free-coding-models

Find the fastest free coding model in seconds
Track ~153 models across 16 trusted free or free-limited AI providers in real time

Install Free API endpoints to your favorite AI coding tools:
OpenCode CLI / Desktop / WebUI, OpenClaw, Crush, Goose, Aider, Kilo CLI, Qwen Code, OpenHands, Amp, Hermes, Continue, Cline, Xcode, Pi, Rovo, Gemini and more...

Use Kimi K2, DeepSeek V3, GPT-OSS, Qwen3, MiniMax M3, GLM, Llama 4, Gemma 4, Devstral and more — for free

npm install -g free-coding-models
free-coding-models

create a free account on one of the providers

💡 Why • ⚡ Quick Start • 🟢 Providers • 🚀 Usage • ⌨️ TUI Keys • ✨ Features • 📋 Contributing • ⚖️ Licensing • 📊 Telemetry • 🛡️ Security • 🆓 Other Free AI Resources

_{Made with ❤️ and ☕ by Vanessa Depraute (aka Vava-Nessa)}

💡 Why this tool?

There are ~153 cataloged free or free-limited coding models across 16 vetted providers. Which one is fastest right now? Which one is actually stable versus just lucky on the last ping?

This CLI pings them all in parallel, shows live latency, and calculates a live Stability Score (0-100). Average latency alone is misleading if a model randomly spikes to 6 seconds; the stability score measures true reliability by combining p95 latency (30%), jitter/variance (30%), spike rate (20%), and uptime (20%).

It then writes the model you pick directly into your coding tool's config — so you go from "which model?" to "coding" in under 10 seconds.

⚡ Quick Start

🟢 List of Free AI Providers

Create a free account on one provider below to get started:

~153 coding models across 16 active providers, ranked by practical free-tier usefulness.

#	Provider	Models	Tier range	Free tier	Env var
1	NVIDIA NIM	27	S+ → C	~40 RPM (no credit card)	`NVIDIA_API_KEY`
2	Groq	8	S → B	30 RPM, 1K‑14.4K req/day (no credit card)	`GROQ_API_KEY`
3	Cerebras	2	S+ → S	30 RPM, 1M tokens/day (no credit card)	`CEREBRAS_API_KEY`
4	Google AI Studio	7	S+ → A	Gemini free quotas vary by model/region	`GOOGLE_API_KEY`
5	GitHub Models	15	S+ → C	Quota depends on GitHub/Copilot tier	`GITHUB_TOKEN`
6	Mistral La Plateforme	5	S+ → A	Experiment plan, free evaluation tier	`MISTRAL_API_KEY`
7	Cloudflare Workers AI	13	S+ → B	10K neurons/day, 300 RPM (no credit card)	`CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN` + `CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID`
8	OpenRouter	24	S+ → C	50 req/day free, 1K/day with $10 spend	`OPENROUTER_API_KEY`
9	SambaNova	7	S+ → B+	Small developer quota, useful for light usage	`SAMBANOVA_API_KEY`
10	OVHcloud AI Endpoints	10	S → B	2 req/min/IP free, 400 RPM with key	`OVH_AI_ENDPOINTS_ACCESS_TOKEN`
11	Codestral	1	B+	30 RPM, 2K req/day	`MISTRAL_API_KEY`
12	ZAI	2	S	Free Flash models only	`ZAI_API_KEY`
13	Scaleway	10	S+ → B	1M free tokens	`SCALEWAY_API_KEY`
14	Alibaba DashScope	11	S+ → A+	1M free tokens/model, Singapore, 90 days	`DASHSCOPE_API_KEY`
15	Gemini CLI	7	S+ → A	1,000 req/day with personal Google account	CLI tool ♊
16	OpenCode Zen	6	S+ → A	Free with OpenCode account	Zen models ✨

💡 One key is enough. Add more at any time with P inside the TUI.

🧹 Audit cleanup: iFlow was removed because it shut down on April 17, 2026. Together AI, Perplexity API, DeepInfra, Replicate, Fireworks, Hyperbolic, Hugging Face, SiliconFlow, Chutes AI, and Rovo were removed from the active free catalog because they are paid, trial-credit only, too tiny to be useful, unclear as a stable free API, or tool-specific rather than a generally usable free provider.

Tier scale

Tier	SWE-bench	Best for
S+	≥ 70%	Complex refactors, real-world GitHub issues
S	60–70%	Most coding tasks, strong general use
A+/A	40–60%	Solid alternatives, targeted programming
A-/B+	30–40%	Smaller tasks, constrained infra
B/C	< 30%	Code completion, edge/minimal setups

① Install and run:

npm install -g free-coding-models
free-coding-models

On first run, you'll be prompted to enter your API key(s). You can skip providers and add more later with P.

