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Quick Answer: Is Claude Code Free?
Is Claude Code free? Not from Anthropic. According to claude.com/pricing (checked October 30, 2026), the Free plan does not include Claude Code. Pro ($17/month billed annually, $20 billed monthly), Max (from $100/month), Team and Enterprise do include it, and usage limits apply. You can also pay per token with a Claude Console API account or use Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud or Microsoft Foundry. Installing the CLI costs nothing, but running Claude models requires one of those paid routes.
What is the free-claude-code GitHub repo? Alishahryar1/free-claude-code is an independent, open-source proxy and launcher that points Claude Code (and 11 other coding agents) at non-Anthropic models: NVIDIA NIM trial endpoints, OpenRouter free models, local LM Studio, llama.cpp or Ollama, and many more. It is free to run, but you are not getting Claude models. As of October 30, 2026 it has about 65,000 GitHub stars, its latest release is v6.18.5, and it is licensed AGPL-3.0-only. It is not affiliated with Anthropic.
What It Is
free-claude-code (FCC) is a Python server and launcher set that sits between a coding agent, most famously Claude Code, and the LLM provider you choose. Claude Code sends standard Anthropic API requests to a local address. FCC translates them into the format your provider expects, forwards them, converts the answer back to the streaming format Claude Code expects, and returns it. Claude Code does not need to know which model is behind it.
The repository was created on January 28, 2026. On October 30, 2026 the GitHub API reported 65,064 stars and 10,130 forks, and the latest release was v6.18.5, published October 29, 2026. The project has changed a lot since our April 2026 write-up. It was a six-provider proxy configured through a .env file. The README now describes a one-line installer, a browser Admin UI, 61 provider entries, and launchers for 12 coding agents, not only Claude Code. The project calls itself "ToS-friendly" and claims 1.3B+ free tokens per month across providers; both are project-reported figures we did not verify. The README also notes that free-tier availability and limits are controlled by each provider and may change.
Why It Exists
Claude Code's power comes from two things: the Claude models and the harness around them, which manages tool calls, file edits, subagents, memory and skills. Anthropic sells access to both together. On the consumer side, Claude Code is part of the paid Pro and Max plans, with a five-hour session limit and a weekly limit shared across Claude and Claude Code. Heavy users who pay per token through the API can spend much more than a subscription costs.
FCC uses the fact that Claude Code reads ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL from the environment. Point it at a local proxy and the request flow is yours to redirect. The agent still runs on your machine. The intelligence comes from whichever model you pick.
Architecture: The Named Pieces
Based on the current README and source tree, these are the pieces that matter.
┌─────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ │ Claude Code │───────>│ Free Claude Code │───────>│ LLM Provider │ │ CLI / VSCode │<───────│ (local server + │<───────│ NIM / OR / LMS │ └─────────────────┘ │ Admin UI) │ └──────────────────┘ Anthropic API └──────────────────────┘ Native or OpenAI-style format (SSE) streaming API
| Component | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Local server | Exposes an Anthropic-compatible endpoint that Claude Code calls, and streams responses back. Started by fcc-server or automatically by the launchers. |
| Admin UI | A browser page where you add provider keys, pick models, set fallbacks and reasoning effort, connect editors, and configure Discord or Telegram. It replaces most .env editing from older versions. |
| Provider router | Reads MODEL plus optional MODEL_FABLE, MODEL_OPUS, MODEL_SONNET and MODEL_HAIKU overrides, and routes by provider prefix such as nvidia_nim/ or open_router/. |
| Format translation | Converts between the Anthropic Messages format and the formats providers use (OpenAI-style chat, OpenAI Responses, Gemini, or native Anthropic Messages), including streaming, tool calls, images and reasoning. |
| Fallback models | An ordered list. After retries are exhausted, FCC tries your next configured model without making you restart the turn. The README warns that a failed request may reach and consume usage from more than one provider. |
| Launchers | Commands such as fcc-claude, fcc-codex, fcc-opencode and fcc-aider that start the server and the agent with the right environment. |
Takeaway: This is not a simple URL redirect. The translation layer is the project's core value and also its main source of bugs. Note one change since April: FCC no longer intercepts Claude Code's housekeeping requests (quota probes, title generation, prefix detection, suggestions, filepath extraction). PR #2112, merged October 18, 2026, removed all five handlers so those requests reach your real provider. On a 40 requests-per-minute free tier, that means they now count against your limit.
