Using altimate with Claude Code

altimate can work alongside Claude Code. While Claude Code handles general coding tasks, altimate provides specialized data engineering capabilities that Claude Code doesn't have.

How it works

Claude Code can invoke altimate as a tool when working on data projects. The /altimate command routes data engineering tasks to altimate's specialized tools.

# In Claude Code
/altimate analyze the cost of our Snowflake warehouse

This gives Claude Code access to: - SQL analysis and anti-pattern detection - Column-level lineage - Cost prediction and FinOps analysis - Schema inspection and PII detection - dbt manifest parsing and model scaffolding - Cross-dialect SQL translation

Example workflows

Code review with cost analysis

When Claude Code reviews a PR that includes SQL changes:

Claude Code: I see changes to models/marts/fct_revenue.sql. Let me check
             for data engineering concerns.

> /altimate analyze fct_revenue.sql for anti-patterns and estimate cost

altimate:
  sql_analyze: No anti-patterns detected ✓
  lineage_check: Sources stg_orders.amount, dim_products.category
  schema_diff: Added column revenue_category (low severity)

dbt project setup

You (in Claude Code): Set up a new dbt model for our customer metrics

Claude Code: I'll create the model structure. Let me use altimate
             to inspect the source tables first.

> /altimate inspect the raw.customers and raw.orders tables

altimate:
  schema_inspect raw.customers → 12 columns
  schema_inspect raw.orders → 8 columns
  lineage_check [draft SQL] → verified column mappings

Claude Code: Here's the staging model based on the actual schema...

FinOps during development

You (in Claude Code): This query is slow, can you optimize it?

Claude Code: Let me analyze it with altimate's SQL tools.

> /altimate analyze and optimize: SELECT * FROM events WHERE YEAR(event_date) = 2026

altimate:
  sql_analyze:
    ⚠ SELECT_STAR: Use explicit columns
    ⚠ FUNCTION_IN_FILTER: YEAR() prevents partition pruning
  sql_optimize:
    Optimized: explicit columns + range predicate
    Estimated improvement: 70-80% fewer bytes scanned

Setup

The Altimate Code plugin (recommended)

1. Install Altimate Code (Node.js 20 or later): npm install -g altimate-code

2. Install the plugin from Anthropic's plugin directory:

   claude plugin install altimate-code
   

   Or add Altimate's own marketplace and install from it:

   claude plugin marketplace add AltimateAI/altimate-claude-plugin
   claude plugin install altimate-code@altimate-claude-plugin
   

3. Start a new Claude Code session in your project. Ask for dbt or warehouse work as usual, or start a request with /altimate-code:altimate to hand it over yourself. (Claude Code names plugin commands <plugin>:<command>; the bare /altimate below comes from /configure-claude.)

The plugin runs altimate-code run in your project for each task, with the model provider Altimate Code is set up with. If you have not set one up, run altimate-code once and choose a provider, or sign in to Altimate (below).

The /altimate command, without the plugin

Run /configure-claude inside altimate to write the command:

altimate
# then in the TUI:
/configure-claude

This creates ~/.claude/commands/altimate.md. You can now use /altimate in any Claude Code session.

Use an Altimate workspace from Claude Code

Claude Code reaches a workspace through Altimate Code: every task the plugin hands over runs in your project, so it gets the workspace the project is linked to — its skills, its knowledge, your team's shared memory and its integrations. Nothing in Claude Code itself needs configuring.

1. Sign in to Altimate. In a terminal:

   altimate-code auth login -p altimate-backend --method "Altimate LLM Gateway"
   

   It opens your browser; sign in and return to the terminal. (Inside the TUI, /connect does the same.) The command also works from Claude Code: type it after ! in the prompt.

2. Link the project. In the project folder:

   altimate-code link
   

   Pick the workspace, or create one. The picker needs an interactive terminal, so it does not run from Claude Code's ! prompt or a script. There, list the workspaces with altimate-code workspace list and link with altimate-code link --workspace <id or name>, or create one with altimate-code link --create. Moving a linked project to a different workspace also needs --yes. Claude can run these for you: ask it to link the project to a workspace.

3. Check it. altimate-code workspace status shows the linked workspace and when its skills last synced.

4. Ask Claude. Questions about your team's conventions, best practices or knowledge are answered from the workspace when they reach Altimate Code. Start them with /altimate-code:altimate to be sure they do:

   /altimate-code:altimate what are our naming conventions for staging models?
   

What you teach Altimate Code during these tasks is saved to the workspace's memory and shared with your team in the CLI, the IDE and Studio. If an upload fails, the task ends with a line saying so; altimate-code workspace sync sends what is left. Skills added to the workspace sync into .altimate-code/skill/_workspace/ at the start of the next task.

When to use which

Task	Use Claude Code	Use altimate
Writing Python/JS code	Yes	No
SQL anti-pattern detection	No	Yes
Column-level lineage	No	Yes
Cost prediction	No	Yes
FinOps analysis	No	Yes
Schema inspection	No	Yes
dbt model scaffolding	Partially	Yes (better)
Cross-dialect translation	No	Yes
PII detection	No	Yes
General code review	Yes	Supplement with data checks
File editing	Yes	Yes (in builder mode)