Show HN: ClawPool – Pool Claude tokens to make $$ or crazy cheap Claude Code | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: ClawPool – Pool Claude tokens to make $$$ or crazy cheap Claude Code

clawpool.ai

21 pointspablojamjam7 comments

I built a pool-based proxy that hacks Claude Code's pricing tiers. To actually use Claude Code you need Max at $200/mo, and then most of that capacity sits idle anyway.

So ClawPool lets subscribers pool their OAuth tokens and earn up to $120/mo from the spare capacity. Everyone else gets Opus, Sonnet, all models for $8/mo.

Setup — they actually support proxies themselves via standard env params:

    export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="your-pool-key"
    export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://proxy.clawpool.ai"
    claude

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Anthropic has been actively cracking down on this exact pattern. They've publicly stated they're "taking appropriate action" against account sharing and reselling, introduced weekly rate limits to combat it, and have been banning accounts that trigger abuse filters.

Their ToS explicitly prohibit reselling. Sellers risk permanent bans, buyers risk losing access overnight. Clever hack, but the runway seems very short.

To protect token holders I've put in a few tricks. Requests only route during the provider's normal active hours, and the whole thing looks like the subscriber just had a busy afternoon. Anthropic sees normal usage patterns from a single account. I've had this running for weeks with no issues.

  Proxy code is open source: https://github.com/peter-jammable/clawpool-proxy-function

  I'm expecting some blowback on ToS despite the account protection — I'm all ears. Who wants $$$ and who wants cheap Opus? Form an orderly queue — no seriously,
  there's a waitlist

Won't Anthropic just be able to get the IPs of your proxy by entering a known API key and observing what IPs use it? Could try to evade by tapping into a large proxy network though.

Doing this will enforce Claude to raise prices or decrease limits. People do this yet they complain that services no longer offer the same amount of usage or increases prices... There is also corporate greed, but honestly, people abusing the system is what drives that.

As a strong believer in consumer rights and corporate accountability, it always irks me when businesses brandish their one-sided ToS that 100% works in their favor to the detriment of individuals and society at large. Bonus points if they claim the moral upper ground when they themselves break all social rules and norms with no accountability whatsoever.

I don't have any plans to subscribe or share access to coding agents myself, but it irks me nonetheless.

"Does this violate the terms of service?"

By default we disguise activity on your pooled token — we only route traffic during your active session times and use sticky sessions so each consumer looks like one consistent user. You can further disguise it by using your own provider pool key, so your personal usage also goes through ClawPool and blends in with the rest of the traffic. The LLM provider has no way of telling the difference. From their perspective, it's indistinguishable from the provider sitting at their keyboard."

The correct response would be "Yes, it breaks Anthropic TOS".

Interesting idea, but I can see Anthropic coming down on this.

Also, you can have a Max at $100/month - that's what I have.

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