Quickstart: First Working Session in 5 Minutes
This follows the current README with NVIDIA NIM, the first provider it documents. Free-tier availability is set by NVIDIA and can change. Our April 2026 version of this guide estimated five minutes from zero to a working session; the installer flow below should take about as long if you already have a key, but we did not re-time it in October.
1. Install FCC
# macOS / Linux curl -fsSL "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Alishahryar1/free-claude-code/main/scripts/install.sh" | sh # Windows PowerShell & ([scriptblock]::Create((irm "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Alishahryar1/free-claude-code/main/scripts/install.ps1")))
The installer asks which coding agents to set up. If you pick Claude Code, the script runs Anthropic's own installer (claude.ai/install.sh) for you; you can also install Claude Code yourself first (see the FAQ below). As with any curl | sh command, read the script before you run it.
2. Start FCC and get a free NVIDIA NIM key
On Windows and macOS, open the Free Claude Code app. On Linux, run fcc-server and keep that terminal open. The Admin UI opens in your browser. Create an API key at build.nvidia.com/settings/api-keys. NVIDIA says the free tier allows up to 40 requests per minute for most models, with no per-token billing, and that it is meant for prototyping rather than production.
3. Configure the provider in Admin
Open Providers, choose NVIDIA NIM, click Add key, paste the key and save. The default MODEL in the README is nvidia_nim/nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b; you can search the dropdown for another one. Click Apply.
4. Run Claude Code through FCC
fcc-claude
The launcher starts the server if needed and sets the environment for Claude Code. Inside Claude Code, the /model picker shows your FCC models. Turn on Proxy Authentication in Admin if you want the local proxy protected by a bearer token.
.env file and uvicorn. If you set variables yourself, the Claude Code side was ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="http://localhost:8082" with a dummy ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN. The launcher now does this for you. To update later, stop FCC and run fcc-update. If something breaks, run fcc-doctor and paste the output in your bug report.Legacy manual setup (April 2026)
.env and uvicorn flow on port 8082 is now the legacy method. The current README (repo v6.18.5) uses the one-line installer, the Admin UI and the fcc-claude launcher shown in the Quickstart above. The steps below are kept as the April 2026 reference and may no longer work on current versions. Model names and the free-tier figures in them are as of April 2026.This is how our April 2026 guide got from zero to a working Claude Code session with NVIDIA NIM.
1. Get a free NVIDIA NIM API key
Go to build.nvidia.com/settings/api-keys and create one. In April we saw no credit card requirement and 40 requests per minute. NVIDIA's FAQ still lists up to 40 requests per minute for most models, for prototyping only; check the current terms before relying on it.
2. Clone and configure
# Install uv (skip if you already have it) curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh uv python install 3.14 # Clone the repo git clone https://github.com/Alishahryar1/free-claude-code.git cd free-claude-code cp .env.example .env
3. Edit .env
NVIDIA_NIM_API_KEY="nvapi-your-key-here" MODEL="nvidia_nim/z-ai/glm4.7" ENABLE_MODEL_THINKING=true
The model string and thinking switch are the April 2026 values. The current README default is nvidia_nim/nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b, and reasoning effort is now set in the Admin UI.
4. Start the proxy
uv run uvicorn server:app --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8082
5. Launch Claude Code
ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="freecc" ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="http://localhost:8082" claude
In April, Claude Code opened normally and every request went through the proxy to NVIDIA NIM instead of Anthropic. Today, fcc-claude sets these variables for you.
ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL and ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN to claudeCode.environmentVariables in your settings.json. The current method is the Admin UI Integrations card described above.Providers Deep Dive
The README catalog lists 61 providers. Below is a short selection that matters for the "free LLM API for Claude Code" question. The example model strings come straight from the README; we did not test every one. Free-tier terms are set by each provider, so check them before you rely on them.
| Provider | Admin setting | README example model | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA NIM | NVIDIA_NIM_API_KEY | nvidia_nim/nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b | Free trial, up to 40 req/min for most models (NVIDIA FAQ) |
| OpenRouter | OPENROUTER_API_KEY | open_router/openrouter/free | Free models rotate; check the current list |
| Groq | GROQ_API_KEY | groq/llama-3.3-70b-versatile | Check Groq's current free limits |
| Google AI Studio | GEMINI_API_KEY | gemini/models/gemini-3.1-flash-lite | Check Google's current free limits |
| DeepSeek | DEEPSEEK_API_KEY | deepseek/deepseek-chat | Paid, usage-based |
| Anthropic | ANTHROPIC_API_KEY | anthropic/<model-id> | Real Claude models, separately billed API key |
| LM Studio | LM_STUDIO_BASE_URL | lmstudio/<model-id> | Local, default URL http://localhost:1234/v1 |
| llama.cpp | LLAMACPP_BASE_URL | llamacpp/<model-id> | Local, default URL http://localhost:8080/v1 |
| Ollama | OLLAMA_BASE_URL | ollama/<model-tag> | Local, default URL http://localhost:11434 |
Each provider uses a prefix in the model string. You can also add any other API endpoint under Providers, Custom providers, Add provider by entering its base URL, optional keys and API format. The README also lists subscription-style providers such as OpenAI/ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot, which connect through your signed-in account rather than an API key. Check those providers' own terms before using them this way.
Per-model routing
You can route each Claude model tier to a different provider. In the Admin UI these are the model routing fields; as settings they look like this:
MODEL_OPUS="nvidia_nim/nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b" MODEL_SONNET="open_router/openrouter/free" MODEL_HAIKU="lmstudio/<model-id>" MODEL="nvidia_nim/nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b" # fallback for everything else
When Claude Code asks for an Opus-class model, FCC sends the request to the first provider. Sonnet requests go to OpenRouter and Haiku requests run on a local model. Choose None for a tier to use MODEL.
Takeaway: Start with one provider and one model. Add tier routing and fallbacks once you see which tasks fail.
Key Features Deep Dive
One model catalog, many agents
The biggest change since April: FCC is no longer only a Claude Code proxy. The README lists launchers for 12 coding agents (Claude Code, Codex, Pi, OpenCode, Cline, Hermes, DeepSeek Harness, Grok Build, Muse Code, Aider, Antigravity CLI and VS Code Chat), all sharing the same model catalog.
Fallback models
Add an ordered fallback list under Model Config. After retries are exhausted, FCC tries the next model without making you restart the turn. Each fallback can have its own reasoning effort and API key number. This is the most useful feature on free tiers, which fail often.
Reasoning control
Older versions used per-tier thinking switches in .env. The current README configures reasoning effort in the Admin UI instead. Choices are From client, Off, Low, Medium, High, X-High and Max, plus Inherit for tier overrides and fallbacks. The README says native interleaved thinking is preserved for compatible models.
Token savings (optional)
The installer can enable RTK, which filters common command output, and Headroom, which compresses tool results. The README claims up to 90% lower token usage; that is a project-reported figure and will vary by workload.
Discord, Telegram and voice
Configure a Discord or Telegram bot under Admin UI, Messaging, with an allowed directory, and send coding tasks from your phone. Commands include /stats, /stop and /clear. Voice notes can be transcribed with NVIDIA NIM or a local Whisper install.
Browser sessions
The README describes native browser sessions where you pick a folder and run Codex in the browser, switching providers and models within a session.
