Bifrost CLI — Run Claude Code with Any AI Model

What it is

Bifrost CLI is an enterprise AI gateway that provides a unified OpenAI-compatible API across 20+ AI providers and 1,000+ models. The CLI component lets developers run Claude Code, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, and other coding agents with any model from any provider through a single endpoint.

Bifrost is designed for teams that want provider flexibility without rewriting integration code. It handles routing, failover, and load balancing across providers while exposing a standard API that coding agents already understand.

How it saves time or tokens

Without Bifrost, switching between AI providers requires changing API endpoints, authentication, and request formats in your tooling configuration. Bifrost normalizes all providers behind one endpoint, so you switch models by changing a single parameter. Automatic failover means if one provider is down, requests route to the next available provider without manual intervention. This reduces both downtime and the operational overhead of managing multiple AI integrations.

How to use

1. Install Bifrost: npx -y @maximhq/bifrost.
2. Connect to Claude Code: claude mcp add --transport http bifrost http://localhost:8080/mcp.
3. Configure providers in the Bifrost settings (API keys, model preferences, failover rules).
4. Use Claude Code as normal -- Bifrost routes requests to your chosen provider.

Example

# Install and start Bifrost
npx -y @maximhq/bifrost

# Or run via Docker
docker run -p 8080:8080 maximhq/bifrost

# Connect Claude Code to Bifrost
claude mcp add --transport http bifrost http://localhost:8080/mcp

# Now Claude Code requests route through Bifrost
# to any configured provider (OpenAI, Gemini, Groq, etc.)

Related on TokRepo

• AI gateway providers -- compare AI gateway solutions on TokRepo.
• AI tools for coding -- explore coding assistants and developer tools.

Common pitfalls

• Not all models support the same features. Switching from Claude to a smaller model may lose tool-use or long-context capabilities. Verify model capabilities before routing production traffic.
• Bifrost adds a network hop between your agent and the provider. For latency-sensitive applications, measure the overhead.
• API key management across 20+ providers requires careful secrets handling. Use environment variables or a secrets manager rather than hardcoding keys in configuration.