# free-pi

> A free, ad-supported AI coding agent for the terminal.

free-pi gives developers a free AI coding agent. Run `npx free-pi-cli@latest`, sign in with GitHub, and receive a daily allowance of coding help.

Every public page is also available as Markdown: add `.md` to its URL (the homepage is /index.md).

## Getting started

- Install and run: `npx free-pi-cli@latest`
- Sign in with GitHub through a freepi.ai page that opens from the terminal (a GitHub device code is the fallback over SSH).

## Why free-pi

- **Free, with no card.** Tasteful terminal ads pay for inference, so you do not enter payment details.
- **A real coding agent.** Built on the Pi agent harness and running in your terminal.
- **Your choice of models.** Switch models anytime with `/model`.
- **Free image generation.** Ask for a mockup, icon or illustration and it lands in your project.
- **Built for security work.** Opt-in Defense models, the bundled security-audit skill and `/reverse-engineer-anything`, for systems you own or are authorized to test.
- **Open source CLI.** Read the code on GitHub.

## Docs

- [Getting started](https://freepi.ai/docs/getting-started.md): Install and run the free-pi CLI, sign in with GitHub, and start your first coding session in the terminal.
- [Using the agent](https://freepi.ai/docs/using-the-agent.md): free-pi runs the pi coding agent. Describe what you want built, fixed, or explained, and the agent works in your current directory.
- [Commands and flags](https://freepi.ai/docs/commands-and-flags.md): The command-line flags, subcommands, environment variables, and slash commands you use with free-pi-cli.
- [Models and limits](https://freepi.ai/docs/models-and-limits.md): Which models free-pi offers, how the free daily allowance works, and what to do when you reach it.
- [Invite friends](https://freepi.ai/docs/referrals.md): Invite a friend to free-pi and you both get 5,000 extra credits a day for 30 days. This page explains how to get your invite link and what has to happen for the bonus to start.
- [Ads and privacy](https://freepi.ai/docs/ads-and-privacy.md): How ads work in free-pi, and what is collected from your sessions.
- [Updating and troubleshooting](https://freepi.ai/docs/updating-and-troubleshooting.md): How free-pi-cli stays up to date, and fixes for the problems people hit most often.
- [Moving from Claude Code to free-pi](https://freepi.ai/docs/moving-from-claude-code.md): How to switch from Claude Code to free-pi: install it, sign in, and bring over your instructions, skills, MCP servers and custom commands.
- [Docs index](https://freepi.ai/docs.md)
- Docs, comparisons and blog in one file: https://freepi.ai/llms-full.txt

## Comparisons

- [All comparisons](https://freepi.ai/vs.md)
- [free-pi vs Freebuff](https://freepi.ai/vs/freebuff.md): Both are free coding agents. free-pi starts with one npx command and ships 200+ reverse-engineering tools.
- [free-pi vs OpenCode](https://freepi.ai/vs/opencode.md): free-pi gives you a free AI coding agent in one command: no card, no API key, and an allowance that refills every day.
- [free-pi vs Claude Code](https://freepi.ai/vs/claude-code.md): Want an AI coding agent in your terminal for $0? free-pi starts with one command, no card, no API key. Claude Code starts at $17 a month.
- [free-pi vs Gemini CLI](https://freepi.ai/vs/gemini-cli.md): Gemini CLI's free sign-in ended June 18, 2026. free-pi is still free: no card, no API key, one command, coding in seconds.
- [free-pi vs Aider](https://freepi.ai/vs/aider.md): Aider is open-source and works with almost any model, but you bring the API key. free-pi needs one command and a GitHub sign-in.
- [free-pi vs OpenAI Codex CLI](https://freepi.ai/vs/codex-cli.md): Codex CLI is open source and works with a ChatGPT sign-in, including the Free plan. free-pi works with a GitHub sign-in and lets you pick your model.
- [free-pi vs GitHub Copilot CLI](https://freepi.ai/vs/github-copilot-cli.md): GitHub's docs say all Copilot plans, including Free, include Copilot CLI. free-pi is another free option with a GitHub sign-in and a model catalog.
- [free-pi vs Cursor CLI](https://freepi.ai/vs/cursor-cli.md): Cursor CLI brings Cursor's agent to your terminal with a Cursor account. free-pi needs only a GitHub sign-in and has a free daily allowance.

