Claude Code FREE UNLIMITED (No Ollama, No GPU!) [OpenCode Minimax M2.5]

Links and Code:

Claude Code: https://claude.com/product/claude-code

Chocolatey : https://chocolatey.org/install

Claude Code Settings.json

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://opencode.ai/zen",
    "ANTHROPIC_MODEL": "minimax-m2.5-free",
    "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "opencode-api-key",
    "ENABLE_TOOL_SEARCH": "true"
  }
}

How to Install Video:

▶️ Playlists:

AI Token Saving Tricks: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLal4oyrZYArQzGMmHawjpmMwya49eL7I9
Code With AI FREE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLal4oyrZYArT6jsniWUMppk-R1oAxdPlf

🚀 Featured Videos:

Use Claude Code FREE UNLIMITED (NVIDIA NIM):

Claude Code Tutorial (2026):

Open Source Claude Code Alternative:

Unlimited FREE Claude Design Alternative! Google Stitch AI:

Helpful Videos:

Why Nvidia NIM and Ollama Are Failing Developers

If you’ve been searching for a way to get Claude Code for free, you’ve probably already tried the two most commonly recommended methods: Nvidia NIM and Ollama. Both have serious limitations that make them impractical for most developers.

The Problem with Nvidia NIM

Nvidia NIM was a popular option for accessing powerful AI models for free, but it comes with a growing list of problems:

Region restrictions — Nvidia NIM doesn’t support many countries. A large number of developers simply can’t create or verify an Nvidia account.
API errors — Many users consistently run into errors when trying to use the API, making it unreliable for serious development work.
Peak hour slowdowns — In India, for example, Nvidia NIM traffic spikes heavily after 6:00 PM. The API slows to a crawl during these hours, making it nearly unusable for evening coding sessions.
Heavy traffic — As more developers flock to Nvidia NIM for free AI models, the infrastructure is under constant strain.

The Problem with Ollama

Ollama lets you run AI models locally — but that freedom comes at a steep hardware cost:

You need a powerful machine. Even with a Mac with 64GB of RAM and an M5 Pro chipset — a machine that costs around ₹4 lakh — running local models through Ollama is a frustrating experience.
Fast models lack intelligence. The models that respond quickly aren’t smart enough for complex coding tasks.
Intelligent models are too slow. The models that can actually help with coding take so long to respond that they’re impractical.

Local AI coding is promising, but it’s simply not ready yet for most developers’ hardware.

The Solution: OpenCode Zen + Minimax M2.5 Free

The Claude Code free unlimited setup you’ve been looking for uses OpenCode Zen as a provider for Minimax M2.5 — completely free, globally available, and no GPU required.

Here’s what makes this setup stand out:

No region lock — Unlike Nvidia NIM, this works globally.
No GPU needed — The model runs in the cloud. Your hardware doesn’t matter.
No phone verification — Just create an account and you’re done.
No hard rate limits — Soft limits apply based on traffic, and OpenCode handles them automatically.
Works in multiple interfaces — You can use it in OpenCode CLI, Claude Code CLI, or directly inside VS Code.

The Minimax M2.5 free tier is available through OpenCode Zen for an unspecified period — it could be 1 month, it could be a year. There’s no announced end date, so use it while it’s available.

Credit: This OpenCode Zen method was shared by subscriber Rishabh Verma. Huge shoutout to him for the discovery.

Is Minimax M2.5 Good Enough for Real Coding?

This is the first question most developers ask when they hear “free open source model.” The answer might surprise you.

Minimax M2.5 benchmarks at Opus level. That means it’s not just comparable to Claude Sonnet — it actually competes with Claude Opus 4.6 on standard benchmarks. You can verify this yourself by searching for “Minimax M2.5 vs Claude Opus 4.6 benchmark”.

For context, in a typical Claude Code Pro subscription, most developers use Sonnet almost exclusively — not Opus — because Opus burns through your message quota after just four messages. These open source models sit at the Sonnet-to-Opus range, which means you can take on large, complex coding projects without hitting a wall.

Bottom line: Minimax M2.5 is absolutely capable of production-level coding work. It’s not a toy model.

Mac & Linux Setup Guide

All commands and links referenced in this guide are available in the video description. You can copy and paste directly from there.

Step 1: Get Your Free API Key from OpenCode Zen

Go to the OpenCode Zen official website.
Click on Zen in the navigation.
Click Login and sign in or create an account.
Do not enable billing — we only want to use free models.
Navigate to the API Keys section.
Click Create an API Key.
Give it a name (e.g., Claude Code) and click Create.
Copy the API key and save it somewhere safe — you’ll need it in the next steps.
After completing this tutorial, delete the key if you created one just for testing.

