Key terms.
Every concept and term you'll encounter when using claude-multi, explained without the jargon spiral.
Configuration
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API Key
The authentication token that identifies your account with an LLM provider. Each claude-multi instance stores its own API key in its config directory.
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Base URL
The API endpoint URL that Claude Code sends requests to. Each provider template sets a different base URL to route traffic to the right service.
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Model Mapping
The set of environment variables that tell Claude Code which model to use for each role (Sonnet, Opus, Haiku) when working with a non-Anthropic provider.
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Provider Template
A pre-configured set of environment variables, base URLs, and model mappings that tells Claude Code how to reach a specific LLM provider.
Concepts
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Auto-Compaction
A mechanism that summarizes earlier conversation history when the context window fills up, keeping the session running without losing too much information.
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Context Window
The maximum number of tokens a model can process in a single conversation, including both input and output.
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LLM Routing
Choosing which LLM provider or model handles a given task based on cost, speed, context needs, or capability requirements.
Architecture
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Config Directory
The directory where a claude-multi instance stores its settings.json, conversation history, MCP server configs, plugins, and skills.
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Instance Isolation
Each claude-multi instance runs in its own config directory with separate settings, history, MCP servers, and plugins. No shared state between instances.
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MCP Server
An external tool server that connects to Claude Code through the Model Context Protocol, giving it access to databases, APIs, file systems, and other services.
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Plugin Sync
A mechanism that keeps plugins and skills consistent across claude-multi instances using symlinks, so you update once and every instance gets the change.
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Wrapper Script
A small shell script that sets environment variables for a specific provider and then launches Claude Code, giving each instance its own identity.