Developer automation
Run Claude Code for Free
For indie devs and small teams who hit the Claude Code price wall: stack 11 free API tiers behind one router, point Claude Code at it, and find out if the agent's worth $200 a month before you pay.
Start with the guided setup
Follow the setup below in your own workspace. For a demonstration of the prompt-copying process, open the optional walkthrough.
Watch the setup walkthroughStep 1 · setup
Three minutes, four steps, nothing to install by hand
Claude sets it up for you. You just paste.
Never used Claude? It is free and takes 30 seconds to open. Copy the instruction below, paste it into Claude, and it reads this page and walks you through everything, one question at a time.
Tell Claude how to talk to you
One tap. It changes how much Claude explains, and how slowly it goes. You can change it any time.
Copy your setup instruction
A short instruction plus a link to this page lands on your clipboard. First copy asks for your email once. That unlocks every button across the whole library.
Open Claude in a new tab
Free account, no card, 30 seconds. This tab stays open so you can come back.
Open claude.aiPaste, send, and answer one question
Claude reads this page, asks which computer you are on, then guides you step by step until it works. If anything errors, tell Claude what you see, and it fixes it with you.
▸Prefer the full prompt instead of the link? (optional)
Click to copy
Install Run Claude Code for Free on my computer. Walk me through it. Repo: https://github.com/tashfeenahmed/freellmapi What it does: For indie devs and small teams who hit the Claude Code price wall: stack 11 free API tiers behind one router, point Claude Code at it, and find out if the agent's worth $200 a month before you pay. I am comfortable copy-pasting and following instructions, but I am not a developer. Rules: - Plain English. Define jargon the first time it appears (repo, env var, port, dependency). - One step at a time. Exact command in a code block. Tell me which app to paste it into (Terminal on Mac, PowerShell on Windows). - One sentence per command explaining what it does and what success looks like. - After each command, wait. I will tell you the output before you move on. - If a tool is missing (git, node, docker, python), give me the one-line install for my OS first. - If something errors, diagnose before the next step. Do not skip. First message: ask only "What is your operating system, macOS, Windows, or Linux?" Then start step 1. Reference steps from the public guide (adapt to my OS, do not just paste them at me): 1. Clone FreeLLMAPI, run npm install, write the .env encryption key, and start it with npm run dev (key stacker on :3001, dashboard on :5173). 2. Get a free Google AI Studio key (Gemini 2.5 Flash, the only free model with the context to carry Claude Code's prompt) and paste it in the dashboard Keys page. Add free Groq and Cerebras keys as fast backups. 3. Install claude-code-router (npm i -g @musistudio/claude-code-router) and drop in the config.json from the bundle, pasting your unified key. 4. Run ccr code to launch Claude Code on the free stack. Or use OpenCode pointed straight at :3001 with no bridge. 5. Keep one paid Claude API key as a manual fallback for the hard 5% of tasks. Everything else runs free. Stop when the app opens and I confirm it works.
Source repo
https://github.com/tashfeenahmed/freellmapi The code is public and free. The setup instruction above installs and wires it for you. You never need to open this link.
🔥 optional · live interactive tool
Open the API Spend Slayer Calculator
Browser-based. No signup. Drop in your numbers and see the trade in real time. Opens in a new tab so the prompts stay where you left them.
$200 a month to find out if the agent is worth it — then you quit before you knew.
Most people hit the price wall or the API bill and gave up on Claude Code before feeling what it can do. This stacks eleven companies' free API tokens behind one router so you run real Claude Code for $0.
Path A · free
Run the build independently
The setup rail and every prompt above are free and stay free. The cost is your time, and the risk of wiring it wrong on live data.
Back to the promptsPath B · done with you
Connect it to your operation
We wire the full stack for your team: shared FreeLLMAPI behind SSO, the Gemini-first fallback order, a paid safety net for the hard 5%, a code-privacy guard so sensitive prompts never hit free providers, and the validator that flags silent degradation. You run it for near-zero without leaking sensitive code to a free endpoint.
Book a build calldata safety
Before you use live numbers
- • Run last quarter's numbers first. Live data is not a test bed.
- • Nothing here uploads to us. It runs in your own Claude account, on your own machine.
- • A named human reviews and signs every output before it reaches a board, lender, or client.
- • Wiring the open-source piece to real systems? Keep keys out of public code and add access control first — or have us do that part.
the fine print
Credit the original author
FreeLLMAPI and claude-code-router are open source. Each of the eleven free providers has its own terms, training rights, and rate limits. Never route customer PII, PHI, or NDA code through free providers without a DPA.
Read this far? You quit Claude Code over the bill before you felt it. Let us wire the free stack — with a privacy guard so nothing sensitive leaks.
Want this wired into your stack instead of running it yourself? That is our custom AI development service.
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in one line
What is Run Claude Code for Free?
Run Claude Code for Free is a developer automation build in the consultance.ai AI Build Library. For indie devs and small teams who hit the Claude Code price wall: stack 11 free API tiers behind one router, point Claude Code at it, and find out if the agent's worth $200 a month before you pay. It fits indie devs, technical founders, and small teams who tried Claude Code, hit the price wall or the API bill, and gave up before feeling what it can do. Setup difficulty is Medium, with 5 plain-English steps.
What does Run Claude Code for Free do?
For indie devs and small teams who hit the Claude Code price wall: stack 11 free API tiers behind one router, point Claude Code at it, and find out if the agent's worth $200 a month before you pay.
Who is Run Claude Code for Free for?
It fits indie devs, technical founders, and small teams who tried Claude Code, hit the price wall or the API bill, and gave up before feeling what it can do.
How hard is Run Claude Code for Free to set up?
Medium to set up — one guided setup instruction covering 5 plain-English steps on the resource page.
How would consultance.ai build this out?
We would wire the full stack for your team: shared FreeLLMAPI behind SSO, the Gemini-first fallback order, a paid safety net for tough tasks, a code-privacy guard so sensitive prompts never hit free providers, and the validator skill that flags when a free provider silently degrades.
What are the licensing terms?
FreeLLMAPI and claude-code-router are open source. Each of the eleven free providers has its own terms, training rights, and rate limits. Never route customer PII, PHI, or NDA code through free providers without a DPA.
Connect this build to your workflow.
Discuss how Run Claude Code for Free fits your systems, controls, and team. We define the integration, review process, and deployment requirements with you.
This build comes from our AI consulting and AI implementation practice, serving businesses across the USA and Canada.