Alishahryar1/free-claude-code
๐ค Free Claude Code
Use Claude Code CLI & VSCode for free. No Anthropic API key required.
A lightweight proxy that routes Claude Code’s Anthropic API calls to NVIDIA NIM (40 req/min free), OpenRouter (hundreds of models), DeepSeek (direct API), LM Studio (fully local), or llama.cpp (local with Anthropic endpoints).
Quick Start ยท Providers ยท Discord Bot ยท Configuration ยท Development ยท Contributing
Claude Code running via NVIDIA NIM, completely free
Features
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Zero Cost | 40 req/min free on NVIDIA NIM. Free models on OpenRouter. Fully local with LM Studio |
| Drop-in Replacement | Set 2 env vars. No modifications to Claude Code CLI or VSCode extension needed |
| 5 Providers | NVIDIA NIM, OpenRouter, DeepSeek, LM Studio (local), llama.cpp (llama-server) |
| Per-Model Mapping | Route Opus / Sonnet / Haiku to different models and providers. Mix providers freely |
| Thinking Token Support | Parses <think> tags and reasoning_content into native Claude thinking blocks |
| Heuristic Tool Parser | Models outputting tool calls as text are auto-parsed into structured tool use |
| Request Optimization | 5 categories of trivial API calls intercepted locally, saving quota and latency |
| Smart Rate Limiting | Proactive rolling-window throttle + reactive 429 exponential backoff + optional concurrency cap |
| Discord / Telegram Bot | Remote autonomous coding with tree-based threading, session persistence, and live progress |
| Subagent Control | Task tool interception forces run_in_background=False. No runaway subagents |
| Extensible | Clean BaseProvider and MessagingPlatform ABCs. Add new providers or platforms easily |
Quick Start
Prerequisites
- Get an API key (or use LM Studio / llama.cpp locally):
- NVIDIA NIM: build.nvidia.com/settings/api-keys
- OpenRouter: openrouter.ai/keys
- DeepSeek: platform.deepseek.com/api_keys
- LM Studio: No API key needed. Run locally with LM Studio
- llama.cpp: No API key needed. Run
llama-serverlocally.
- Install Claude Code
Install uv
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If uv is already installed, run uv self update to get the latest version.
Clone & Configure
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Choose your provider and edit .env:
NVIDIA NIM (40 req/min free, recommended)
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OpenRouter (hundreds of models)
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DeepSeek (direct API)
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LM Studio (fully local, no API key)
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llama.cpp (fully local, no API key)
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Mix providers
Each MODEL_* variable can use a different provider. MODEL is the fallback for unrecognized Claude models.
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Migration:
NIM_ENABLE_THINKINGwas removed in this release. Rename it toENABLE_THINKING.
Optional Authentication (restrict access to your proxy)
Set ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN in .env to require clients to authenticate:
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How it works:
- If
ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKENis empty (default), no authentication is required (backward compatible) - If set, clients must provide the same token via the
ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKENheader - The
claude-pickscript automatically reads the token from.envif configured
Example usage:
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Use this feature if:
- Running the proxy on a public network
- Sharing the server with others but restricting access
- Wanting an additional layer of security
Run It
Terminal 1: Start the proxy server:
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Terminal 2: Run Claude Code:
Point ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL at the proxy root URL, not http://localhost:8082/v1.
Powershell
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Bash
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That’s it! Claude Code now uses your configured provider for free.
VSCode Extension Setup
- Start the proxy server (same as above).
- Open Settings (
Ctrl + ,) and search forclaude-code.environmentVariables. - Click Edit in settings.json and add:
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- Reload extensions.
- If you see the login screen: Click Anthropic Console, then authorize. The extension will start working. You may be redirected to buy credits in the browser; ignore it โ the extension already works.
To switch back to Anthropic models, comment out the added block and reload extensions.
IntelliJ Extension Setup
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Open the configuration file:
- Windows:
C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\JetBrains\acp-agents\installed.json - Linux/macOS:
~/.jetbrains/acp.json
- Windows:
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Inside acp.registry.claude-acp, change:
1"env": {}to
1 2 3 4"env": { "ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN": "freecc", "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "http://localhost:8082" } -
Start the proxy server
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Restart IDE
Multi-Model Support (Model Picker)
claude-pick is an interactive model selector that lets you choose any model from your active provider each time you launch Claude, without editing MODEL in .env.
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9a33c316-90f8-4418-9650-97e7d33ad645
1. Install fzf:
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2. Add the alias to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:
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Then reload your shell (source ~/.zshrc or source ~/.bashrc) and run claude-pick.
