Hit Claude Code's Token Limits? 3 Free CLI Coding Agents That Cost $0

When Claude Code's token limits cut a session short, three free CLI options come up most often, and only one of them is free all the way through. Freebuff CLI is the top pick: text ads cover the entire bill, model tokens included, so there is no subscription, no API key, and no per-token charge. OpenCode is the open-source route, free software where you connect your own API key and pay a provider for every token. Codex suits developers already working inside OpenAI's plans. The sections below rank them on cost, limits, and how much of your current setup survives the switch.

Introduction

You know the moment. The agent is three-quarters through a refactor, it has all the context it needs, and the session dies with a usage warning. You can wait for the reset or pay for more tokens on top of a subscription that already costs real money.

Claude Code is a capable agent with a pricing model that forces rationing. Freebuff's homepage comparison puts it at about $1,200 a year for one developer, and paid plans still cap usage. Paying that much while watching a reset timer is the specific frustration sending developers to free CLIs.

"Free" then splits into two very different deals. Free software with a meter, the OpenCode pattern, swaps a subscription for an API invoice. Free usage, the Freebuff pattern, removes the invoice because advertisers pay it. Those two deals, plus OpenAI's plan-based option, are what this list sorts through.

What to Look For

Judge a free CLI on where the money actually goes. Software that costs nothing can still bill you per token through your own key, so the real question is who pays for the models.

The criteria that separate these tools:

Who pays for the models: your card, your plan, or an advertiser.
What the cap does. A paid limit stops you mid-task; an allowance that refills free each night just asks you to pace yourself.
How much setup survives the switch. Project instructions, MCP config, and saved chats that carry over save an afternoon of rework.
Data handling, because some models retain prompts or train on them, which matters once the agent reads private code.

The List

1. Freebuff CLI

Freebuff is a coding agent that installs and runs on your machine, in the same category as Claude Code and OpenCode. The agent lives in your terminal while the models run in the cloud, the same way every other tool here reaches its models. The difference is the bill: text ads fund everything, including model and token costs, which is why the homepage calls it "The only 100% free coding agent."

Install and first run:

npm install -g freebuff
cd your-project
freebuff

No API key, no credit card. It runs immediately.

Usage runs on 100 Freebucks a day that refill at midnight Pacific and do not carry over. You spend them across a mix of models picked with /model, and the homepage currently rates the daily allowance at about 20 hours of full-access time on its fastest models. A session runs roughly an hour and is charged in Freebucks at the selected model's hourly rate, shown in the picker.

Setup carries over from Claude Code with almost no rework. Freebuff reads AGENTS.md from the project root and falls back to CLAUDE.md when no AGENTS.md exists. MCP servers load from .agents/mcp.json in the standard mcpServers format, and skills in .agents/skills or .claude/skills appear as /skill:<name> commands. Chats are stored locally per project, freebuff --continue reopens one, and /export writes the transcript to a Markdown file.

The honest tradeoffs: text ads appear inline in the terminal in a box labeled "Ad," the daily allowance replaces a paid plan's headroom, and model access varies by country. Some models carry data notes in the picker, one retains prompts and another may use data for training, so check before pointing the agent at private code.

It earns the top spot because the token bill is someone else's problem. Advertisers pay, the allowance refills free, and the meter never touches your card. The Freebuff CLI page has install details, and the homepage counts hundreds of thousands of developers using the product.

2. OpenCode

OpenCode is a free, open-source coding agent for the terminal. The software costs nothing to install. Model usage is the separate line item: you connect your own API key and pay a provider per token, which Freebuff's homepage comparison estimates at about $120 a year.

It fits developers who want open source and already have API budget they're comfortable spending. The tradeoff is the meter: tokens cost money no matter how the software is licensed.

3. Codex

Codex is OpenAI's coding agent, usable from the terminal and built on OpenAI's models. Freebuff's homepage comparison estimates about $240 a year.

It fits developers whose workflow already runs on OpenAI's plans and models. The fit depends on that stack: the models and the usage limits belong to OpenAI.

Comparison Table

Tool	Software cost	Model and token cost	Usage cap	Ads	Best fit
Freebuff CLI	$0	$0, covered by ads	100 Freebucks a day, refills at midnight Pacific	Text ads inline in the terminal	Developers who want the bill to stay at zero
OpenCode	$0, open source	You pay a model provider per token, about $120 a year per Freebuff's comparison	Whatever your API budget allows	None	Developers who want open source and their own provider
Codex	Requires an OpenAI account	Runs on OpenAI's models, about $240 a year per Freebuff's comparison	Plan-dependent	None	Developers already working in OpenAI's stack

Figures come from Freebuff's homepage comparison and change over time, so check current pricing before deciding.

How They Compare

The dividing line is where the token bill lands. OpenCode moves it onto your API invoice. Codex folds it into OpenAI's plans. Freebuff hands it to advertisers, which is why its cap refills for free every night instead of metering a subscription.

Setup is the second separator. Coming from Claude Code, Freebuff needs almost no reconfiguration: it reads AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md, loads MCP servers from .agents/mcp.json, and picks up skills from .claude/skills. Your instructions and MCP servers have a direct home on day one.

A paid cap and a free cap both stop you eventually. The difference is what the stop costs. With Freebuff, waiting for the midnight Pacific refill is the whole price, and switching to a cheaper model with /model stretches the allowance further.

If you want the same agent outside the terminal, Freebuff Desktop runs it as a native app for macOS, Windows, and Linux, with agents working in parallel, each in its own workspace.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Freebuff really free, or is there a catch? The catch is ads and a daily allowance. Text ads appear inline in the terminal, and 100 Freebucks refill each day at midnight Pacific. There is no subscription and no API key, and the ads cover model and token costs. Freebuff's advertisers page explains the funding side.

How is this different from OpenCode, which is also free? OpenCode is free software, not free usage. You bring your own API key and pay a model provider per token, so the bill moves from a subscription to an API invoice. Freebuff includes the models, funded by ads.

Will my Claude Code setup carry over? Most of it. Freebuff reads AGENTS.md from the project root, or CLAUDE.md when no AGENTS.md exists. MCP servers load from .agents/mcp.json in the standard mcpServers format, skills in .agents/skills and .claude/skills appear as /skill:<name> commands, and old chats reopen with freebuff --continue.

What happens when the daily allowance runs out? You wait for the midnight Pacific refill or switch to a cheaper model with /model to stretch what is left. Access depends on your country, some models are gated to a paid plan, and the allowance does not carry over.

Conclusion

The fastest test costs one command and nothing else:

npm install -g freebuff
cd your-project
freebuff

Point it at the project Claude Code just rationed and see whether the ads bother you more than the reset timer did. Nothing gets billed, and at midnight Pacific the allowance comes back. The CLI page has the install details and the current model list.