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Stop Paying for Claude Code - Use It FREE Forever (Full Setup Guide)
by Website Learners
💡 TLDW (Too Long; Didn't Watch)
Starting from: Install Node.js
by Website Learners
Starting from: Install Node.js
Learn how to access Claude Code's powerful AI coding capabilities without paying the $20 monthly subscription by configuring it to use free models through OpenRouter instead of Anthropic's API.
Download and install NodeJS from nodejs.org for your operating system
Verify installation by typing 'node -v' in terminal to see the version number
Copy the installation command from claude.com/product/claude-code and paste it in terminal
Run 'claude' in terminal to verify installation and complete the onboarding process
Navigate to the hidden .cloud folder in your user directory and create settings.json file
Use 'touch settings.json' in terminal, then open with text editor to add configuration
Copy JSON configuration from OpenRouter's documentation and paste into settings.json
Replace API key placeholder with your actual OpenRouter API key and set the model parameter
Sign up at openrouter.ai, create an API key, and copy it to your clipboard
Choose a free model from the available options and copy the model ID
Create a new project folder, open terminal there, and run 'claude' to test functionality
Verify it works by asking it to create a simple web app or dashboard UI