Or use a fixed model alias (no picker needed):
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Install as a Package (no clone needed)
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Edit ~/.config/free-claude-code/.env with your API keys and model names, then:
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To update:
uv tool upgrade free-claude-code
How It Works
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- Transparent proxy: Claude Code sends standard Anthropic API requests; the proxy forwards them to your configured provider
- Per-model routing: Opus / Sonnet / Haiku requests resolve to their model-specific backend, with
MODELas fallback - Request optimization: 5 categories of trivial requests (quota probes, title generation, prefix detection, suggestions, filepath extraction) are intercepted and responded to locally without using API quota
- Format handling: OpenRouter, LM Studio, and llama.cpp use native Anthropic Messages endpoints; NIM and DeepSeek use shared OpenAI chat translation
- Thinking tokens:
<think>tags andreasoning_contentfields are converted into native Claude thinking blocks whenENABLE_THINKING=true
The proxy also exposes Claude-compatible probe routes: GET /v1/models, POST /v1/messages, POST /v1/messages/count_tokens, plus HEAD/OPTIONS support for the common probe endpoints.
Providers
| Provider | Cost | Rate Limit | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA NIM | Free | 40 req/min | Daily driver, generous free tier |
| OpenRouter | Free / Paid | Varies | Model variety, fallback options |
| DeepSeek | Usage-based | Varies | Direct access to DeepSeek chat/reasoner |
| LM Studio | Free (local) | Unlimited | Privacy, offline use, no rate limits |
| llama.cpp | Free (local) | Unlimited | Lightweight local inference engine |
Models use a prefix format: provider_prefix/model/name. An invalid prefix causes an error.
| Provider | MODEL prefix |
API Key Variable | Default Base URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA NIM | nvidia_nim/... |
NVIDIA_NIM_API_KEY |
integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1 |
| OpenRouter | open_router/... |
OPENROUTER_API_KEY |
openrouter.ai/api/v1 |
| DeepSeek | deepseek/... |
DEEPSEEK_API_KEY |
api.deepseek.com |
| LM Studio | lmstudio/... |
(none) | localhost:1234/v1 |
| llama.cpp | llamacpp/... |
(none) | localhost:8080/v1 |
NVIDIA NIM models
Popular models (full list in nvidia_nim_models.json):
nvidia_nim/minimaxai/minimax-m2.5nvidia_nim/qwen/qwen3.5-397b-a17bnvidia_nim/z-ai/glm5nvidia_nim/moonshotai/kimi-k2.5nvidia_nim/stepfun-ai/step-3.5-flash
Browse: build.nvidia.com ยท Update list: curl "https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1/models" > nvidia_nim_models.json
OpenRouter models
Popular free models:
open_router/arcee-ai/trinity-large-preview:freeopen_router/stepfun/step-3.5-flash:freeopen_router/deepseek/deepseek-r1-0528:freeopen_router/openai/gpt-oss-120b:free
Browse: openrouter.ai/models ยท Free models
DeepSeek models
DeepSeek currently exposes the direct API models:
deepseek/deepseek-chatdeepseek/deepseek-reasoner
Browse: api-docs.deepseek.com
LM Studio models
Run models locally with LM Studio. Load a model in the Chat or Developer tab, then set MODEL to its identifier.
Examples with native tool-use support:
LiquidAI/LFM2-24B-A2B-GGUFunsloth/MiniMax-M2.5-GGUFunsloth/GLM-4.7-Flash-GGUFunsloth/Qwen3.5-35B-A3B-GGUF
Browse: model.lmstudio.ai
llama.cpp models
Run models locally using llama-server. Ensure you have a tool-capable GGUF. Set MODEL to whatever arbitrary name you’d like (e.g. llamacpp/my-model), as llama-server ignores the model name when run via /v1/messages.
See the Unsloth docs for detailed instructions and capable models: https://unsloth.ai/docs/models/qwen3.5#qwen3.5-small-0.8b-2b-4b-9b
Discord Bot
Control Claude Code remotely from Discord (or Telegram). Send tasks, watch live progress, and manage multiple concurrent sessions.
Capabilities:
- Tree-based message threading: reply to a message to fork the conversation
- Session persistence across server restarts
- Live streaming of thinking tokens, tool calls, and results
- Unlimited concurrent Claude CLI sessions (concurrency controlled by
PROVIDER_MAX_CONCURRENCY) - Voice notes: send voice messages; they are transcribed and processed as regular prompts
- Commands:
/stop(cancel a task; reply to a message to stop only that task),/clear(reset all sessions, or reply to clear a branch),/stats
Setup
-
Create a Discord Bot: Go to Discord Developer Portal, create an application, add a bot, and copy the token. Enable Message Content Intent under Bot settings.
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Edit
.env:
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Enable Developer Mode in Discord (Settings โ Advanced), then right-click a channel and “Copy ID”. Comma-separate multiple channels. If empty, no channels are allowed.
- Configure the workspace (where Claude will operate):
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- Start the server:
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- Invite the bot via OAuth2 URL Generator (scopes:
bot, permissions: Read Messages, Send Messages, Manage Messages, Read Message History).
Telegram
Set MESSAGING_PLATFORM=telegram and configure:
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Get a token from @BotFather; find your user ID via @userinfobot.
Voice Notes
Send voice messages on Discord or Telegram; they are transcribed and processed as regular prompts.
| Backend | Description | API Key |
|---|---|---|
| Local Whisper (default) | Hugging Face Whisper โ free, offline, CUDA compatible | not required |
| NVIDIA NIM | Whisper/Parakeet models via gRPC | NVIDIA_NIM_API_KEY |
Install the voice extras:
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Configure via WHISPER_DEVICE (cpu | cuda | nvidia_nim) and WHISPER_MODEL. See the Configuration table for all voice variables and supported model values.