Request optimization
Claude Code sends five categories of requests that don't need a real LLM response: quota probes, title generation, prefix detection, suggestions, and filepath extraction. In April 2026 the proxy intercepted all five and responded locally. On NVIDIA NIM's 40 req/min limit, this mattered. Without interception, Claude Code burns through quota on requests that produce nothing useful.
Thinking token support
ENABLE_OPUS_THINKING and similar) are the April 2026 .env approach. The current README sets reasoning effort in the Admin UI instead; see Reasoning control above.Models like DeepSeek R1 and Kimi K2.5 output reasoning in <think> tags or reasoning_content fields. The proxy converts these into Claude's native thinking blocks, so Claude Code's UI shows the model's reasoning chain as if it were Claude's own thinking. In April 2026, per-model toggles (ENABLE_OPUS_THINKING, ENABLE_SONNET_THINKING, etc.) controlled this per tier.
Heuristic tool-call parser
Claude Code relies on structured tool calls to edit files, run commands, and search code. Many open-source models output tool calls as prose or malformed JSON instead of the structured format Claude Code expects. The April 2026 version of the proxy detected these and converted them into proper tool_use blocks. It worked, but it's a heuristic, so expect occasional misparses on complex multi-tool responses. Whichever version you run, prefer models that advertise tool use.
Subagent control
run_in_background returned nothing. Treat it as unconfirmed. The text below is how it worked in April 2026.Claude Code can spawn background subagents that make their own API calls. On free-tier rate limits, parallel subagents can blow through your quota in seconds. In April 2026 the proxy intercepted the task tool and forced run_in_background=false, serializing subagent execution. Slower, but it kept you within rate limits.
Discord and Telegram bot
The proxy includes a built-in messaging platform integration, and the current README still documents it (see Discord, Telegram and voice above). Connect a Discord or Telegram bot, and you can send coding tasks from your phone. As we described it in April 2026, the bot spawns real Claude Code CLI sessions on your machine, streams output in real time, supports voice message transcription (via local Whisper or NVIDIA), and manages multiple concurrent sessions with tree-based threading. The session threading detail is community-reported (April 2026) and we have not re-checked it.
Takeaway: For free-tier users, fallbacks and tier routing do more for reliability than any single model choice. In April 2026 we also credited request optimization and subagent control for making free-tier usage viable; the optimizer has since been removed, which is why fallbacks matter more now.
What We Got Wrong
Assumptions we had going in, and what changed by October 2026:
Wrong #1: "It's just a URL redirect"
The translation between Anthropic Messages and other provider formats is substantial. Tool calls, system messages, images, reasoning and streaming chunks all need format-specific handling.
Wrong #2: "Free models can't handle agentic tasks"
For simple tasks such as writing a function, fixing a bug or explaining code, free-tier models worked acceptably in our April tests. The gap widens on multi-step agentic work where tool-call reliability matters. We have not re-benchmarked the newer models in the README catalog.
Wrong #3: "The tool's internals are stable"
Our April version described a request optimizer, a heuristic tool-call parser and forced serialization of subagents. The optimizer was removed in October (PR #2112). We could not find the other two described in the current README, and a search of the current source for "run_in_background" returned nothing, but we did not audit the code line by line, so treat them as unconfirmed. The project ships a release every few days (v6.18.1 to v6.18.5 landed between October 25 and 29), so any guide goes stale quickly. Check the README before you copy commands.
Real-World Patterns
Wrong: One free model for everything, no fallback
MODEL="nvidia_nim/nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b" # for everything
At 40 requests per minute, a busy agent session can hit the limit. With no fallback, the turn fails.
Right: Route by tier and add fallbacks
MODEL_OPUS="nvidia_nim/nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b" # hard tasks MODEL_SONNET="open_router/openrouter/free" # general coding MODEL_HAIKU="lmstudio/<model-id>" # quick lookups, local # Admin UI, Model Config: add ordered Fallback Models
Hard tasks get the strongest model you have. Quick tasks stay local. A failed request moves to the next fallback.
