Introduction: A Free & Fast Claude Code Solution
If you have been trying to run Claude code for free, you have tried different methods, right?
Ollama was too slow, Nvidia NIM kept giving you errors, and you are sitting here thinking, "Okay, is there any actual way or actual solution which is working?"
Well, there is. And I have been quietly using it for a while now, and the responses came back in seconds. And the model quality is right up there with the Claude Sonnet. So, you're not giving up anything. So, today I'm going to show you everything how we can set this up.
Prerequisites: Installing Node.js and Open Core CLI
Okay, so open this website opencode.ai, and then here you can click on the NPM. This is where you can see here, and then we have to copy this command. You click on it, it will be copied, okay? And then we have to basically install the open code. But, to do that, we need to have the Node.js installed on the computer.
So, if you're on Windows, you can simply click on this Windows Installer.msi. Just simply download it and it's installed it. That's it. And then this is going to install on your Windows. Now, once you're done with that, you have to simply go on the search and search for PowerShell, okay? PowerShell, this one. Click on it. And it will take you to the PowerShell window here. So, first let me let's check that the Node.js is installed or not, okay? So, if you can see the command here, node space {dash} v, copy this and paste it in here and enter. You can see it gives you the version that we are on. That means the Node.js is installed. Perfect.
Now, we need to go to the, you know, open code here. We simply go ahead and copy the same command here and just open the um PowerShell, but in this time, let's close the PowerShell again and here click on start and open PowerShell as an administrator. Right click on it and run as administrator.
Installing the Open Core CLI
Click on yes, and it will take you to the PowerShell again, and then paste this command in here and hit enter. That's it. It is going to install the Open Core directly on your system. And same thing follows on the Mac as well, but there are some minor changes. But it's the same thing for the Node.js. If you guys already know how to install the Node.js on the Mac, you can do the same thing. Yeah, so once we and once it's done, so then we have to install the Cloud Code. But first, let's wait for this one.
Generating an Open Core API Key
All right, so as you can see here, it has been installed. Now, let's go ahead and access this, okay? We'll just simply write Open Core and that's it. It's going to take you to the platform. This Open Core, it's basically like a Cloud Code CLI, exactly like that. If you can see here, exactly here. So now here, we have to just simply do one thing.
But first, we go back to the Open Core and we click on Zen, okay? And then we try to log in. Okay, this is important. This is where we are going to get the API key. So let's click on the API key here. Continue with Google. So I'm going to be using one of the accounts. All right, so I am logged in. As you can see here, we have the access to the Open Core's account. And then we can simply go ahead and click API keys. We can simply go ahead and create new key. I'll say Cloud, okay? And click on create. All right, so the the key has been created. And let's just click on copy.
Connecting the CLI to the MiniMax Model
and go back to the terminal here, this one, and then write /connect. You can see the connect. And it gives you which provider that you want to connect. So we will go with this one, Open Core Zen, the recommended one. Hit enter. And it's asking you write the, you know, paste the API key. So I'm going to go ahead and paste the API key here. And then we will be inside here. And then here, we are going to select this model, MiniMax M 2.5 free. Just hit enter on this one. And now our model has been selected over here, as you can see here.
So, let's just try to say something. Hi. I want to show you how fast it is, okay? So, as you can see here, I just sent a hi message. It is going to answer in He It answered in 7 seconds. Let me just say uh "What model are you using?" Okay? Let's go with that. As you can see, 3 seconds. It said, "I'm powered by MiniMax 2.5 free." This is a model that I'm using. So, now our first setup is completed.
Installing the Claude Code CLI
Now, we have to connect this with the Claude code. So, let's just close this one. Control C and then you will be, you know, back to the your terminal. Now, go to the Claude code. And this is a website, and click on quick start. And then you can see here we have different uh commands. For Mac, we have this command. For Windows, since we are on the Windows, I'm going to copy uh this command. Click on copy, and then go to the terminal, and paste this command directly in here. And what this is going to do is it is going to simply install the Claude code on my system. So, let me just hit enter.
And this one is going to take a time a little bit because it's, I think, uh 3-400 MBs. So, uh it's going to take a minute or something. So, I'll get back to you once it's done.
Configuring Claude Code with the Open Core API Key
So, this is perfect. Now, as you can see here, the Claude code has been successfully installed here with this version and everything. It has created this uh directory in here. So, we need to go there to uh do the next task. So, it is inside uh my uh folder, and then let me just show you. Okay, and then open this one, and go back here, and click on X, you know, users. All right, and then this is my folder, and then we have this dot Claude folder, if you can see here directly. All right, and this is the file that it has we have to you know edit. If you don't have do not have this file, you can simply go ahead and create this file like this. Click on new text document right settings dot JSON, okay, and remove this one. Okay, and I'm sure that you will have this file, so we don't need to create this one. So, I'm going to delete this one here and then we have to simply go ahead and open this one this file. We have to edit this file. So, I'm going to be opening editing this with the VS code.
Okay, this is going to be the VS code the file here or we can simply you know edit this file using a notepad. That's not an issue. Now here we need to update the code that I'm going to provide you, okay? So, this is the code that you have to update, okay? Now here we have to enter the you know API key this one here. So, go back to open code, click on this API key that we just created the Claude one, and just come back to this one and remove delete this one and paste this key. Make sure that it's inside the double quotes. That's important and click on save. That's it.
Using Claude Code in the Terminal
Close this one and now go back to the terminal. This time we're going to be using a new window here. Open this one and write Claude. Simple. It's going to take you to the Claude. It's saying accessing the workspace. Security guide, do you trust the folder? Yes, I trust the folder. Hit enter. And then it says do you want to use this API key? If you can see here this API key that we just pasted. So, click on yes.