Configuration
Core
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
MODEL |
Fallback model (provider/model/name format; invalid prefix โ error) |
nvidia_nim/z-ai/glm4.7 |
MODEL_OPUS |
Model for Claude Opus requests; empty falls back to MODEL |
empty |
MODEL_SONNET |
Model for Claude Sonnet requests; empty falls back to MODEL |
empty |
MODEL_HAIKU |
Model for Claude Haiku requests; empty falls back to MODEL |
empty |
NVIDIA_NIM_API_KEY |
NVIDIA API key | required for NIM |
ENABLE_THINKING |
Global switch for provider reasoning requests and Claude thinking blocks. Set false to hide thinking across all providers. |
true |
OPENROUTER_API_KEY |
OpenRouter API key | required for OpenRouter |
DEEPSEEK_API_KEY |
DeepSeek API key | required for DeepSeek |
LM_STUDIO_BASE_URL |
LM Studio server URL | http://localhost:1234/v1 |
LLAMACPP_BASE_URL |
llama.cpp server URL | http://localhost:8080/v1 |
NVIDIA_NIM_PROXY |
Optional proxy URL for NVIDIA NIM requests (http://... or socks5://...) |
"" |
OPENROUTER_PROXY |
Optional proxy URL for OpenRouter requests (http://... or socks5://...) |
"" |
LMSTUDIO_PROXY |
Optional proxy URL for LM Studio requests (http://... or socks5://...) |
"" |
LLAMACPP_PROXY |
Optional proxy URL for llama.cpp requests (http://... or socks5://...) |
"" |
Rate Limiting & Timeouts
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
PROVIDER_RATE_LIMIT |
LLM API requests per window | 40 |
PROVIDER_RATE_WINDOW |
Rate limit window (seconds) | 60 |
PROVIDER_MAX_CONCURRENCY |
Max simultaneous open provider streams | 5 |
HTTP_READ_TIMEOUT |
Read timeout for provider requests (s) | 120 |
HTTP_WRITE_TIMEOUT |
Write timeout for provider requests (s) | 10 |
HTTP_CONNECT_TIMEOUT |
Connect timeout for provider requests (s) | 10 |
Messaging & Voice
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
MESSAGING_PLATFORM |
discord or telegram |
discord |
DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN |
Discord bot token | "" |
ALLOWED_DISCORD_CHANNELS |
Comma-separated channel IDs (empty = none allowed) | "" |
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN |
Telegram bot token | "" |
ALLOWED_TELEGRAM_USER_ID |
Allowed Telegram user ID | "" |
CLAUDE_WORKSPACE |
Directory where the agent operates | ./agent_workspace |
ALLOWED_DIR |
Allowed directories for the agent | "" |
MESSAGING_RATE_LIMIT |
Messaging messages per window | 1 |
MESSAGING_RATE_WINDOW |
Messaging window (seconds) | 1 |
VOICE_NOTE_ENABLED |
Enable voice note handling | true |
WHISPER_DEVICE |
cpu | cuda | nvidia_nim |
cpu |
WHISPER_MODEL |
Whisper model (local: tiny/base/small/medium/large-v2/large-v3/large-v3-turbo; NIM: openai/whisper-large-v3, nvidia/parakeet-ctc-1.1b-asr, etc.) |
base |
HF_TOKEN |
Hugging Face token for faster downloads (local Whisper, optional) | โ |
Advanced: Request optimization flags
These are enabled by default and intercept trivial Claude Code requests locally to save API quota.
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
FAST_PREFIX_DETECTION |
Enable fast prefix detection | true |
ENABLE_NETWORK_PROBE_MOCK |
Mock network probe requests | true |
ENABLE_TITLE_GENERATION_SKIP |
Skip title generation requests | true |
ENABLE_SUGGESTION_MODE_SKIP |
Skip suggestion mode requests | true |
ENABLE_FILEPATH_EXTRACTION_MOCK |
Mock filepath extraction | true |
See .env.example for all supported parameters.
Development
Project Structure
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Commands
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Extending
Adding an OpenAI-compatible provider (Groq, Together AI, etc.) โ extend OpenAIChatTransport, then add a descriptor in the provider registry:
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Adding a native Anthropic provider โ extend AnthropicMessagesTransport, then add a descriptor in providers.registry.
Adding a fully custom provider โ extend BaseProvider directly, implement stream_response(), and register its descriptor.
Adding a messaging platform โ extend MessagingPlatform in messaging/ and implement start(), stop(), send_message(), edit_message(), and on_message().
Contributing
- Report bugs or suggest features via Issues
- Add new LLM providers (Groq, Together AI, etc.)
- Add new messaging platforms (Slack, etc.)
- Improve test coverage
- Not accepting Docker integration PRs for now
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License
MIT License. See LICENSE for details.
Built with FastAPI, OpenAI Python SDK, discord.py, and python-telegram-bot.