Wrong: Choosing a model that does not support tool calls
The README says to prefer tool-capable models for coding agents. A chat-only model will answer questions but fail at edits and commands. The OpenAI API provider note adds that its model list may include IDs that cannot handle coding requests.
Right: Match context size and effort to the job
Local models need enough context for Claude Code's system prompt and tool definitions (README). Set reasoning effort per model in Model Config; leave the default as From client unless you have a reason to override.
Common Mistakes
These come from the README, Anthropic's docs and issues we saw while checking. Each one has burned real users.
Python 3.14 compatibility
In April 2026 the project required Python 3.14, and users on 3.12 or earlier hit Pydantic/FastAPI errors on startup. Root cause: The project's pyproject.toml pinned requires-python = ">=3.14". Install 3.14 with uv python install 3.14. Update (Oct 30, 2026): The pin is now ==3.14.10 (see the next item), and the installer sets up uv and Python for you.
Wrong Python version on a manual install
The project's pyproject.toml pins requires-python = "==3.14.10". The installer sets up uv and Python for you. If you clone the repo and run it yourself, use uv rather than your system Python.
Using pip install uv on macOS
Homebrew-managed Python rejects pip install uv due to PEP 668 (externally-managed-environment). Root cause: Homebrew marks its Python as system-managed. Use the official installer: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh. Update (Oct 30, 2026): The FCC installer now sets up uv for you, so this mostly applies to manual installs.
Leaving ANTHROPIC_API_KEY set
Anthropic's help center says that if an ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable is set, Claude Code uses it instead of your Claude subscription, which means API charges. Check your shell before you start, whichever route you use.
Setting ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL by hand with /v1
In our April testing, users who set the base URL to the proxy address plus /v1 got 404 errors because Claude Code adds the path itself. We did not re-test this in October. Use the fcc-claude launcher, which sets the variable for you.
503 errors under load
Free-tier providers return 503 when overloaded. Users see this as a proxy bug. Root cause: Provider-side rate limits or capacity issues. In April 2026 the proxy used exponential backoff on 429/503, but sustained load on free tiers will hit walls. Update (Oct 30, 2026): See the next item for how fallbacks and PR #2112 change this.
429 and 503 errors under load
Free-tier providers throttle or go down. FCC retries, then moves to your fallback models if you set them. Since PR #2112, housekeeping requests also reach the provider, so a limit like 40 req/min is used up faster than it was in April.
Model not found errors on OpenRouter
OpenRouter's free model list changes. A model that worked last month can disappear. Check openrouter.ai/models for current options, or use the free router model shown in the README.
Following an old guide
Many guides, including the April version of this one, describe uv run uvicorn server:app, a .env file and per-tier thinking toggles. Current versions use the installer, Admin UI and the fcc-* launchers. Run fcc-doctor and include its output when you report a bug.
Trade-Offs and Limits
Social posts call this "free Claude Code." It is not. It is Claude Code's interface running a different model. Much of Claude Code's perceived quality comes from the Claude model itself, which you are replacing.
Honest trade-offs
- Quality drops. Backing models are not Claude. Tool use is less reliable. Agentic tasks that Sonnet or Opus handle cleanly will fail more often on free-tier models.
- Free tiers are not permanent. NVIDIA calls its tier a trial for prototyping, says limits vary by model, and a moderator on NVIDIA's developer forum says there is no official way to raise the limit on the free tier. Moving to production means a different, paid route.
- Data path changes. Your prompts and code flow through whichever provider you route to, under that provider's retention and training policy, not Anthropic's. Read the terms of any free trial endpoint before sending private code.
- Latency increases. The proxy adds a hop, format translation adds work, and free-tier endpoints are often slower than Anthropic's.
- No official support. Anthropic's Claude Code docs say it does not endorse, maintain or audit third-party gateways and does not support routing Claude Code to non-Claude models through any gateway. If something breaks after a Claude Code update, you rely on the community.
