Official Claude Code, mirror sites and relay APIs: what is the difference

What each one is

• Official Claude Code: the command-line agent published by Anthropic. It runs in your local terminal, talks to the official service directly, and draws usage from your subscription.
• Mirror site: a web page or client built by a third party, forwarding to a pool of accounts behind it. You are using their accounts and their exit.
• Relay API: a third party gives you an API endpoint and a key. You point Claude Code or another tool at it, and every request goes to their server first.

Five dimensions

• Model and features: official access gives you exactly the official model versions and feature access. Mirrors and relays decide what you get, and new models or features do not necessarily arrive.
• Rate limits: official limits follow your subscription, and usage shows in the official dashboard. A relay's limits follow the state of its account pool, and peak hours often mean queues or failures.
• Privacy: with official access the conversation stays between you and the service. Mirrors and relays route it through a third party's servers, and you cannot verify what is kept.
• Stability: when an account pool gets banned in bulk, a mirror or relay goes down as a whole. Official access is as stable as your own exit and account are clean.
• Price: relays look cheap because the cost is spread across shared accounts and shared exits, which is exactly where things break.

Why MintPop Lane only does official access

Lane is not a mirror and not a relay. It prepares the three things official access needs: an official account and subscription we register and pay for, a dedicated fixed US exit we operate, and a built-in terminal with Claude Code already installed.

What runs in your terminal is 100% official Claude Code, with model versions, feature access and rate limits identical to the official ones, and usage you can check against the official dashboard. We do not store or retain conversations.

Which one, when

• Just trying things out, not fussed about model version or privacy: a mirror site is enough.
• Already have a stable overseas account and a clean exit, only want to save on API cost: a relay is an option, if you accept the privacy and stability cost.
• Claude Code as a daily tool, without bans and drops getting in the way: official access, with the account, exit and environment handled by Lane.