Use ⚡️ Command Palette! with Ctrl+P.

🐳 Docker

Run FCM without installing Node.js using the official Docker image:

Note: GHCR requires authentication even for public images. Login once with:
echo $GITHUB_TOKEN | docker login ghcr.io -u YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME --password-stdin
Or use a personal access token with read:packages scope.

# Quick start (daemon + web UI on port 19280)
docker run -p 19280:19280 ghcr.io/vava-nessa/free-coding-models:latest

# With an API key
docker run -p 19280:19280 -e OPENROUTER_API_KEY=your_key ghcr.io/vava-nessa/free-coding-models:latest

Access the daemon web dashboard at http://localhost:19280/ and configure your coding tool to use http://localhost:19280/v1 with model fcm.

For the full TUI-style catalog dashboard from an npm install, run:

free-coding-models web

This starts the realtime Web Dashboard locally, opens it in your browser, and uses http://localhost:3333/ by default. Override the port with FCM_WEB_PORT=3334 free-coding-models web.

Web Dashboard features (M4 parity with TUI)

The local Web Dashboard is a real-time control center for the model catalog — not just a static table. The header holds every navigation entry, the model table uses 100% of the viewport width (no left rail, no right rail), and every TUI capability that's safe to port ships behind a button or chip.

Area	What's there
Header	Logo + version · primary nav (Dashboard, Settings, Analytics, Recommend, Router) · kebab menu (Help, Changelog, Install Endpoints, Installed Models) · endpoint target picker · `⌘K` command palette · AI Latency · theme · export
Model table	Full-bleed (no left/right border, no margin) under the sticky header + filter bar · 17 columns, resizable widths persisted in localStorage, ⭐ star per row, 🔌 install-endpoint button per row, medal borders for top-3, dark-red row class for tool-incompatible models, click AI Lat. cell to run a per-row benchmark · table header row stays sticky while scrolling
Filter bar	Sticky right below the header (always visible) · Tier / Status / Verdict / Health chip rows · Visibility dropdown (Normal / Configured only / Usable only) · Provider select · custom text filter chip with `X` clear · Reset button (TUI `N`) · ping mode (Speed / Normal / Slow / Forced) · "next ping in Xs" countdown (TUI style, always shown)
Stats bar	Removed in M1 (users found it noisy; the table + chips carry the same info at a glance)
Detail panel	Slide-in from the right on row click · endpoint target indicator + install-endpoint button · per-row benchmark button (TUI `Ctrl+A`) · favorite toggle (TUI `F`) + up/down reorder (TUI `Shift+↑↓`) · latency trend chart · all stats
Command palette	`⌘K` / `Ctrl+P` (the only global keyboard shortcut) · fuzzy search across views, theme, ping mode, reset, export, and the full TUI command registry (every filter / sort / tool / page entry from `src/tui/command-palette.js`)
Keyboard	`Esc` closes any modal · `Cmd+K` toggles the palette — that's it. Everything else is mouse-first.
URL deep-linking	`?tier=S+&sort=verdict&origin=groq&toolMode=goose&q=…` hydrates the dashboard on load and every filter / sort / view / endpoint target change is reflected back in the URL (debounced 80ms, `history.replaceState`). CLI flags become shareable links.
Favorites	Shared with the TUI through `~/.free-coding-models.json` — a star in the Web is a star in the TUI. Includes pinned+sticky display mode (TUI `Y`).
Help modal	Header overflow menu → "Help" opens a full-screen modal with all the TUI's keyboard shortcuts, filter behavior, and parity notes. Live search bar.
Changelog modal	Header overflow menu → "Changelog" or Settings "Open Changelog" link. Two-phase (index of versions + per-version release notes). Deep-linkable to a specific version.
Update flow	Header `⬆ vX.Y.Z` chip + popover with "Update now" + "What's new" (jumps to the new version's changelog entry). Polls every 5 min.
Settings parity	Full Settings page: theme (auto/dark/light), favorites pinned mode, startup AI Speed Scan, shell env export, legacy proxy cleanup, per-provider Test key button (TUI `T` key), update row. All settings persisted to the same `~/.free-coding-models.json` the TUI uses.
Theme	Tri-state `auto / dark / light` cycle (TUI `G`) — auto follows the OS preference.
Smart Recommend	Header "Recommend" opens the 3-question wizard, runs the 10s analysis phase, then returns the Top 3 shared-score recommendations with Pin + install-endpoint actions.
Endpoint installs	The Web never starts external tools. It writes the selected provider/model endpoint into the chosen tool config (`/api/install-endpoint`), then users start their tool themselves.
Router Dashboard	Header "Router" opens a full modal with daemon start/stop, model health table with circuit breaker badges, request log, probe mode selector, and quick-setup card (copy base URL + model to clipboard).
Token Usage	Integrated inside Analytics: today + all-time summary cards, 7-day usage bar chart, top models and top providers breakdown.
Installed Models	Header overflow → "Installed Models" opens a modal that scans all tool configs (Goose, Crush, Aider, Kilo, Qwen, Pi, OpenHands, Amp) and shows configured models with soft-delete (backup saved).
Install Endpoints wizard	Header overflow → "Install Endpoints" opens a 4-step wizard: pick provider → pick tool → select models → install. Writes managed provider catalogs into tool configs using the same engine as the TUI.

