Claude Code Desktop Tutorial: Chinese Localization, Login-Free Setup & DeepSeek Integration Complete Guide

Introduction

Claude Code is an AI programming tool developed by Anthropic, offering impressive code generation and comprehension capabilities. Many developers have already adopted it as their daily coding assistant. Anthropic was founded by former core members of OpenAI, and its models are renowned for the "Constitutional AI" training methodology, excelling in code understanding, long-context processing, and instruction following. AI programming tools have rapidly gained popularity in recent years—from GitHub Copilot to Cursor to Claude Code—these tools' core capability lies in understanding natural language requirements and generating executable code, significantly shortening the path from idea to implementation. However, the official model pricing is on the expensive side, and combined with network restrictions in China, many people want to use it but haven't gotten started.

This tutorial takes you from zero, walking you step by step through installing Claude Code Desktop, Chinese localization, login-free usage, integrating the DeepSeek domestic model, and loading custom Skills. Once you've completed this entire workflow, you can enjoy the productivity boost of AI programming at minimal cost.

Installing Claude Code Desktop

Download and Installation Steps

Visit the Claude Code official website (claude.com), find the "Get Claude Code" entry point, hover your mouse and select Desktop, and the system will automatically match the download version to your operating system. After downloading, double-click to run the installer—it's a straightforward wizard-style installation, just click Next all the way through.

After successful installation, you'll see a login screen offering options like Google account sign-in. However, we won't use the official account login—instead, we'll use a login-free approach.

Terminal Version Installation (Optional)

If you prefer command-line operations, you can also install the terminal version. Prerequisites include installing Git and Node.js:

1. Install Git: Visit the Git official website to download and install—straightforward process. After installation, type git in the command line to verify
2. Install Node.js: Visit the Node official website to download and install. After completion, type node -v to verify
3. Install Claude Code: Open PowerShell, execute the installation command provided on the official website, and wait a few minutes

After installation, if running the cloud command throws an error, you need to configure environment variables. Find the installation directory (usually at C:\\Users\\YourUsername\\.local\\bin\\) and add this path to your system user variable Path.

Claude Code Login-Free Configuration

Enable Developer Mode

After installing the desktop version, you can use it without logging into an official account. Steps:

1. Click the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) in the top left
2. Select "Help"
3. Find "Enable Developer Mode"
4. Confirm to enable and wait for Claude Code to restart

Install CC Switch Management Tool

CC Switch is a software for unified management of AI tool workflows. Its core mechanism acts as a local reverse proxy: it intercepts API requests sent by Claude Code, replaces the target address from Anthropic's official servers with DeepSeek or other model endpoints, while injecting the corresponding API Key. This architecture lets users switch models seamlessly without modifying Claude Code itself—only requiring a single "request forwarding" at the middleware layer. Note: version must be 3.15.0 or higher—older versions don't support Claude Code Desktop configuration.

After installation, you'll see a new Desktop option at the top (with a small computer icon). Next, configure it:

1. Click the "Settings" button on the left
2. Go to "Routing" options
3. Enable "Local Routing"
4. Go back and select Desktop, then click the "Add" button on the right

Bypass Verification (Terminal Version)

If using the terminal version, you also need to bypass authorization verification. Find the C:\\Users\\YourUsername\\.claude.json configuration file, open it with Notepad, add the bypass configuration code (add a comma after existing content, then add the configuration item), save, and re-execute the cloud command to start normally.

Integrating DeepSeek Model to Replace Official API

DeepSeek is a domestic large language model series developed by DeepSeek AI, known for its extremely competitive cost-performance ratio. Its V3 and R1 series models approach or even surpass GPT-4 level performance on multiple benchmarks, while API pricing is only a fraction of OpenAI's comparable models. DeepSeek supports the standard OpenAI-compatible interface, allowing seamless replacement in most tools that rely on OpenAI API format—this is the technical foundation that enables CC Switch to easily integrate it.

Obtain DeepSeek API Key

An API Key is a token string used by service providers for authentication and billing—essentially a credential for "who is calling and how many times." Visit the DeepSeek official website, go to the API documentation page, find Key management, and create a new API Key (recommended to name it "Claude Code Desktop" for easy identification). Copy and save it.

Configure DeepSeek in CC Switch

1. Click "Add" in the CC Switch Desktop interface
2. Select DeepSeek model
3. Paste the API Key you just obtained
4. Check the "1M context size" option (recommended to enable for a larger context window)
5. Click "Add" to complete configuration
6. Important: Click the Start button—the configuration won't take effect without starting it

After starting, you can minimize CC Switch (closing the window just minimizes it to the system tray).

Complete Claude Code and DeepSeek Integration

Return to Claude Code Desktop:

1. Click the hamburger menu in the top left
2. Find the newly appeared "Developer" option
3. Click "Configure Third-party"
4. Information is already auto-filled—just click "Upload" to restart

After restarting, you can use it normally. The model list will show Flash and Pro versions—select one to start chatting.

Integrating Alibaba Cloud Bailian (Terminal Version Alternative)

If using the terminal version, you can integrate Alibaba Cloud Bailian (which offers generous free quotas). Execute three commands in sequence in the command line:

# Set API Key
setx ANTHROPIC_API_KEY "Your Alibaba Cloud Bailian API Key"
# Set URL
setx ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL "Alibaba Cloud Bailian API address"
# Set model
setx ANTHROPIC_MODEL "qwen-plus-latest"