- License change. The project moved from MIT to AGPL-3.0-only on September 24, 2026. If you plan to modify it and run it for other people, read the AGPL terms.
Takeaway: Use this for side projects, learning, tinkering and offline work. For client code, production systems or anything where reliability matters, pay for Claude.
Who This Is For
Good fit
- Developers who want to try the Claude Code workflow without paying first
- Side projects and personal tinkering
- Offline or air-gapped work via local providers
- Privacy-sensitive work (local models, no data leaves your machine)
- Learning the workflow before committing to a subscription
Not a fit
- Production engineering on client codebases
- Complex multi-file refactors that need reliable tool use
- Anyone who needs guaranteed uptime or an SLA
- Teams that need consistent quality across developers
- Work where Anthropic's data handling terms matter
Community Reactions
The project went viral on X/Twitter in April 2026. One post by @hasantoxr (Hasan Toor) accumulated hundreds of thousands of views and thousands of bookmarks, calling it "a proxy that runs Claude Code completely free." Chinese developer accounts amplified it, with @VincentLogic writing an in-depth thread. The repo's star count is now about 65,000.
Goodbye Claude Code subscription fees.
— Hasan Toor (@hasantoxr)April 22, 2026
Someone just built a proxy that runs Claude Code completely free... and it's wild.
You literally plug in a free NVIDIA API key and point Claude Code at localhost.
That's it.
The most balanced take came from @sharbel, who noted the real trade-offs:
"Quality drops. Backing models are not Claude. Tool use is less reliable. Agentic tasks that Sonnet or Opus nail will fail more often on free tiers. Free tiers aren't permanent. Data path changes: your prompts and code now flow through whichever provider you route to. Worth it for tinkering, offline work, or non-sensitive side projects. Not a drop-in replacement for paid Claude on client code or serious engineering."
@sharbel on X, April 24, 2026
On Reddit, the project reached r/StartupMind with hundreds of upvotes in April. Sentiment was enthusiastic but polarized: developers who understand the trade-offs found it useful, and those expecting Claude-quality output from a free model were disappointed.
The GitHub tracker shows a fast-moving project. On October 30, 2026 it listed 331 open issues, and the repo had about 55 contributors (anonymous contributors included). Recent pull requests cover a license change, an update command, removal of request interception and new providers.
The Verdict
Our Take
free-claude-code is a well-maintained, fast-moving proxy that delivers real value for a specific use case: running coding-agent interfaces with free or local models for non-critical work. Use it if you want to try the Claude Code workflow without paying, build side projects, work offline, or keep code on your own hardware. Skip it if you need Claude-level quality for production code, reliable multi-step agent runs, or guaranteed uptime. If you want actual Claude models, the honest path is a Claude Pro or Max plan, or Console API credits.
The Bigger Picture
free-claude-code is part of a broader shift in AI tooling: the separation of harness from model. The project's own direction shows it. In April it was a Claude Code proxy; by October the README lists 12 coding agents on one model catalog, with fallbacks across providers.
Anthropic's official position is narrower. Its docs describe gateways for routing Claude Code to Claude models on Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud or Microsoft Foundry, with enterprise controls, but say routing to non-Claude models is not supported. We could not confirm the April claim in our earlier version about a Claude Desktop third-party inference feature, so we removed it.
As open models improve tool-call reliability, the quality gap will narrow, and a proxy like this benefits without changes on your side.
Related reading on getting more from Claude Code:
- Karpathy's CLAUDE.md Skills File Guide
- Claude Memory (claude-mem) Persistent Memory Guide
- Mastering Agent Skills
- Top MCP Servers
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is Claude Code free?
Not officially. Anthropic's pricing page (checked October 30, 2026) lists Claude Code as not included on the Free plan. It is included on Pro ($17/month billed annually, $20 billed monthly), Max (from $100/month), Team and Enterprise. You can also pay per token through a Claude Console API account or a cloud provider such as Amazon Bedrock. Installing the CLI costs nothing, but running Claude models needs one of those paid routes.