Roadmap items:

M5 — Polish, accessibility, mobile hamburger nav, Lighthouse a11y ≥ 95.

Available Image Tags

Tag	Description
`latest`	Most recent release
`v{major}.{minor}.{patch}`	Specific version (e.g., `v0.3.70`)
`v{major}.{minor}`	Minor version (e.g., `v0.3`)
`v{major}`	Major version (e.g., `v0`)

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
`FCM_HOST`	`0.0.0.0`	Host to bind to (set `127.0.0.1` for localhost-only)
`FCM_PORT`	`19280`	Port to listen on
`FREE_CODING_MODELS_TELEMETRY`	`0`	Disable telemetry

Provider API keys (all optional):

docker run -p 19280:19280 \
  -e NVIDIA_API_KEY=your_key \
  -e GROQ_API_KEY=your_key \
  -e OPENROUTER_API_KEY=your_key \
  ghcr.io/vava-nessa/free-coding-models:latest

Docker Compose

Create a docker-compose.yml:

version: '3.8'
services:
  fcm:
    image: ghcr.io/vava-nessa/free-coding-models:latest
    container_name: fcm
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "19280:19280"
    environment:
      FREE_CODING_MODELS_TELEMETRY: "0"
      FCM_HOST: "0.0.0.0"
      OPENROUTER_API_KEY: ${OPENROUTER_API_KEY:-}
    volumes:
      - fcm-data:/home/fcm
volumes:
  fcm-data:

Run with docker-compose up -d. API keys can be passed via a .env file or environment variables.

Troubleshooting

Container won't start:

Check logs: docker logs fcm
Verify port 19280 is not in use: docker ps | grep 19280

Health check fails:

Wait 30s for initial probe cycle
Verify API keys are valid: docker exec fcm curl http://localhost:19280/health

Cannot connect from host:

Ensure FCM_HOST=0.0.0.0 (default)
Check firewall allows localhost connections

Data persistence:

Config is stored in Docker volume fcm-data
Recreate the volume with docker-compose down -v to reset

Need to fix contrast because your terminal theme is fighting the TUI? Press G at any time to cycle Auto → Dark → Light. The switch recolors the full interface live: table, Settings, Help, Smart Recommend, Feedback, and Changelog.

② Pick a model and launch your tool:

↑↓ navigate   →   Enter to launch

The model you select is automatically written into your tool's config (📦 OpenCode, 🦞 OpenClaw, 💘 Crush, etc.) and the tool opens immediately. Done.

If the active CLI tool is missing, FCM now catches it before launch, offers a tiny Yes/No install prompt, installs the tool with its official global command, then resumes the same model launch automatically.

💡 You can also run free-coding-models --goose --tier S to pre-filter to S-tier models for Goose before the TUI even opens.

🚀 Usage

Common scenarios

# "I want the local web dashboard"
free-coding-models --daemon

# "I want one local endpoint that fails over between free models"
free-coding-models --daemon-bg
free-coding-models --daemon-status

# "Start with an elite-focused preset, then adjust filters live"
free-coding-models --premium

# "I want to script this — give me JSON"
free-coding-models --tier S --json | jq -r '.[0].modelId'

# "I want to configure OpenClaw with Groq's fastest model"
free-coding-models --openclaw --origin groq

When launching the daemon (with --daemon), the web dashboard and router API are served from the same port. Configure tools with:

Field	Value
Router Base URL	`http://localhost:19280/v1`
Dashboard URL	`http://localhost:19280/`
Model	`fcm`
API key	`fcm-local`

Smart Model Router

The FCM Router is a local OpenAI-compatible daemon that keeps running after the TUI closes. Point your coding tool at one localhost endpoint and let FCM route each request to the best available model in your active set.

