregate stats |

Standalone CLI

claude-nim                                    # Interactive terminal UI
claude-nim --model deepseek-ai/deepseek-r1    # Explicit model
claude-nim --port 8080 --api-key nvapi-xxx    # Custom port + key
claude-nim --serve-only --port 3456            # Proxy only (no Claude Code launch)

Features: encrypted key storage, dynamic port selection, Claude auto-detection, zombie-free teardown. Requires Bun runtime.

Error Handling

1. HTTP status mapping (401, 429, 503)
2. SSE error events in stream
3. VS Code error notifications
4. Exponential backoff retry with Retry-After support
5. Configurable stream idle timeout
6. 10 MB body size limit
7. JSON parse error messages with context

Supported Models

Any model on build.nvidia.com:

DeepSeek R1/V3/V4, Llama 3.x/4.x, Mistral Large/Medium, Qwen 3/2.5, Kimi K2.x, Nemotron Ultra/Super, Gemma 3, Phi 4, Command-R+, and 100+ more.

Build

bun install
bun run compile         # Build → out/
bun run test            # 104+ unit tests
bun run lint            # ESLint
bun run package:vsix    # Package VS Code extension
bun run build:exe:win   # Windows standalone binary
bun run build:exe:linux # Linux standalone binary
bun run build:exe:mac   # macOS standalone binary

Contributing

Issues and PRs welcome at github.com/claude-server/claude-nim.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Author

Rithika Liyanage — github.com/k-rithik04