## Blog

- [All guides](https://freepi.ai/blog.md)
- [How to run abliterated models: on your own GPU, or free in your terminal](https://freepi.ai/blog/running-abliterated-models-local-vs-freepi.md): If you do security work with language models, you know the moment.
- [Audit your own repo with the security-audit skill in free-pi](https://freepi.ai/blog/audit-your-repo-with-security-audit-skill.md): free-pi bundles the audit method and reference checklists from Cloudflare's open-source security-audit skill, so you can ask your terminal agent for a…
- [When a coding model refuses your own security work: using the Defense section responsibly](https://freepi.ai/blog/using-defense-mode-responsibly.md): Security work on your own systems should not stall because a model refused it.
- [Harden your CI and software supply chain with a terminal agent](https://freepi.ai/blog/harden-ci-and-supply-chain-with-a-terminal-agent.md): Your build pipeline is code that runs with your secrets and publishes what your users install.
- [Recon, audit, detect: a defender's workflow with DeepSeek V4 and the Defense models](https://freepi.ai/blog/recon-audit-detect-with-deepseek-and-defense-models.md): Security work often stalls on one step: you ask a model to help write a detection rule for an attack you saw in your own logs, and it refuses because the…
- [Free web search for your coding agent: no API key, no setup](https://freepi.ai/blog/free-web-search.md): free-pi can now search the web for you, and it costs nothing extra. CLI 0.4.6 adds a built-in websearch tool.
- [Free documentation knowledge for your coding agent: current docs, no setup](https://freepi.ai/blog/free-documentation-knowledge.md): free-pi now gives its coding agent access to current library documentation, free of charge. CLI 0.4.6 adds a built-in docslookup tool.
- [Use REA (Reverse Engineer Anything) free: no API key, no card](https://freepi.ai/blog/use-rea-free.md): You can run REA (Reverse Engineer Anything) for free, without an API key or a payment card, from the free-pi terminal agent: run npx free-pi-cli, sign in…
- [What's really inside this Go CLI? A dependency inventory from the binary](https://freepi.ai/blog/go-binary-dependency-inventory.md): A compiled Go program carries a list of every module it was built from, with versions. REA can read that list without running the program.
- [What does your app store? Reading an app's SQLite database](https://freepi.ai/blog/read-app-sqlite-database.md): Many desktop and mobile apps keep their data in a SQLite file.
- [Is your Electron app hardened? Reading its fuses and IPC surface](https://freepi.ai/blog/electron-fuses-ipc-audit.md): Electron apps are web pages with a desktop shell, and their security depends on a few settings: the Electron "fuses" (switches compiled into the app's…
- [Inside a .NET tool: metadata, native imports and one method's CIL](https://freepi.ai/blog/dotnet-assembly-teardown.md): A .NET program ships as an assembly: a file with metadata (names, types, references) and method bodies in CIL, the Common Intermediate Language.
- [Free Cursor alternative with no credit card (2026)](https://freepi.ai/blog/free-cursor-alternative-no-credit-card.md): If you want a free Cursor alternative with no credit card, you have three real paths in 2026: a limited free tier inside a paid IDE (Cursor Hobby, Copilot…
- [Best free AI coding tools with no credit card (2026)](https://freepi.ai/blog/best-free-ai-coding-tools-no-credit-card.md): The best free AI coding tools in 2026 with no credit card fall into three buckets: capped free tiers inside paid IDEs (Copilot Free, Windsurf, Trae…
- [I cancelled Cursor — free and cheap options that still code (2026)](https://freepi.ai/blog/cancelled-cursor-what-to-use-instead.md): If you cancelled Cursor because it felt too expensive, you are not alone — public Cursor forum threads and cancel write-ups keep circling the same pain…
- [Free AI coding for students in India (no credit card) — 2026](https://freepi.ai/blog/free-ai-coding-india-students.md): If you are a college or adult student in India searching for free AI coding — especially after hitting a wall on Cursor student / free Pro eligibility —…

## Transparency

- Ads in the terminal keep free-pi free.
- Some ads are selected by a third-party ad provider (Gravity) using recent conversation excerpts; see the Privacy Policy.
- free-pi may use session data to create a better experience and more powerful models.

## Important pages

- [Homepage](https://freepi.ai/index.md)
- [Terms of Service](https://freepi.ai/terms.md)
- [Privacy Policy](https://freepi.ai/privacy.md)
- [Changelog](https://freepi.ai/changelog.md)

## Links

- GitHub: https://github.com/dennisonbertram/free-pi-cli
- npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/free-pi-cli