# Start the router in the background
free-coding-models --daemon-bg

# Check the active port, set, model count, uptime, and request totals
free-coding-models --daemon-status

# Stop it cleanly
free-coding-models --daemon-stop

# Auto-discover and live-probe models into a named set
free-coding-models --sync-set
free-coding-models --sync-set my-coding-set

Configure tools with:

Field	Value
Base URL	`http://localhost:19280/v1`
Model	`fcm`
API key	`fcm-local`

The daemon auto-creates a fast-coding set from your configured providers on first start. It stores router settings in ~/.free-coding-models.json, writes lifecycle logs to ~/.free-coding-models-daemon.log, and tracks token metadata in ~/.free-coding-models-tokens.json.

Playground — chat with the router

Every chat that goes through the FCM router starts with a configurable pre-prompt that introduces the assistant as the free-coding-models routing agent. The Playground is the fastest way to try the router without configuring a coding tool.

# 1. Start the router (if it isn't already)
free-coding-models --daemon-bg

# 2. Open the Playground in the TUI
free-coding-models --playground
# ... or just press ; inside the TUI
# ... or click "Playground" in the web dashboard header

The Playground:

Streams responses token-by-token (SSE).
Shows the routed-via provider/model + latency + tokens on every reply.
Lets you pin a specific model (fcm = auto-router, or groq/<id> / cerebras/<id> / etc.) for manual A/B testing.
Lets you toggle the pre-prompt per session, so you can see what the model answers with and without the FCM persona.

The pre-prompt lives in the router config under router.prePrompt and can be edited from any surface (the daemon reloads it on its 10s config-refresh tick):

{
  "router": {
    "prePrompt": {
      "enabled": true,
      "text": "You are free-coding-models, the free coding-model routing agent..."
    }
  }
}

Router endpoints:

Endpoint	Purpose
`POST /v1/chat/completions`	Route through the active set
`POST /v1/sets/:name/chat/completions`	Route through a named set
`GET /v1/models`	Return virtual models (`fcm`, `fcm:set-name`)
`GET /health`	Daemon status JSON
`GET /stats`	Routing, health, request log, and token stats
`GET /stream/events`	Live SSE events for router updates
`POST /daemon/probe-mode`	Set probe mode with `{ "probeMode": "eco"

Web Dashboard endpoints (served from the same port in --daemon mode):

Endpoint	Purpose
`GET /`	Web dashboard HTML
`GET /api/models`	All model data with latency stats
`GET /api/config`	Provider config (keys masked)
`GET /api/events`	Live SSE events for dashboard
`GET /api/key/:provider`	Reveal full API key for provider
`POST /api/settings`	Save API keys and provider toggles

Routing behavior:

Priority order works immediately on cold start, then probes refine health scores over time.
Transient failures (429, 500, 502, 503, timeouts) fail over to the next model.
Authentication problems (401, 403, missing keys) are marked separately so bad credentials do not poison the circuit breaker; after one provider returns an auth error, the router skips the rest of that provider for the current request.
Upstream HTML maintenance pages and malformed successful JSON are treated as retryable provider failures instead of being forwarded to your coding tool.
Quota and rate-limit failures include retry headers in the final router 503 payload when providers expose them.
If a coding tool disconnects mid-request, the daemon aborts the upstream request without counting it as a provider failure.
Streaming requests retry before the first byte; after partial output starts, the daemon records the failure and lets the current stream finish as safely as possible.

Tool launcher flags

Flag	Launches
`--opencode`	📦 OpenCode CLI
`--opencode-desktop`	📦 OpenCode Desktop
`--opencode-web`	📦 OpenCode WebUI
`--openclaw`	🦞 OpenClaw
`--crush`	💘 Crush
`--goose`	🪿 Goose
`--aider`	🛠 Aider
`--kilo`	⚡️ Kilo CLI
`--qwen`	🐉 Qwen Code
`--openhands`	🤲 OpenHands
`--amp`	⚡ Amp
`--hermes`	🔮 Hermes
`--continue`	▶️ Continue CLI
`--cline`	🧠 Cline
`--xcode`	🛠️ Xcode Intelligence
`--pi`	π Pi
`--rovo`	🦘 Rovo Dev CLI
`--gemini`	♊ Gemini CLI
`--copilot`	🤖 Copilot CLI
`--forgecode`	🔥 ForgeCode

Press Z in the TUI to cycle between tools without restarting.

CLI-Only Tools

🦘 Rovo Dev CLI

Provider: Atlassian Rovo
Install: Installation Guide
Free tier: conditional Atlassian/Rovo allowance, not a general free API provider
Catalog status: not included in the active free-provider table because access depends on Rovo availability for your account/site
Launch: free-coding-models --rovo or press Z until Rovo mode
Features: Jira/Confluence integration, MCP server support

♊ Gemini CLI

Provider: Google Gemini
Install: npm install -g @google/gemini-cli
Free tier: 1,000 requests/day (personal Google account, no credit card)
Models: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview, Gemini 3 Flash Preview, Gemini 2.5 Pro, Gemini 2.5 Flash
Launch: free-coding-models --gemini or press Z until Gemini mode
Features: OpenAI-compatible API support, MCP server support, Google Search grounding

Note: When launching these tools via Z key or command palette, if the current mode doesn't match the tool, you'll see a confirmation alert asking to switch to the correct tool before launching.