And then as you can see here we have the access to the Claude code. And you can see here it has this access to this model, but let me show you first thing. Let just try something, okay? But first of all, we just have to set this effort, okay? We'll say effort and we'll just keep it to the medium, okay? The intelligence.
And then we'll say hi. Let's see how fast it is going to answer. Okay, this is the first time. It's going to take like 3 4 seconds. 5 seconds. Hi. It said effort level set to medium. Okay, and did it answer me or not? Like, hello. Perfect. Hey, how can I help you today? 5 seconds.
What model are you using? It's super fast. Really, you can literally code anything with this now. It's super crazy fast and it's best. I'm currently using MiniMax 2.5 free. This is the fast and free model free variant at the most recent cloud model family is cloud for, you know, whatever. So, point is it is working.
Setting Up the Claude Code VS Code Extension
Now, we can simply go ahead and code with this. But, those of you who are not like familiar with this CLI stuff, this terminal stuff, what we can do is we can simply go ahead and use a cloud code in the VS code, I mean, in the IDE. So, for that thing, we have to install the VS code. If you guys don't know what VS code is, I think you guys might have been already familiar with that because if you guys are like, you know, watching this video, then I think you are. But, still, we have By the way, my internet is kind of slow right now. So, we have to simply go ahead and install the VS code. Most of you guys will already have it, I'm sure. But, those of you who doesn't have it installed, just go ahead and install the VS code. I already have installed it, so I'm going to just simply go ahead and open this VS code. It's right here. Just Let me just drag it from the second screen. Okay.
By the way, this is the website that you have to, you know, use to install the VS code. By the way, if you're on Windows, you can do this. If you're on Mac, you already know how to do this. So, this is the VS code you have to be on, right? Perfect. Now, how do we access the Claude code inside this one? If you can see here, we have this button, this extension. Click on it. And then here we will write Claude. Simply. Right? And the first one that we see here, it has this blue tick which says Anthropic. This is the official one. Make sure that you don't install the We have a different couple of different things. Right? So, simply click on install. Yes, trust the workspace and install it.
Once it's installed, it will say then it's stable. Yeah, I now it's installed. Now, let's go ahead and click on this one, this folder one. We have to open any folder. Let's click on any folder. We will try to create any folder on here. Let's just say um Claude. Okay. Forget about the spelling. Open this folder. And now you are inside the folder here. As you can see here, this is where we are going to use it. There are two ways to access the Claude here inside the VS code. First thing is if you can just, you know, in your case you may have have it like this. You can just make it a bigger one. Just drag it like over here. Then we have a Claude code over there. We can access it over there, but we also have the option to access the Claude code by using this icon. Just click on it. It will be giving you another window. So, we have two windows. We can close one of the windows and then close this file as well.
Live Coding Demo in VS Code
Now, we have the complete Claude code over here and it has access. So, let's just say something. Hey, how are you?
And it's going to answer you. You can see like 0 seconds. Hey, I'm doing well. Thanks for asking whatever.
What model are you using? Okay. It's This is insanely fast. Honestly, 0 seconds. Uh I'm currently using Minimax 2.53. This is the fast and efficient model as of now. Perfect. Now do whatever you have to. Okay, let's just ask him something.
Create a simple landing page in HTML for leads. With just a hero section. That's it and let's ask him this. So it's going to be starting to create a landing page as you can see on the right side. It's asking us to you know giving a permission. So I'm going to be yes allow all edits this session. So now it's going to do his own thing. By the way, this is a file that it has created automatically.
We can go ahead and open this. Check this out. It was done in like even in a second. I think I think only the second has passed. Now in case you want to check this out how does this look? We can simply click on here right at the bottom side. It says go live. Click on it. It will take you to the browser and open this page on the browser and you will see how well it looks. I mean how does it look? I'm so sorry.
It's simple ready to get started for the leads. And now I'm going to be asking him. Hey update this page use some images and make it like a proper hero section with heading subheading call to actions and everything and there's a menu as well on the top. Okay, let's hit enter. It's going to update the code as of now. It's reading the file. You know now doing his own thing. Okay.
So we have given him some context like you know add some images uh, add some hero section and stuff, like, uh, at the at the menu bar, at CDAs and everything. Now, it has done this.
Reviewing the Final Code and Conclusion
Now, let's go back to the, uh, page. Let's see. Amazing. It was just a simple instruction to I gave him. So, it has done it and with in just seconds. So, now you know how to install the Cloud Code for free and then you can just, you know, do coding, you can make applications and it's all free. And I don't know how long this is going to be free, this model. Uh, hopefully it's going to be free for a long time. But, yeah, I think, uh, this is the easiest way and the cheapest way and the, you know, the only free way to access the Cloud Code for free without any kind of limitations and, uh, that waiting period. I have seen a lot of videos on YouTube. People are showing different, uh, you know, Nvidia's NIM models, those models, uh, GLM models. Those are very time-consuming. I have tested out personally. It It takes forever to answer a simple query. So, we just did like, I think, uh, it was only a minute ago that we just and it only took us 1 minute to build a simple page. And then, uh, I'm also going to leave every single thing, all the links, the, you know, the commands, whatever is required for this to work. I'm going to be leaving a link in the description which will take you to the, uh, website uh, of mine and then it will have all the instructions and everything, okay? So, yeah, I think that's it for the video and if you guys like the video, please leave a like and share also and also comment, uh, on the comment section about what are you going to build using this method. And yeah, if you guys have any problems, please drop a comment. I'm always helping people. I have every single comment I have replied. I don't leave any comment, you know, unreplied. So, yeah, have a good day, guys. Bye-bye.
