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Free Claude API: run Claude Code & Anthropic apps on free models

Anthropic doesn't publish a free Claude API tier, so "a free Claude API key" doesn't exist. What you can do is run Claude Code and any Anthropic-API app against free LLM models by pointing them at freellmpool — a local proxy with an experimental Anthropic-compatible path (/v1/messages) over 24 pooled free providers with failover. It supports keyless start when routes are available for text/tool workflows.

Run Claude Code on free models

pip install freellmpool
freellmpool proxy
export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080
export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN=dummy
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=dummy
export ANTHROPIC_MODEL=auto
export ANTHROPIC_SMALL_FAST_MODEL=auto
export CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_GATEWAY_MODEL_DISCOVERY=1
claude

Run freellmpool code claude to print this setup. See the full coding-agents guide for Codex, Aider, Cline and more.

Use the Anthropic-compatible API path from your own code

from anthropic import Anthropic
client = Anthropic(base_url="http://localhost:8080", api_key="anything")
msg = client.messages.create(model="claude-3-5-sonnet-latest", max_tokens=256,
                             messages=[{"role":"user","content":"Hello"}])
# claude-* model names auto-route to a free model

What this is and isn't: you're not getting Anthropic's Claude models for free — they aren't available free. You're running the same Anthropic-API interface on free models from other providers, so Claude Code and Anthropic-SDK apps can use the same text/tool interface. Quality is bounded by the free-tier models, and the path is experimental (text and tool use; no vision yet).

Why use freellmpool for this

It's the only part you install — one pip, keyless start when routes are available.
Failover across configured providers, so a single tier's rate limit doesn't stop you.
The same proxy also serves the OpenAI API, so OpenAI-SDK tools work too.

Privacy note: freellmpool is not a privacy layer; prompts go to the selected upstream provider. See the FAQ.

FAQ

Is there a free Claude API?

Anthropic doesn't offer a free Claude API tier. The practical free path is to run Claude Code and Anthropic-API apps on free models from other providers via freellmpool's experimental Anthropic-compatible path — keyless start when routes are available.

How do I use Claude Code without paying?

Start freellmpool proxy, set ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8080 and any ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, then run claude. It runs on pooled free models. The path is experimental (text + tools, no vision).

Will it use real Claude models?

No — real Anthropic Claude models aren't available for free. freellmpool routes the Anthropic-compatible path interface to free models from other providers, which is what makes it free.

Part of freellmpool (MIT, free, open source). Updated 2026-07-16.