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Send Claude Code, Gemini CLI and Codex through Pretense in 4 commands. Secrets and PII leave as stand-in tokens. Your code comes back as you wrote it.

How do I use Pretense with Claude Code, Gemini CLI and Codex?

Install Pretense, sign in, and start the always-on proxy. Your AI command-line tools then send every prompt through Pretense on your machine. Secrets and PII leave as stand-in tokens, and your code comes back exactly as you wrote it.

4 commands

bash
npm i -g @pretense/cli
pretense login
pretense start --install
pretense status

To install without npm, run curl -fsSL https://www.pretense.ai/install.sh | sh.

  1. Install. Use npm (Node 18 or later) or the curl installer.
  2. Sign in. pretense login opens the sign-in page. To sign in from a script, use pretense login --api-key <key>.
  3. Start. pretense start --install keeps the proxy running at login and points your shell at it. Open a new terminal afterwards.
  4. Check. pretense status confirms the proxy is running and shows which tools are routed.

Which tools are covered

ToolSetting it readsVerified
Claude Code (API key)ANTHROPIC_BASE_URLYes, tested Nov 13 on 0.6.89
OpenAI-compatible CLIs and SDKs (API key)OPENAI_BASE_URLYes, tested Nov 13 on 0.6.89
Gemini CLI and Google Gen AI SDK (API key)GOOGLE_GEMINI_BASE_URLYes, tested Nov 13 on 0.6.89
Local models (Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM)pretense run ollama <model>Yes, tested Nov 13 on 0.6.89
Cursor built-in models, Claude desktop, Codex with ChatGPT sign-in, Gemini with Google sign-inn/aTesting in progress

What leaves your machine

  • Secrets and PII: Pretense mutates them into stand-in tokens before the request goes out. They stay tokens in the reply, by design.
  • Code identifiers: they are swapped on the way out and come back byte-exact in code. An identifier the model writes into prose or a comment can stay as a stand-in.
  • The rest of the prompt: it goes to the provider you chose.
  • Usage counts: they go to your Pretense dashboard.

FAQ

Do I still need pretense run claude?

Only for a single session without the always-on proxy. After pretense start --install, run claude as usual.

Does Pretense install a root certificate?

No. Pretense is a local proxy your tools reach through a base URL, and it never intercepts TLS.

How do I undo it?

Run pretense start --uninstall, then pretense start --shell-setup --remove, then npm rm -g @pretense/cli.

Last validated Nov 13, 2026 on CLI 0.6.89.

Next steps

  • QuickstartInstall Pretense and route your first AI tool through it, in 4 commands.
  • CLI referenceEvery command the shipped binary accepts and what it returns.
  • Watch the demoThe product demo on YouTube.