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alishahryar1/free-claude-code

Analysis updated 2026-06-21

★ 21,991PythonAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5Setup · moderate

TLDR

A proxy server that lets you use Anthropic's Claude Code CLI with free or local AI model backends like OpenRouter, DeepSeek, and Ollama instead of paying Anthropic directly.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((free-claude-code))
    What it does
      Proxy for Claude Code
      Route to free backends
      Local model support
    Providers
      OpenRouter
      DeepSeek
      Ollama and LM Studio
    Extras
      Discord bot
      Voice transcription
    Audience
      Developers
      AI hobbyists
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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Use Claude Code's interface with a free OpenRouter model instead of paying Anthropic.

USE CASE 2

Run Claude Code pointed at a local Llama or DeepSeek model via Ollama for full privacy.

USE CASE 3

Set up a Discord or Telegram bot that runs AI coding sessions using any free AI backend.

USE CASE 4

Route different Claude model tiers to different providers based on cost or capability.

What is it built with?

PythonuvicornWhisperuv

How does it compare?

alishahryar1/free-claude-codemkdocs/mkdocschriskiehl/gooey
Stars21,99122,04821,889
LanguagePythonPythonPython
Setup difficultymoderateeasyeasy
Complexity3/52/52/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires Python 3.14, uv, and at least one provider account or local model server configured via .env.

In plain English

Free Claude Code is a proxy server that sits between Anthropic's Claude Code tool, the official command-line coding assistant, and a different model backend, so you can keep Claude Code's interface but have requests answered by an alternative provider, including free or local ones. The description sums it up as using Claude Code for free in the terminal, in a VS Code extension or in a Discord-style bot, with voice supported. The README says the proxy implements Claude Code's Anthropic Messages protocol and translates traffic to six provider backends: NVIDIA NIM, Kimi, OpenRouter, DeepSeek, and the local servers LM Studio, llama.cpp and Ollama. You set a MODEL value in a .env file using a "provider_id/model/name" format, and can route the Opus, Sonnet, Haiku and fallback tiers to different providers via MODEL_OPUS, MODEL_SONNET and MODEL_HAIKU. The proxy supports streaming, tool use, reasoning/thinking blocks, and a /v1/models endpoint so Claude Code's /model picker can list backend models when gateway model discovery is enabled. To run it you install uv and Python 3.14, clone the repo, edit .env, and launch the server with uvicorn on port 8082. Claude Code is then pointed at the proxy by setting ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL to the proxy and giving ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN any local value. Optional extras include a Discord or Telegram bot wrapper for remote coding sessions and voice-note transcription via local Whisper or NVIDIA NIM. You would use this if you want Claude Code's interface but cannot or do not want to pay Anthropic directly, or if you want to run a local model on your own machine for privacy or cost reasons.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Set up free-claude-code with Ollama and a local model so I can use Claude Code for free, give me the .env config and uvicorn startup command.
Prompt 2
How do I configure MODEL_OPUS, MODEL_SONNET, and MODEL_HAIKU in free-claude-code to route each tier to a different OpenRouter model?
Prompt 3
Show me the steps to install free-claude-code with uv, connect it to DeepSeek, and point Claude Code's ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL at my local proxy.
Prompt 4
How do I enable the Discord bot feature in free-claude-code for remote AI coding sessions?
Prompt 5
What .env settings do I need to enable voice note transcription with local Whisper in free-claude-code?

Frequently asked questions

What is free-claude-code?

A proxy server that lets you use Anthropic's Claude Code CLI with free or local AI model backends like OpenRouter, DeepSeek, and Ollama instead of paying Anthropic directly.

What language is free-claude-code written in?

Mainly Python. The stack also includes Python, uvicorn, Whisper.

How hard is free-claude-code to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is free-claude-code for?

Mainly developer.

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