Integration Guide

Zero-Trust Claude Code Integration

Claude Code sends your codebase to Anthropic. Pretense sits in the request path, mutating every identifier before it leaves your machine.

under 10msadded latency

Local-firstnothing leaves your machine

5 minsetup time

Byte-exactreversal guaranteed

How to Protect Claude Code in 3 Steps

One environment variable. No code changes. No workflow disruption.

Run pretense start. The proxy starts on localhost:9339 and intercepts Anthropic API calls.

Export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=http://localhost:9339. Claude Code now routes through Pretense.

Claude Code responses are reverse-mutated. You see real variable names. Anthropic never does.

Pretense transforms your real identifiers into synthetic tokens before transmission. The LLM sees structure and logic, not your proprietary names.

Without Pretense: raw identifiers exposed

// Before Pretense mutation
async function getUserPaymentToken(userId: string) {
  return await stripeClient.createToken(userId, STRIPE_SECRET);
}

Your function names, secrets, and architecture are transmitted verbatim.

With Pretense: synthetic identifiers only

// After Pretense mutation (what the LLM sees)
async function _fn4a2b(_v8c3d: string) {
  return await _v2f1a._fn9e4b(_v8c3d, _v7d2c);
}

Structure intact. LLM quality preserved. Your IP stays private.

After the LLM responds, Pretense reverses every mutation. You receive real, working code with your original identifiers restored byte-for-byte.

terminal

$ ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=http://localhost:9339 claude

$ pretense init

$ pretense start

NOTE

Set ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=http://localhost:9339 before launching Claude Code

Does this work with Claude Code hooks?

Yes. Pretense includes native Claude Code hooks for PreToolUse, PostToolUse, and UserPromptSubmit.

What about streaming responses?

Pretense supports SSE streaming with rolling-buffer mutation. No lag on streamed completions.

Can I use Pretense with the Claude API directly?

Yes. Any app using ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL works transparently through Pretense.

No code changes. No workflow disruption. One environment variable and Pretense intercepts every request.

No credit card required. 30-second setup. Local-first, nothing leaves your machine.