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Auth conflict: Both a token (ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN) - Claude

Quick fix

Delete primaryApiKey from claude.json, or change the environment variable to ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, to resolve the auth conflict.

Symptom

Section titled “Symptom”
Error output
Auth conflict:Both a token (ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN) and an API key (/login managed   key) are set. This may lead to unexpected behavior.

Cause

Section titled “Cause”

When switching to a third-party provider, cc-switch writes ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN into settings.json by default. If you previously signed in to Claude Code officially, claude.json still holds a primaryApiKey field, and having both present makes Claude Code report the Auth conflict error. Separately, for a Claude Desktop direct provider the client expects to read ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, so the default ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN also fails authentication.

Fix

Section titled “Fix”

  1. Delete the API key left behind by the official login: open claude.json and remove the primaryApiKey field.

    // ~/.claude/claude.json
    {
      "primaryApiKey": "sk-ant-..."
    }

  2. Alternatively, change the environment variable name in the config from ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN to ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, for Claude Desktop compatibility or to avoid the header conflict.

    // ~/.claude/settings.json
    {
      "env": {
        "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "your-token",
        "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "your-token"
      }
    }

Affected Versions

Section titled “Affected Versions”
ToolClaude Code
VersionUnknown
PlatformsWindowsmacOSLinux

Source Issues

Section titled “Source Issues”

This page is distilled from 5 real issues

FAQ

Section titled “FAQ”
Why does switching provider in cc-switch overwrite my existing hooks, permissions, and similar config?
That is expected. Some providers have unique fields (CLAUDE_CODE_MAX_OUTPUT_TOKENS, for example), and to stop fields from different providers interfering — causing errors or hurting performance — cc-switch rewrites the config file. Use the general config feature to write shared configuration quickly.
My provider forbids sending Authorization and x-auth-api headers together. What now?
While editing the provider in cc-switch, set the auth field to ANTHROPIC_API_KEY (Bearer mode), or add "auth_mode": "bearer_only" to the config to disable x-api-key.
Section titled “Related problems”
auth.json OPENAI_API_KEY not synced - CodexUpgrade cc-switch to v3.20.1. Switching Codex providers no longer overwrites auth.json, fully resolving the key retention issue.10 issues mergedsettings.json Full Overwrite Causes Plugin FailureUpgrade to v3.20.1+ to fix the bug that clears enabledPlugins when switching configs.9 issues mergedANTHROPIC_BASE_URL rewritten to 127.0.0.1With local routing on, ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL pointing at http://127.0.0.1:15721 is expected. Move shared fields into 通用配置 and restart Claude Code.10 issues merged

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