Step 2: Install Claude Code (Mac/Linux)

Even if your goal is only to run Claude Code inside VS Code, you must install the Claude Code CLI first. The VS Code extension depends on it.

Open your terminal (iTerm2, or the default Mac Terminal — both work).
Go to the official Claude Code website and copy the installation command.
Paste it into your terminal and press Enter.
To verify the installation, type:

claude --help

If the help menu appears, Claude Code is successfully installed.

Step 3: Install OpenCode (Mac/Linux)

Go to the official OpenCode website.
Copy the installation command from the homepage.
Paste it into your terminal and press Enter.
Once installed, restart your Terminal app.

Step 4: Run Free AI Coding in OpenCode

In your terminal, type:

opencode

The OpenCode interface will open.
Type /connect and press Enter.
Select OpenCode Zen and press Enter.
Paste your API key when prompted and press Enter.
You’ll now see all available free models in OpenCode Zen.
Select Minimax M2.5 Free and press Enter.

You’re in. Test it by asking the model “which model are you?” — you’ll see how fast Minimax M2.5 responds. No waiting, no errors.

To exit, press Ctrl+C.

Step 5: Run Free AI Coding in Claude Code CLI

Open VS Code (required for the next step — make sure it’s installed).
In your terminal, type the following to open your Claude configuration folder:

code ~/.claude

Inside the .claude folder, create a file called settings.json if it doesn’t already exist.
Paste the following configuration code (available in the video description):

{
  "env": {
    "ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL": "https://opencode.ai/zen",
    "ANTHROPIC_MODEL": "minimax-m2.5-free",
    "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "opencode-api-key",
    "ENABLE_TOOL_SEARCH": "true"
  }
}

Replace YOUR_ZEN_API_KEY_HERE with the API key you copied from OpenCode Zen.
Save the file.

Important: If you already have a settings.json with existing settings, don’t paste over it. Only add the "env" block after your existing code inside the outer curly braces. Replacing the entire file will wipe your existing Claude Code configuration.

Go back to your terminal and type:

claude

Press Enter. Select your preferred theme (dark or light).
Claude Code will detect your custom API configuration and ask: “Do you want to use it?” — select Yes and press Enter.
Press Enter once more to confirm.
Type /model and press Enter.
Select Minimax M2.5 Free from the list.

Your Claude Code CLI is now running the Minimax M2.5 free model. Type hey to test it — you’ll see the response speed is excellent.

Step 6: Run Claude Code Free in VS Code (Mac)

Open VS Code.
Go to the Extensions tab in the sidebar (or press Cmd+Shift+X).
Search for Claude.
Find the extension called Claude Code for VS Code — it’s the official Anthropic extension with a verified tick mark.
Click Install.
Open any project folder in VS Code.
You’ll see a Claude Code icon in the sidebar — click it.
Alternatively, right-click anywhere in the editor and select Open Claude Code.
Click New Session.
Type /model, press Enter, and select Minimax M2.5.

Claude Code is now running inside VS Code with the free Minimax M2.5 model. Type a message to confirm it’s working.

Windows Setup Guide

Step 1: Install Node.js via Chocolatey

OpenCode requires Node.js. The easiest way to install it on Windows is through Chocolatey.

Install Chocolatey:

Search for PowerShell in the Start menu.
Right-click it and select Run as administrator.
Go to the Chocolatey website and copy the install command (an execution policy command).
Paste it into PowerShell and press Enter.
Chocolatey will install. Once done, close PowerShell and reopen it as administrator.

Install Node.js via Chocolatey:

Paste the Node.js install command from the Chocolatey website and press Enter.
Type Y and press Enter when prompted.
Node.js will install. Close PowerShell and open a new window (this time, normal — not as administrator).
Verify the installation:

node -v

You should see the installed version (e.g., v24).

Step 2: Install OpenCode on Windows

Go to the official OpenCode website.
Click on the npm install option.
Copy the npm command.
Paste it into your PowerShell window and press Enter.

npm install -g opencode-ai

OpenCode is now installed on Windows.

Step 3: Run OpenCode on Windows

In PowerShell, type:

opencode

OpenCode will launch in the terminal.
Type /connect and press Enter.
Select OpenCode Zen.
Go back to your browser, log in to OpenCode Zen, go to API Keys, and copy the key you created earlier.
Paste the key into PowerShell and press Enter.
Select Minimax M2.5 Free and press Enter.

Test it — it responds in about 2 seconds, not 2-3 minutes like many people expect from free models.

Press Ctrl+C to exit.

Step 4: Install Claude Code on Windows

Go to the official Claude Code website and click on Documentation.
Click Quick Start — find the Windows PowerShell install command.
Click the arrow in PowerShell to open a new tab, select PowerShell, and paste the command.
Press Enter. Claude Code will install on your Windows device.

