What is claude-code-helper?

Claude Code Helper is a Windows system-tray utility, written in Rust, that lets you use the Claude Code desktop application with Chinese AI providers instead of Anthropic's own API. The README is written in Chinese and targets users who want to substitute providers like DeepSeek, Qwen, Zhipu, Kimi, or MiniMax to reduce costs or avoid needing an Anthropic account. The tool works by running a local proxy server on your machine. Claude Code normally sends its requests to Anthropic's API using an environment variable called ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL. Claude Code Helper automatically rewrites that setting in Claude Code's configuration file to point to the local proxy instead. From that point on, every request Claude Code makes is intercepted and forwarded to whichever Chinese provider you have selected in the tray menu. Switching providers requires no manual configuration file editing. You right-click the tray icon, choose a provider from the menu, enter your API key in the settings panel, and restart Claude Code. The tool handles the request format translation: DeepSeek supports Anthropic's message format natively, while other providers receive requests converted to OpenAI's chat format. Setup is designed to be straightforward. You download either an installer or a portable ZIP, run the executable, fill in an API key, and restart Claude Code. The tool also includes a command-line interface for users who prefer it, offering commands to check status, list providers, test connectivity, run diagnostics, and restore the original Anthropic configuration. The project is MIT licensed and built on the same architecture as a sibling tool called codex-helper, which does the same thing for the OpenAI Codex desktop app.