OpenCode Zen Free Models

OpenCode Zen is a hosted AI gateway offering 5 free coding models exclusively through OpenCode CLI and OpenCode Desktop. These models are not available through other tools.

Model	Tier	SWE-bench	Context
Big Pickle	S+	72.0%	200k
DeepSeek V4 Flash Free	S+	79.0%	200k
MiMo-V2.5 Free	S+	-	200k
Nemotron 3 Super Free	A+	52.0%	200k
MiniMax M3 Free	S+	59.0%	1M

To use Zen models: sign up at opencode.ai/auth and enter your Zen API key via P (Settings). Zen models appear in the main table and auto-switch to OpenCode CLI on launch.

Tool Compatibility

When a tool mode is active (via Z), models incompatible with that tool are highlighted with a dark red background so you can instantly see which models work with your current tool.

Model Type	Compatible Tools
Regular (NVIDIA, Groq, etc.)	All tools except 🦘 Rovo and ♊ Gemini
Rovo	🦘 Rovo Dev CLI only
Gemini	♊ Gemini CLI only
OpenCode Zen	📦 OpenCode CLI and 📦 OpenCode Desktop only

→ Full flags reference

⌨️ TUI Keys

Keyboard

Key	Action
`↑↓`	Navigate models
`Enter`	Launch selected model in active tool
`Z`	Cycle target tool
`T`	Cycle tier filter
`D`	Cycle provider filter
`E`	Cycle visibility filter (`Active only → Configured only → Usable only`)
`F`	Favorite / unfavorite model
`Y`	Toggle favorites mode (`Normal filter/sort` default ↔ `Pinned + always visible`)
`X`	Clear active custom text filter
`G`	Cycle global theme (`Auto → Dark → Light`)
`Ctrl+P`	Open ⚡️ command palette (search + run actions)
`;`	Open the Playground chat overlay (chat with the FCM router)
`Ctrl+A`	Run AI Speed Test for the selected model
`Ctrl+U`	Run Global AI Speed Test (uses real provider requests)
`R/S/C/M/O/L/A/H/V/B/U`	Sort columns
`Shift+U`	Update to latest version (when update available)
`P`	Settings (API keys, providers, updates, theme)
`Q`	Smart Recommend overlay
`N`	Changelog
`W`	Cycle ping cadence
`I`	Feedback / bug report
`K`	Help overlay
`Ctrl+C`	Exit

Mouse

Action	Result
Click column header	Sort by that column
Click Tier header	Cycle tier filter
Click CLI Tools header	Cycle tool mode
Click model row	Move cursor to model
Double-click model row	Select and launch model
Right-click model row	Toggle favorite
Scroll wheel	Navigate table / overlays / palette
Click footer hotkey	Trigger that action
Click update banner	Install latest version and relaunch
Click command palette item	Select item (double-click to confirm)
Click recommend option	Select option (double-click to confirm)
Click outside modal	Close command palette

