Run Claude Code in Rupiah, no foreign card

Want to use Claude Code from Indonesia but don’t have a foreign credit card? This guide takes you end to end: create an account, top up your Rupiah balance with QRIS, point Claude Code at the Nexotao base URL, and run your first agent session — paying per token in Rupiah, no subscription.

Nexotao is an Anthropic-compatible gateway: Claude Code talks to it the same way it talks to Anthropic’s API, so all you change is the base URL and the key.

What you need: an email address, a QRIS-capable payment app (GoPay, OVO, DANA, bank mobile, etc.), and Claude Code installed. No Visa/Mastercard, no PayPal, no dollar balance.

1. Create an account

Sign up at nexotao.com with just an email and password. New accounts start with a zero balance — you fund it in the next step.

2. Top up your Rupiah balance with QRIS

Open Top Up in the dashboard and pay via QRIS, starting from Rp 10,000. The balance is in Rupiah, is deducted per token as you use it, never expires, and there is no subscription.

Bigger top-ups carry a bonus: +6% on Rp 150,000 and +15% on Rp 500,000.

3. Create an API key

In the dashboard, open API Keys → Create key. It looks like sk-nexo-.... Copy it now — the full key is shown only once.

4. Generate your Claude Code config

Pick a Claude model and paste your key below. The config is built in your browser and is never sent anywhere. Copy the settings.json into ~/.claude/settings.json, or use the export block for your shell.

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://api.nexotao.com",
    "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "sk-nexo-...",
    "ANTHROPIC_MODEL": "claude-opus-4-8",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL": "claude-opus-4-8",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL": "claude-opus-4-8",
    "ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL": "claude-opus-4-8",
    "CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_BETAS": "1"
  },
  "skipDangerousModePermissionPrompt": true
}

export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.nexotao.com"
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="sk-nexo-..."
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL="claude-opus-4-8"
export ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL="claude-opus-4-8"
export ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL="claude-opus-4-8"
export ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL="claude-opus-4-8"
export CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_BETAS="1"

Under the hood this sets:

• ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL = https://api.nexotao.com
• ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN = your sk-nexo-... key
• ANTHROPIC_MODEL = the Claude model you picked (Opus 4.8)
• The background task tier (haiku) is mapped to claude-opus-4-8, since the sonnet and haiku tiers aren’t offered — Claude Code keeps working normally.
• CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_EXPERIMENTAL_BETAS=1 for compatibility.

5. Run Claude Code

macOS / Linux

Save the generated settings.json to ~/.claude/settings.json or paste the export block into your ~/.zshrc / ~/.bashrc and reload:

source ~/.zshrc   # or ~/.bashrc

Then from your project directory:

claude

Windows

Create %USERPROFILE%\.claude\settings.json with the generated contents, or set the variables in PowerShell:

setx ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL "https://api.nexotao.com"
setx ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN "sk-nexo-..."

Open a new terminal and run claude.

6. Verify it’s working — and what it cost

Ask Claude Code to do something small (“explain this file”, “add a test”). If it responds, your Rupiah balance is powering it.

Want to confirm the billing path directly? Every Nexotao response carries an X-Cost-Rp header — the exact cost of that request in Rupiah. You can see it on a plain API call:

curl -i https://api.nexotao.com/v1/messages \
  -H "x-api-key: sk-nexo-..." \
  -H "anthropic-version: 2023-06-01" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "claude-opus-4-8",
    "max_tokens": 64,
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Hello"}]
  }'

Look for X-Cost-Rp and X-Request-Id in the response headers. Claude Code usage is deducted from the same balance, exactly like this call.

FAQ

Do I need a foreign credit card to use Claude Code? No. You top up a Rupiah balance via QRIS from Rp 10,000 and pay per token. No Visa/Mastercard or dollar account required.

Is this the official Anthropic API? No — Nexotao is an Anthropic-compatible gateway. Claude Code points at the Nexotao base URL and works the same way, billed from your Rupiah balance.

How is usage billed? Per token (input + output), drawn from your single Rupiah balance. Each response returns an X-Cost-Rp header with the exact Rupiah cost. No subscription; the balance never expires.

Which models can I use with Claude Code? Claude models available through the gateway, currently Opus 4.8. Pick the primary model in the config generator above.

Next steps

• Claude Code — full config reference and per-OS notes.
• Quickstart — your first API request in curl / Python / Node.
• Billing & Pricing — how the Rupiah balance and cost headers work.