OpenCode: The Free AI Coding Agent That Replaces Cursor ($0 Forever)

What Is OpenCode?

OpenCode is an open-source terminal-based AI coding agent that has exploded to 129,000+ GitHub stars in 2026. It provides the same core experience as Cursor or Claude Code — understanding your codebase, editing files, running commands — but it's completely free and open-source.

The key differentiator: OpenCode doesn't lock you into a specific AI provider. You can use Google Gemini's free tier, Groq's free API, Ollama for local models, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. This means you can code with AI assistance at literally $0/month.

Installation

Three Installation Methods

Option 1: npm (recommended)

npm install -g opencode

Option 2: Homebrew (macOS)

brew install opencode

Option 3: Build from source

git clone https://github.com/opencode-ai/opencode
cd opencode
go build -o opencode.
sudo mv opencode /usr/local/bin/

Setting Up Free AI Providers

Google Gemini Free Tier (Recommended to Start)

Google offers a generous free tier for Gemini 2.5 Flash — perfect for coding tasks:

1. Go to aistudio.google.com and create an API key
2. Set the environment variable: export GEMINI_API_KEY=your-key-here
3. Configure OpenCode: opencode config set provider gemini
4. Start coding: opencode in any project directory

The free tier includes 15 requests/minute and 1,500 requests/day — more than enough for an individual developer's daily workflow.

Groq Free API (Fastest Responses)

Groq's inference hardware delivers responses in under 500ms — noticeably faster than other providers:

export GROQ_API_KEY=your-key-here
opencode config set provider groq
opencode config set model llama-3.3-70b

Groq's free tier is rate-limited but sufficient for most coding sessions. The speed advantage is significant for interactive pair programming workflows.

Ollama Local Models (Fully Offline)

For complete privacy and zero API costs, run models locally with Ollama:

ollama pull qwen2.5-coder:32b
opencode config set provider ollama
opencode config set model qwen2.5-coder:32b

You'll need a GPU with 24GB+ VRAM for the 32B model, or use the 7B variant on consumer hardware. Local models are ideal for proprietary codebases where you can't send code to external APIs.

Daily Workflow with OpenCode

OpenCode's workflow is similar to Claude Code — navigate to your project directory and start a conversation:

cd my-project
opencode > "Add input validation to the user registration form"
> "Write tests for the payment processing module"
> "Refactor the database queries to use parameterized statements"
> "Find and fix the memory leak in the websocket handler"

OpenCode reads your project structure, understands file relationships, and makes targeted edits across multiple files. It can also run your tests, check build output, and iterate until the task is complete.

OpenCode vs Paid Alternatives

For a deeper comparison of paid tools, see our Claude Code vs Cursor vs Copilot comparison. For more free options, check 5 free AI coding agents that need no API key.

Extending OpenCode with Plugins

OpenCode's plugin system lets you add custom tools:

• Database tools — query databases directly from the conversation
• API testing — send HTTP requests and analyze responses
• Docker management — build, run, and debug containers
• Custom linters — enforce project-specific coding standards

Plugins follow the Model Context Protocol (MCP) standard, meaning any MCP-compatible tool works with OpenCode out of the box.

Pro Tips for Maximum Productivity

1. Create a .opencode config file in your project root with project-specific instructions (coding style, framework conventions, test commands)
2. Use /compact mode for long sessions to keep context manageable
3. Chain providers — use fast Groq for simple queries and Gemini Pro for complex reasoning
4. Enable auto-confirm for safe operations (file reads, searches) to reduce interaction overhead
5. Combine with CoderFile — use OpenCode locally and CoderFile.io for collaborative sessions

Get Started in 5 Minutes

Install OpenCode, set up a free Gemini API key, and start coding with AI assistance — all in under 5 minutes. For browser-based coding with built-in collaboration, try CoderFile.io — no installation required. Explore more free AI tools for developers to build your ideal workflow.