→ Stability score & column reference

✨ Features

Parallel pings — all ~165 API/Zen-callable models tested simultaneously via native fetch (~170 total cataloged models including CLI-only Gemini rows)
AI benchmark columns — Ctrl+A benchmarks the selected model, Ctrl+U benchmarks visible models, and results split cleanly into AI Latency plus TPS. Settings includes an opt-in Startup AI Speed Scan toggle to run the global benchmark automatically after launch.
Tiny verdict indicator — the first ❔ column mirrors the full Verdict as a compact emoji (🟩, 🟢, 🟡, 🟠, etc.) and sorts by the same verdict order.
Adaptive monitoring — 2s burst for 60s → 10s normal → 30s idle
Stability score — composite 0–100 (p95 latency, jitter, spike rate, uptime)
Smart ranking — top 3 highlighted 🥇🥈🥉
Favorites — star models with F, persisted across sessions, default to normal rows, and switch display mode with Y (pinned+sticky vs normal rows)
Configured-only default — only shows providers you have keys for
Keyless latency — models ping even without an API key (show 🔑 NO KEY)
Unusable row fade — rows in NO KEY or AUTH FAIL state are rendered at 80% opacity (20% less opaque) on every surface (TUI + Web + Desktop), so the user can scan the table and instantly see which models they cannot actually use. Composes cleanly with the favorite/recommended/incompatible background tints.
Smart Recommend — questionnaire picks the best model for your task type
Smart Model Router — local OpenAI-compatible daemon with model sets, failover, circuit breakers, health probes, and token stats
Playground chat — multi-turn chat with the router on every surface (TUI ; / Web Playground nav / free-coding-models --playground). Streams responses and shows the routed-via provider/model on every reply.
Auto-heal on startup — the daemon replaces broken models in the active set (AUTH_ERROR / STALE) with working alternatives from the same provider first, then cross-provider. The first manual edit disables auto-heal so user choices are preserved. A new user with a half-broken key set lands on a usable default set by the time the dashboard renders.
Web router set manager — add, remove, drag-and-drop, and probe-sync the active router set from inside the Web Dashboard. The "Sync best models" button re-pings every candidate with the user's actual API keys and rebuilds the set with only models that return 2xx, so a new user lands on a working default set instead of a hardcoded one that 401s.
Router pre-prompt — a configurable first-class system message injected by the daemon on every /v1/chat/completions request it proxies. Default persona introduces the assistant as the FCM routing agent; editable from any surface.
⚡️ Command Palette — Ctrl+P opens a searchable action launcher for filters, sorting, overlays, and quick toggles
Install Endpoints — push a full provider catalog into any tool's config (from Settings P or ⚡️ Command Palette)
Missing tool bootstrap — detect absent CLIs, offer one-click install, then continue the selected launch automatically
Tool compatibility matrix — incompatible rows highlighted in dark red when a tool mode is active
OpenCode Zen models — 8 free models exclusive to OpenCode CLI/Desktop, powered by the Zen AI gateway
Width guardrail — shows a warning instead of a broken table in narrow terminals
Readable everywhere — semantic theme palette keeps table rows, overlays, badges, and help screens legible in dark and light terminals
Global theme switch — G cycles auto, dark, + light live without restarting
Auto-retry — timeout models keep getting retried
Mandatory self-update policy — startup checks npm for a newer FCM and installs it automatically without a prompt. If the install fails twice in a row (offline, proxy, or permissions), FCM still starts but shows a red outdated-version warning until the user retries with Shift+U or runs the displayed install command.
Last release timestamp — light pink footer shows Last release: Mar 27, 2026, 09:42 PM from npm so users know how fresh the data is

📋 Contributing

We welcome contributions — issues, PRs, new provider integrations.

Q: How accurate are the latency numbers?
A: Real round-trip times measured by your machine. Results depend on your network and provider load at that moment.

Q: Can I add a new provider?
A: Yes — see sources.js for the model catalog format.

→ Development guide · Config reference · Tool integrations

⚖️ Model Licensing & Commercial Use

Short answer: The ~170 cataloged models are API/CLI-served models where generated-output ownership is generally granted by the provider/model terms. Always verify current provider terms for high-stakes commercial use.

Output Ownership

For every model in this tool, you own the generated output — code, text, or otherwise — and can use it commercially. The licenses below govern the model weights themselves, not your generated content.

License Breakdown by Model Family

License	Models	Commercial Output
Apache 2.0	Qwen3/Qwen3.5/Qwen2.5 Coder, GPT-OSS 120B/20B, Devstral 2, Gemma 4	✅ Unrestricted
MIT / permissive model terms	GLM Flash, MiniMax M2.x, Devstral 2	✅ Provider/model terms apply
Modified MIT	Kimi K2/K2.6 (>100M MAU → display "Kimi K2" branding)	✅ With attribution at scale
Llama Community License	Llama 3.3 70B, Llama 4 Scout/Maverick	✅ Attribution required. >700M MAU → separate Meta license
DeepSeek License	DeepSeek V3/V3.1/V3.2/V4 family	✅ Use restrictions on model (no military, no harm) — output is yours
NVIDIA Nemotron License	Nemotron Super/Ultra/Nano	✅ Updated Mar 2026, now near-Apache 2.0 permissive
MiniMax Model License	MiniMax M2, M2.5, M3	✅ Royalty-free, non-exclusive. Prohibited uses policy applies to model
Proprietary / hosted API terms	Gemini, GitHub Models, Mistral/Codestral, OpenRouter-hosted models	✅ Provider ToS applies
OpenCode Zen	Big Pickle, GPT 5 Nano, MiniMax M3 Free, Nemotron 3 Super Free, HY3/Ling/Trinity previews	✅ Per OpenCode Zen ToS

Key Points

Generated code is yours — no model claims ownership of your output
Apache 2.0 / permissive model families (Qwen, GLM Flash, GPT-OSS, Devstral, Gemma) are the lowest-friction options
Llama requires "Built with Llama" attribution; >700M MAU needs a Meta license
DeepSeek / MiniMax have use-restriction policies (no military use) that govern the model, not your generated code
API-served models (Gemini, GitHub Models, OpenRouter, Mistral, etc.) grant output ownership under their current terms of service

⚠️ Disclaimer: This is a summary, not legal advice. License terms can change. Always verify the current license on the model's official page before making legal decisions.

