./06072026/index.html
Token cost is jacked — investors want their money
// A June 2026 roundup of free & cheap AI coding resources — Poolside, Mistral Vibe CLI, Nvidia NIM, and budget picks like Minimax, Deepseek v4, and StepFun Flash.
~/aiguide
$ cat README.md
# How I code with AI on a budget/cheap
Budget-friendly AI development workflows and coding guides. Free and low-cost tools, real workflows, and evolving playbooks.
$ _
[HN] Featured on Hacker News → discussion
guides/
AI Coding Guides
./05152026/index.html
May 2026: Oh My Pi, Opencode Go, and AI Coding Price Increases
// A May 2026 budget AI coding update covering Oh My Pi, Opencode Go, DeepSeek v4, MiniMax M2.7, GLM 5.1, and the latest pricing shifts across coding tools.
./03022026/index.html
Alibaba Coding Plan: $3/month for Claude Code with Qwen, Kimi, GLM & More
// A quick look at Alibaba's Coding Plan — $3/month for access to Qwen, Kimi, GLM, and MiniMax models via Claude Code using the Dashscope API.
./02042026/index.html
February 2026: Deepseek v3.2 in Claude Code, minor updates about how to stay low cost
// February 2026: AI Updates - Claude Code strategies, Deepseek v3.2, cost-saving workflows, and multilingual tools
./12092025/index.html
November 2025: Cost / Lean AI Coding Updates
// November 2025 updates: free & cheap coding models (Minimax M2, Ling 1T, Ring 1T, Longcat, Kimi K2), cost hacks and emerging tooling.
./09012025/index.html
How I Code with AI on a Budget/Free – September 2025 Edition
// A deep-dive into my 2025 AI coding stack using GLM 4.5, Gemini 2.5 Pro, Cline and AI Code Prep.
./07012025/index.html
My AI Code Prep & Cline Workflow for Budget Coding/Debugging
// A personal guide on using AI Code Prep GUI, Cline, and various free AI web interfaces like Gemini, Grok, Deepseek, and Poe for cost-effective coding and debugging.
infoblogs/
$ ls -la infoblogs/
total 3 drwxr-xr-x user staff infoblogs/ drwxr-xr-x 2026-05-29 coding_file_edits/ # Deep Dive drwxr-xr-x 2026-05-29 coding_agents/ # Deep Dive drwxr-xr-x 2026-02-12 purpose_driven_development/ # Idea
Deep Dives & Playbooks
./infoblogs/coding_file_edits/
📝 How Agent Harnesses Edit Files
// A field guide to how agent harnesses — Cline, Codex, OpenCode, ADK-Rust, Reasonix, CodeWhale, CheetahClaws, Oh My Pi, Crush, DeerFlow, Dirac, Goose, OpenHands, Pi, Pochi, Qwen Code, Wintermolt, Zaica, and more — actually edit files in your codebase.
./infoblogs/coding_agents/
🤖 Agent Harness Field Guide
// A deep dive into how Pochi, Neovate Code, Mux, Crush, Kimi Code CLI, Qwen Code, OpenHands, Claude Code, DeerFlow, Hermes Agent, Pi Mono, OpenCode, Codex CLI, Wintermolt, Zaica, Goose, Dirac, Open Claude Code, Reasonix, CodeWhale, and CheetahClaws are built: tool systems, model plumbing, prompt caching, context compaction, web research, shell execution, MCP handling, and architectural tradeoffs.
./infoblogs/purpose_driven_development/
🧭 Purpose Driven Development
// Notes on using short purpose sentences to keep coding agents on track.
config.json
{
"topics": {
"core_workflows": [
"Browser-only AI setups",
"Safe file sharing with AI",
"Prompting and context patterns",
"Debugging and refactor flows"
],
"budget_scaling": [
"Free-tier and cheap models",
"Mixing web chats + VS Code",
"Async agents and queues",
"Keeping costs under control"
]
}
}
subscribe.sh
$ export EMAIL=