Q: Is there a free version of Claude Code?
There is no free Claude plan that includes Claude Code. The closest free option is the open-source free-claude-code project, which keeps the Claude Code interface but sends requests to other models, such as NVIDIA NIM trial endpoints, OpenRouter free models, or models you run locally. The answers come from those models, not from Claude.
Q: What is the free-claude-code GitHub repo?
free-claude-code (GitHub: Alishahryar1/free-claude-code) is an independent open-source proxy and launcher that lets Claude Code and other coding agents talk to non-Anthropic providers. As of October 30, 2026 the repo shows about 65,000 stars, its latest release is v6.18.5 (October 29, 2026), and it is licensed AGPL-3.0-only. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Anthropic.
Q: How do I get free Claude Code?
Run the installer script from the free-claude-code GitHub README (it can also install Claude Code), create a free NVIDIA NIM API key at build.nvidia.com, add the key in the FCC Admin UI, pick a model, then start Claude Code with the fcc-claude command. You get the Claude Code interface running on a non-Claude model. If you want real Claude models, you need a paid Anthropic plan or API credits.
Q: Which free LLM API works with Claude Code?
The project's README lists NVIDIA NIM first. NVIDIA says its free tier allows up to 40 requests per minute for most models, with no per-token billing, for prototyping only. The README also lists OpenRouter (with a free router model), Groq, Google AI Studio, Cerebras and others, plus local runtimes (LM Studio, llama.cpp, Ollama). Free tiers and limits are set by each provider and change often.
Q: Where do I download Claude Code?
From Anthropic. The official setup page lists a native installer (curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash on macOS, Linux and WSL; a PowerShell command on Windows), Homebrew (brew install --cask claude-code) and WinGet (winget install Anthropic.ClaudeCode). The Claude Desktop app also includes Claude Code. Do not download it from third-party mirrors.
Q: Does free-claude-code actually use Claude models?
By default, no. It routes Claude Code's API calls to other providers. You get Claude Code's interface (tools, memory, skills) with a different model behind it. The README also lists an Anthropic provider that uses a separately billed Anthropic API key, which is the way to reach real Claude models through the proxy.
Q: Is free-claude-code legal and allowed by Anthropic's terms?
The project does not unlock Claude models or bypass Anthropic sign-in. It redirects requests to providers where you hold your own keys. The README says it is independent, follows each provider's terms, and removes integrations that stop being allowed (project-reported). Anthropic's docs say it does not support routing Claude Code to non-Claude models through any gateway, so expect no official support. Check each provider's terms before you use it on work code.
Q: What license does free-claude-code use?
AGPL-3.0-only. The repo switched from MIT to AGPL-3.0-only in a pull request merged on September 24, 2026 (PR #1887). Earlier versions of this guide said MIT, which is no longer correct for current versions. This is not legal advice; read the license before you modify and host it for others.
Q: Will my code quality be the same as real Claude?
No. Backing models vary in capability, and tool use is less reliable on many non-Claude models. Expect more failures on long, multi-step agentic tasks. Choose models that advertise tool use, as the README advises, and keep the model's context window large enough for Claude Code's system prompt.
Q: Can I use this with the VSCode extension?
Yes. Start FCC, open Admin UI, then Integrations, and click Connect on the Claude Code in VS Code card. Reload VS Code afterwards. Disconnect from the same card to undo it.
Q: What happens when NVIDIA NIM's free tier goes away?
Switch providers. The README catalog lists 60+ providers, and you can set ordered fallback models so a failed request moves to your next choice. Local runtimes (LM Studio, llama.cpp, Ollama) have no rate limit except your hardware.
Q: Can I mix providers for different model tiers?
Yes. Set MODEL_FABLE, MODEL_OPUS, MODEL_SONNET and MODEL_HAIKU to different provider-prefixed models in the Admin UI, and use MODEL as the fallback for everything else.
