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To use Bluehost AI Credits with BMAD, configure the Claude Code session that runs BMAD—not BMAD itself. BMAD installs agent skills and slash commands in Claude Code and inherits the backend Claude Code is authenticated with, according to Jay C., author of Bluehost’s BMAD setup article. The steps below cover prerequisites, a fresh Claude Code setup, verification, and common fixes.
What connects the credits to BMAD?
BMAD does not have a separate model-provider settings screen. Its agents run as slash commands in Claude Code, so the connection is made by configuring Claude Code to use Bluehost’s AI Credits gateway. Once that Claude Code session can reach the gateway, BMAD commands use the same configured backend.
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This distinction matters: installing BMAD does not itself attach credits or configure a provider. Bluehost describes AI Credits as available on its Self-Managed VPS and VDS plans. Its BMAD setup also assumes that BMAD and Claude Code are installed and accessible over SSH.
What you need before configuring the connection
- A Bluehost Self-Managed VPS or VDS with AI Credits available.
- Claude Code and BMAD installed on the server.
- SSH access and permission to edit the appropriate shell profile.
- An active AI Credits balance and a Bluehost API key.
Bluehost’s API-key instructions place key creation in the portal’s Hosting area: open the relevant hosting package and its AI Tooling page. The key is displayed only when created, so save it securely. If it is lost, Bluehost says you must generate a replacement.
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Create or locate your AI Credits API key
- Sign in to the Bluehost portal and open Hosting.
- Select the Self-Managed VPS or VDS package where you will run Claude Code.
- Open AI Tooling and create an API key if you do not already have one.
- Store the key securely. Do not paste it into a public repository, shared log, or command that will be saved in shell history.
An active AI Credits balance is required to create a key, according to Bluehost’s API-key guide. Confirm your portal balance and current terms before purchasing credits.
Configure Claude Code for Bluehost’s gateway
For a fresh Claude Code setup, Bluehost’s dedicated Claude Code guide identifies ANTHROPIC_API_KEY and ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL as its confirmed environment-variable method. Add the following to the shell profile used by the Unix account that launches Claude Code, replacing the example value with your key:
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="YOUR_AI_CREDITS_API_KEY"
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://gateway.ai.bluehost.com"Bluehost’s guide gives /root/.profile as an example for its server setup, but do not assume that every BMAD image runs as root or reads that file. The BMAD-specific article warns that a template may run under root or a dedicated user. Confirm the actual Unix account and which profile its shell loads before editing it.
After saving the profile, load it in the current shell if appropriate, then start a new Claude Code session. A session already running will not acquire changed startup environment values.
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If Claude Code is already authenticated
Bluehost says an existing Claude Code login may override the configured base URL. Its Claude Code guide recommends logging out before following the fresh-install environment-variable steps. Do not assume that adding variables alone changes the provider for an already-authenticated session.
Do not combine the two Bluehost examples blindly
Bluehost’s BMAD-specific article shows ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN and says Claude Code may also require ANTHROPIC_API_KEY as a placeholder. Its separate Claude Code guide instead identifies the ANTHROPIC_API_KEY plus ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL pattern above as the confirmed fresh-install method. For a new connection, follow the dedicated Claude Code guide and verify it with a prompt rather than mixing the examples.
Test the gateway, then test BMAD
- Open a new shell session as the account that runs Claude Code and start a fresh
claudesession. - Send a simple prompt. Bluehost’s guide offers this command as a basic check:
claude -p "Say hello and confirm you're responding." - Look for a normal response without an authentication error. That indicates the request was accepted; it does not by itself verify every BMAD command or model configuration.
- In the appropriate project/session, run
/bmad-helpor the equivalent help command for your installed BMAD version to check that its skills are available. - Run the BMAD workflow you intend to use and confirm it returns a response.
Bluehost’s documentation describes the setup and test commands; it does not establish that every combination of template, key, model, and Claude Code version has been independently tested.
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Bluehost’s general AI Credits and API-key documentation describes the gateway as OpenAI-compatible. A separate Bluehost integration guide documents an Anthropic-style Messages endpoint at https://gateway.ai.bluehost.com/v1/messages. These are different API shapes, not interchangeable settings: clients must use the matching endpoint, headers, request format, and response parsing.
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For example, Bluehost’s integration guide places Anthropic-style response text at content[0].text; its OpenAI-compatible example uses choices[0].message.content. The existence of a documented Messages route does not prove that a particular Claude Code template and credential combination will work with it. Use the dedicated Claude Code setup and test the actual session before relying on a BMAD workflow.
Troubleshoot connection problems
- Claude Code asks you to authenticate: check that the right Unix account and shell profile were used, then start a new Claude Code session.
- The key is rejected: verify that you copied the key correctly and that it remains active. Bluehost only displays a key at creation; generate a replacement if the original is lost.
- The request reaches the gateway but fails: check the API format and endpoint expected by the client, along with your AI Credits balance. The documented Anthropic Messages route is not proof that the exact template setup is compatible.
/bmad-helpis unrecognized: confirm BMAD is installed and that you are running the command in the appropriate project and Claude Code session.- Profile edits have no effect: confirm the login account and profile actually used by the template, then launch a new shell and Claude Code session.
How Bluehost AI Credits are charged
Bluehost’s 2026 documentation says each credit has a fixed retail value of $0.010. Its listed one-time packs are priced at the same rate per credit; the figures below are Bluehost’s published 2026 prices, not a guarantee of current pricing.
| Credits | Bluehost listed price (2026) | Listed cost per credit |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | $5.00 | $0.010 |
| 1,000 | $10.00 | $0.010 |
| 5,000 | $50.00 | $0.010 |
| 10,000 | $100.00 | $0.010 |
Bluehost describes credits as prepaid, one-time purchases with no auto-renewal. Usage is deducted at model-specific per-token rates, and API keys draw from a shared account wallet. Its 2026 documentation says credits expire 12 months after the most recent purchase and that a new purchase resets the validity window for the entire balance. Credits are non-refundable. Check your portal’s balance, current pack prices, model rates, and terms before buying because Bluehost warns that pricing may change.
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