📊 Telemetry

free-coding-models collects anonymous usage telemetry to help understand how the CLI is used and improve the product. No personal information, API keys, prompts, source code, file paths, or secrets are ever collected.

The telemetry payload is limited to anonymous product analytics such as the app version, selected tool mode, operating system, terminal family, and a random anonymous install ID stored locally on your machine. When a model is launched, telemetry can also include the selected tool, provider, model ID, model label, model tier, launch result, and a few product actions such as installing provider catalogs, saving/removing API keys, or toggling shell environment export.

Telemetry is enabled by default and can be disabled with any of the following:

Method	How
CLI flag	Run `free-coding-models --no-telemetry`
Environment variable	Set `FREE_CODING_MODELS_TELEMETRY=0` (also supports `false` or `off`)

🛡️ Security & Trust

Supply Chain

Signal	Status
npm Provenance	✅ Published with Sigstore-signed provenance
SBOM	✅ Software Bill of Materials attached to every GitHub Release
Dependencies	✅ 1 runtime dependency (`chalk`)
Lockfile	✅ `pnpm-lock.yaml` committed and tracked
Security Policy	✅ `SECURITY.md`
Code Owners	✅ `CODEOWNERS` — all changes require maintainer review
Dependabot	✅ Weekly automated dependency + GitHub Actions updates
Audit CI	✅ `npm audit` runs on every push/PR + weekly scheduled scan
License	✅ MIT

What This Tool Does

Pings public API endpoints to measure latency and check availability
Reads your API keys from .env files (only if you configure them)
Opens configuration files for editing (with your permission)
Reports anonymous usage data (no personal information — see footer)

What This Tool Does NOT Do

❌ Does not send your API keys, code, or personal data to any third party
❌ Does not install or execute arbitrary code beyond chalk (the only dependency)
❌ Does not modify any files outside its own config directory
❌ Does not require sudo, root, or elevated permissions

To report a vulnerability, see SECURITY.md.

Star History

Special thanks to contributors


_vava-nessa	_erwinh22	_whit3rabbit	_skylaweber	_{PhucTruong-ctrl}	_{chindris-mihai-alexandru}	_serajbaltu	_stgreenb

🆓 Other Free AI Resources

Curated resources outside the active CLI catalog — IDE extensions, coding agents, GitHub lists, and providers that are useful but not clean enough for the core free-provider table.

📚 Awesome Lists (curated by the community)

Resource	What it is
cheahjs/free-llm-api-resources (18.4k ⭐)	Comprehensive list of free LLM API providers with rate limits
mnfst/awesome-free-llm-apis (2.1k ⭐)	Permanent free LLM API tiers organized by provider
inmve/free-ai-coding (648 ⭐)	Pro-grade AI coding tools side-by-side — limits, models, CC requirements
amardeeplakshkar/awesome-free-llm-apis	Additional free LLM API resources

🖥️ AI-Powered IDEs with Free Tiers

IDE	Free tier	Credit card
Qwen Code	2,000 requests/day	No
Rovo Dev CLI	Conditional Atlassian/Rovo allowance	No
Gemini CLI	1,000 requests/day	No
Jules	15 tasks/day	No
AWS Kiro	50 credits/month	No
Trae	10 fast + 50 slow requests/month	No
Codeium	Unlimited forever, basic models	No
JetBrains AI Assistant	Unlimited completions + local models	No
Continue.dev	Free VS Code/JetBrains extension, local models via Ollama	No
Warp	150 credits/month (first 2 months), then 75/month	No
Amazon Q Developer	50 agentic requests/month	Required
Windsurf	25 prompt credits/month	Required
Kilo Code	Up to $25 signup credits (one-time)	Required
Tabnine	Basic completions + chat (limited)	Required
SuperMaven	Basic suggestions, 1M token context	Required

