Configure Claude Code with MiniMax on NRP

Setup Claude Code with MiniMax models on NRP infrastructure

This guide covers configuring Claude Code to use MiniMax models through the NRP (Nautilus Research Platform) infrastructure, including setting up Brave Search for web queries.

Why Use NRP Models and Brave Search?

Claude Code’s built-in web search feature requires a paid Claude Pro subscription. By using the free NRP infrastructure with MiniMax models and configuring the Brave Search MCP server, you get:

Free access to powerful LLMs without a Claude subscription
Web search capabilities via Brave Search API (separate free API key required)
Research-friendly infrastructure for academic users

For real-time availability of NRP models, check the LLM Managed Service Status page.

Available Models

The NRP platform offers several models. Check the LLM Managed Service Status page for real-time availability.

MiniMax-M2 (Recommended)

The minimax-m2 model is an excellent choice for coding and agentic tasks:

Model: MiniMaxAI/MiniMax-M2.7
Parameters: 230B with native FP8 weights
Context: 196,608 tokens
Capabilities: Tool calling, frontier agentic coding performance
Status: Main deployment with batch inference support

MiniMax-M2 delivers performance comparable to Claude Sonnet 4 and Gemini 2.5 Pro, while being optimized for agent workflows with excellent tool-calling capabilities. It excels at:

Code generation and refactoring
Multi-step task planning
Shell command execution
MCP tool coordination

GLM 4.7 (Alternative)

GLM 4.7 (glm-4.7) is another strong option for coding tasks:

Model: zai-org/GLM-4.7-FP8
Parameters: 358B with official FP8 quantization
Context: 202,752 tokens
Capabilities: Tool calling, thinking mode support

However, GLM 4.7 is often busy due to high demand, so MiniMax-M2 serves as a reliable alternative with similar performance characteristics.

Get Your NRP API Key

First, you need an API token from the National Research Platform. See the detailed guide Configure NRP LLM with OpenCode and Crush for instructions on generating your token at https://nrp.ai/llmtoken/.

Environment Variables

Add the following to your ~/.bashrc or shell configuration (replace your-api-key-here with your actual token):

# Claude Code configuration for NRP with MiniMax
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://ellm.nrp-nautilus.io/anthropic"
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"
export ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_OPUS_MODEL="minimax-m2"
export ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_SONNET_MODEL="minimax-m2"
export ANTHROPIC_DEFAULT_HAIKU_MODEL="minimax-m2"
export CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC="1"
export CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_FEEDBACK_SURVEY="1"
export CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_TELEMETRY="0"
export API_TIMEOUT_MS="3000000"
export DISABLE_TELEMETRY="1"

Optional: YOLO Mode Alias

For a frictionless experience with automatic permission approval:

alias claude="claude --dangerously-skip-permissions"

Brave Search MCP Server

For web search capabilities, configure the Brave Search MCP server:

Get a Brave Search API key from https://brave.com/search/api/
Add the MCP server configuration to your project’s .claude.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-search": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "brave-search-mcp-server",
      "args": ["--transport", "stdio", "--brave-api-key", "YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Install the server globally (optional, for faster startup):

npm install -g @brave/brave-search-mcp-server

Verification

Verify the MCP server is connected:

claude mcp list

You should see:

brave-search: brave-search-mcp-server --transport stdio --brave-api-key ... - ✓ Connected