Step 5: Configure settings.json on Windows

Open File Explorer.
Navigate to: C:\Users\YourUsername\.claude\
Find settings.json inside the .claude folder.
If the file doesn’t exist, create a new text document and name it settings.json.
Open settings.json in Notepad.
After the first opening curly brace {, paste the env configuration:

{
  <span class="hljs-attr">"env"</span>: {
    <span class="hljs-attr">"ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL"</span>: <span class="hljs-string">"https://api.openai-zen.com/v1"</span>,
    <span class="hljs-attr">"ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"</span>: <span class="hljs-string">"YOUR_ZEN_API_KEY_HERE"</span>
  }
}

Replace YOUR_ZEN_API_KEY_HERE with your actual key from OpenCode Zen.
Save the file.

Note: If settings.json already has content, only add the "env" block — don’t duplicate or overwrite existing settings.

Step 6: Fix PATH Issues on Windows

If you type claude in PowerShell and it says the command isn’t recognized, follow these steps:

Open a new PowerShell window and try again. If it still doesn’t work:
Search for “Edit the system environment variables” in the Windows search bar.
Click Environment Variables.
Under System variables, find Path and click Edit.
Click New and paste the path that Claude Code’s install showed you.
If you didn’t catch it, the typical path is: C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Roaming\npm
Replace YourUsername with your actual Windows username.
Click OK on all three dialogs.
Close all PowerShell windows and open a fresh one.
Type claude — it should now run.

Step 7: Run Claude Code Free in VS Code (Windows)

If you don’t already have VS Code, download it from the official website.

Install the Claude Code VS Code extension:

Open VS Code.
Go to the Extensions tab (Ctrl+Shift+X).
Search for Claude.
Install the Claude Code for VS Code extension by Anthropic (look for the verified tick mark).
Click Trust Publisher when prompted.
Click Allow.

Launch Claude Code in VS Code:

Open a folder or file in VS Code.
Click the Claude Code icon in the sidebar, or right-click and select Open Claude Code.
Click New Session.
Type /model, press Enter, and select Minimax M2.5.
Type hey to verify it’s working.

Your Claude Code free unlimited setup in VS Code on Windows is complete.

FAQ

Q: Is Minimax M2.5 free forever? No official end date has been announced. It could be available for 1 month, 6 months, or longer. Use it while it’s free and watch the channel for updates when the situation changes.

Q: Do I need a credit card to sign up for OpenCode Zen? No. You don’t need to enable billing. Simply create an account, skip billing setup, and generate a free API key. Do not enable billing unless you intentionally want to use paid models.

Q: Can I use this method with just VS Code, without using the terminal? No — the Claude Code CLI must be installed first. The VS Code extension depends on the underlying CLI. However, once the CLI is set up, you can do all your coding work inside VS Code.

Q: Does this work on Linux? Yes. The Mac/Linux setup guide above applies to Linux as well.

Q: Is Minimax M2.5 as good as Claude Sonnet or Opus? Benchmarks show Minimax M2.5 performs at an Opus level, which makes it comparable to or better than Claude Sonnet 4.x. For large-scale coding projects, it performs well. Test it yourself by searching “Minimax M2.5 vs Claude Opus 4.6 benchmark.”

Q: What is OpenCode? OpenCode is an open-source CLI tool for AI-assisted coding — similar in concept to Claude Code, but not made by Anthropic. It supports multiple AI providers including OpenCode Zen, which is where Minimax M2.5 is available for free.

Q: What’s the difference between running this in OpenCode vs Claude Code? Both work. OpenCode is a standalone open-source CLI. Claude Code is Anthropic’s official CLI, which has deeper tool-use capabilities and VS Code integration. By pointing Claude Code’s API to OpenCode Zen, you get the best of both worlds — Claude Code’s interface with Minimax M2.5’s free compute.

Q: Will my existing Claude Code settings be deleted if I add the env configuration? Only if you paste over the entire file. If you already have a settings.json, carefully add only the "env" block inside your existing JSON. Don’t replace the whole file.

Conclusion

You now have a fully working Claude Code free unlimited setup using OpenCode Zen and Minimax M2.5 — no GPU, no Nvidia NIM account, no Ollama, and no paid subscription required. It works on Mac, Linux, and Windows, and it runs both in the terminal and inside VS Code.

The key takeaway: Minimax M2.5 is not a downgrade. It benchmarks at Opus level and handles complex, real-world coding projects without the slowdowns or errors that have made Nvidia NIM and Ollama frustrating to use.

Set it up today while the free tier is still active.

What are You Looking For?