Q: Does the Discord/Telegram bot work?
Yes, according to the README. You configure a Discord or Telegram bot under Admin UI, then Messaging, set an allowed directory, and send coding tasks from chat. Voice notes can be transcribed with local Whisper or NVIDIA NIM. It needs a separate bot token.
Glossary
Proxy: A server that sits between a client and a destination, forwarding and optionally transforming requests.
Harness: The orchestration layer in a coding agent that manages tool calls, file edits, memory, skills and subagents.
FCC: Short name for free-claude-code, used in its README and Admin UI.
Admin UI: The browser page FCC opens for provider keys, model routing, fallbacks and integrations.
NVIDIA NIM: NVIDIA's inference microservice platform. Its build.nvidia.com free tier is rate limited (up to 40 requests per minute for most models, per NVIDIA) and intended for prototyping.
OpenRouter: An API aggregator that provides access to many LLMs, including some free models, through a single endpoint.
SSE (Server-Sent Events): A protocol for streaming data from server to client over HTTP, used for streaming responses.
Anthropic Messages API: The API format Claude Code uses to communicate. Defines message structure, tool use and streaming.
OpenAI Chat Completions: A different API format used by many providers. FCC translates between this and the Anthropic format where needed.
Tool use / tool_use: Structured blocks that tell the agent to execute an action (read file, edit file, run command). Requires precise formatting.
Fallback model: A backup model FCC tries, in order, when the selected model fails after retries.
Rate limiting: Provider-imposed caps on how many requests you can make per time window.
AGPL-3.0: GNU Affero General Public License, a copyleft license that also covers use over a network. FCC uses AGPL-3.0-only from September 2026.
LM Studio: A desktop application for running LLMs locally through a graphical interface.
llama.cpp: A C++ library for running GGUF-format LLMs locally.
Ollama: A tool for running LLMs locally with simple commands.
GGUF: A file format for quantized LLM weights, designed for efficient local inference on consumer hardware.
All Sources & Links
Facts in this article were rechecked on October 30, 2026.
Primary Sources
- GitHub repository: github.com/Alishahryar1/free-claude-code (stars, forks, README, releases)
- Releases: github.com/Alishahryar1/free-claude-code/releases (v6.18.5, October 29, 2026)
- PR #2112, removal of five request optimizations: pull/2112
- PR #1887, switch to AGPL-3.0-only: pull/1887
- PR #1856,
fcc-updatecommand: pull/1856
Anthropic Official Sources
- Claude plans and pricing
- Use Claude Code with your Pro or Max plan
- Claude Code advanced setup and install
- Claude Code: other LLM gateways
- Claude Code enterprise deployment overview
Provider Sources
- NVIDIA build.nvidia.com FAQ (free tier, up to 40 requests per minute for most models)
- NVIDIA developer forum, moderator on trial use and rate limits
Community Sources
Community-reported (April 2026). View counts below were reported at the time and not re-checked in October.
- @hasantoxr on X: viral thread (600K+ views) announcing the project, April 22, 2026
- @sharbel on X: balanced trade-off analysis, April 24, 2026
- @VincentLogic on X: Chinese developer deep-dive thread (70K+ views), April 23, 2026
- @KanikaBK on X: feature breakdown, April 24, 2026
- r/StartupMind on Reddit: community discussion with hundreds of upvotes
Contrarian/Critical Voice
- @sharbel on X: "Not a drop-in replacement for paid Claude on client code or serious engineering" (April 2026)
- GitHub Issues: multiple reports of 503 errors, model compatibility issues and Python version problems (community-reported, April 2026)
- Anthropic's Claude Code docs: no support for routing Claude Code to non-Claude models through any gateway (checked October 30, 2026)
Internal Links
- Karpathy's CLAUDE.md Skills File Guide
- Claude Memory Persistent Memory Guide
- Mastering Agent Skills
- Top MCP Servers
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