🔑 API Providers with Permanent Free Tiers

Provider	Free limits	Notable models
OpenRouter	50 req/day, 1K/day with $10 purchase	Qwen3-Coder, Tencent HY3, Laguna, Gemma 4
Google AI Studio	Varies by Gemini model and region	Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview, Gemini 2.5 Flash
NVIDIA NIM	~40 RPM	MiniMax M2.7, GLM 5.1, Kimi K2.6
GitHub Models	Depends on GitHub/Copilot tier	GPT-4.1, DeepSeek V3, Llama 4
Groq	1K–14.4K req/day (model-dependent)	Llama 3.3 70B, Llama 4 Scout, GPT-OSS
Cerebras	30 RPM, 1M tokens/day	Qwen3-235B, Llama 3.1 70B, GPT-OSS 120B
Cohere	20 RPM, 1K/month	Command R+, Aya Expanse 32B
Mistral La Plateforme	1 req/s, 1B tokens/month	Mistral Large, Devstral, Magistral
Cloudflare Workers AI	10K neurons/day	Llama 3.3 70B, QwQ 32B, 47+ models
OVHcloud AI Endpoints	2 req/min/IP sandbox	GPT-OSS, Qwen3, Mistral

🧪 Good Candidates Kept Outside the Core Catalog

Provider	Why it is not core
Vercel AI Gateway	Useful gateway with included credits, but it is a router/billing layer, not a provider of permanently free models.
Cohere	Real evaluation key, but the allowance is small and the catalog is not coding-first enough for the default TUI.
Ollama Cloud	Interesting for light cloud usage, but it is closer to hosted Ollama capacity than a classic OpenAI-compatible free provider.

💰 Providers with Trial Credits

Provider	Credits	Duration
Hyperbolic	$1	Trial/promo
Fireworks	$1	Trial/promo
Nebius	$1	Permanent
SambaNova Cloud	$5	3 months
AI21	$10	3 months
Upstage	$10	3 months
NLP Cloud	$15	Permanent
Alibaba DashScope	1M tokens/model	90 days
Scaleway	1M tokens	Permanent
Modal	$5/month	Monthly
Inference.net	$1 (+ $25 on survey)	Permanent
Novita	$0.5	1 year

These trial-credit providers are deliberately not treated as core providers unless their free allowance is practical for recurring coding use. A $0.10/month or $1 one-time credit is useful for experimentation, not for this CLI's default promise.

🎓 Free with Education/Developer Programs

Program	What you get
GitHub Student Pack	Free Copilot Pro for students (verify with .edu email)
GitHub Copilot Free	50 chat + 2,000 completions/month in VS Code
Copilot Pro for teachers/maintainers	Free Copilot Pro for open source maintainers & educators

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 541 Commits
.claude/skills		.claude/skills
.github		.github
.kandown		.kandown
.pi/skills		.pi/skills
bin		bin
changelog		changelog
desktop		desktop
docs		docs
ideas		ideas
scripts		scripts
src		src
task		task
tasks		tasks
test		test
web		web
website		website
.dev-backend-tmp.mjs		.dev-backend-tmp.mjs
.dockerignore		.dockerignore
.gitignore		.gitignore
.npmignore		.npmignore
AGENTS.md		AGENTS.md
CLAUDE.md		CLAUDE.md
CODEOWNERS		CODEOWNERS
Dockerfile		Dockerfile
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
SECURITY.md		SECURITY.md
audit_state.json		audit_state.json
demo2.gif		demo2.gif
docker-compose.yml		docker-compose.yml
docker-entrypoint.sh		docker-entrypoint.sh
free-coding-models.code-workspace		free-coding-models.code-workspace
icon.png		icon.png
logo.png		logo.png
logo.webp		logo.webp
logo_full		logo_full
new_providers_report.md		new_providers_report.md
package-lock.json		package-lock.json
package.json		package.json
patch-openclaw-models.js		patch-openclaw-models.js
patch-openclaw.js		patch-openclaw.js
pnpm-lock.yaml		pnpm-lock.yaml
sources.js		sources.js
vite.config.js		vite.config.js

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free-coding-models

💡 Why this tool?

⚡ Quick Start

🟢 List of Free AI Providers

Tier scale

🐳 Docker

Web Dashboard features (M4 parity with TUI)

Available Image Tags

Environment Variables

Docker Compose

Troubleshooting

🚀 Usage

Common scenarios

Smart Model Router

Playground — chat with the router

Tool launcher flags

CLI-Only Tools

OpenCode Zen Free Models

Tool Compatibility

⌨️ TUI Keys

Keyboard

Mouse

✨ Features

📋 Contributing

⚖️ Model Licensing & Commercial Use

Output Ownership

License Breakdown by Model Family

Key Points

📊 Telemetry

🛡️ Security & Trust

Supply Chain

What This Tool Does

What This Tool Does NOT Do

Star History

Special thanks to contributors

🆓 Other Free AI Resources

📚 Awesome Lists (curated by the community)

🖥️ AI-Powered IDEs with Free Tiers

🔑 API Providers with Permanent Free Tiers

🧪 Good Candidates Kept Outside the Core Catalog

💰 Providers with Trial Credits

🎓 Free with Education/Developer Programs

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