Claude Desktop + OpenRouter Setup (Free Open Source Models)
About This Video
Claude Desktop can run entirely on OpenRouter's free AI models — no Anthropic account, no subscription, no credit card. This is the complete 2026 setup using Gateway mode (third-party inference), plus the fix for the #1 problem: free models like Gemma 4 and Nemotron 3 not showing up in the model picker. ⚡ THE 60-SECOND VERSION 1. Get a free API key at openrouter.ai/keys (starts with sk-or-v1-) 2. Claude Desktop → Help → Troubleshooting → Enable Developer Mode 3. Developer → Configure Third-Party Inference 4. Inference provider: Gateway Gateway base URL: https://openrouter.ai/api Gateway API key: your sk-or-v1-... key Gateway auth scheme: bearer 5. Click "Apply locally" → FULLY quit Claude Desktop → reopen 6. Choose "Continue with Gateway" on the start screen 7. Add your free model IDs under Models (see 08:15 — this step is required) 🔧 WHY YOUR MODEL PICKER IS EMPTY Claude Desktop's auto-discovery only shows models whose IDs look like Claude models. Gemma, Nemotron and GPT-OSS get filtered out. You must list them explicitly in the Models section of the config window. Full walkthrough at 08:15. 💯 FREE OPENROUTER MODELS USED (August 2026) nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b:free — 1M context, best all-round free model google/gemma-4-31b-it:free — 262K context, vision + tools openai/gpt-oss-20b:free — 131K context, fast and light poolside/laguna-s-2.1:free — 262K context, coding cohere/north-mini-code:free — 256K context, coding openrouter/free — auto-picks a free model for you 📊 FREE TIER LIMITS 20 requests per minute. Roughly 50 requests/day on a zero-balance account, rising to about 1,000/day once you've purchased $10 in credits at any point (credits don't expire). Verify current numbers at openrouter.ai/docs — these change. ⚠️ HONEST DISCLAIMER This gives you Claude Desktop's INTERFACE for free — not Claude Opus or Sonnet for free. Routing actual Claude models through OpenRouter costs normal API rates. Free models are capable but they are not Claude-tier. 🕐 CHAPTERS 00:00 What this actually gets you (and what it doesn't) 01:10 Why route Claude Desktop through OpenRouter 02:05 Creating your free OpenRouter API key 03:20 Enabling Developer Mode in Claude Desktop 04:15 Configure Third-Party Inference: the exact 4 fields 05:40 Apply locally + the full restart people skip 🔗 LINKS OpenRouter keys: https://openrouter.ai/keys Official Claude Desktop integration guide: https://openrouter.ai/docs/cookbook/coding-agents/claude-desktop-integration Anthropic gateway docs: https://claude.com/docs/third-party/claude-desktop/gateway Free models list: https://openrouter.ai/collections/free-models Written guide with copy-paste config: [your blog URL] #ClaudeDesktop #OpenRouter #FreeAI #AITools #claudeai Claude Desktop for FREE with OpenRouter (2026) — Full Setup + The Model Picker Fix
Related Videos
OmniRoute Setup on Mac: Connect Claude Code for Free AI Tokens
earn how to install and configure OmniRoute on macOS to route Claude Code through free AI model endpoints and avoid token rate limits. Complete Terminal guide. <p class="lead">OmniRoute is an open-source local AI gateway that lets you aggregate free-tier provider models behind a single OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Follow this step-by-step guide to install OmniRoute on macOS and integrate it with Claude Code to bypass usage limits.</p> <h2>Prerequisites</h2> <ul> <li>A Mac running macOS Big Sur or newer (Intel or Apple Silicon M1/M2/M3/M4)</li> <li>Node.js (v18 or higher recommended)</li> <li>Terminal app (or iTerm2)</li> </ul> <h2>Step 1: Install OmniRoute Globally on Mac</h2> <p>Open your macOS Terminal and execute the global npm installation command:</p> <code>npm i -g omniroute</code> <h2>Step 2: Start the OmniRoute Service</h2> <p>Launch the OmniRoute gateway server locally:</p> <code>omniroute</code> <p>This starts the gateway on your local machine (defaulting to port 20128) and prints the local dashboard URL: http://localhost:20128.</p> <h2>Step 3: Connect Free Providers in the Dashboard</h2> <ol> <li>Open http://localhost:20128 in your browser.</li> <li>Navigate to the Providers tab.</li> <li>Connect your preferred free-tier API providers (such as Gemini, Groq, Kimi, GLM, or DeepSeek).</li> <li>Go to the API Keys section and generate a local token for authentication.</li> </ol> <h2>Step 4: Configure Claude Code to Route Through OmniRoute</h2> <p>To direct Claude Code CLI traffic through your local OmniRoute instance, set the Anthropic environment variables in your active shell or ~/.zshrc file:</p> <code>export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="http://localhost:20128"</code><br> <code>export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="your_omniroute_api_key"</code><br> <code>export CLAUDE_CODE_ENABLE_GATEWAY_MODEL_DISCOVERY=1</code> <h2>Step 5: Verify the Connection</h2> <p>Run a test query in Claude Code to verify requests are reaching your gateway:</p> <code>claude "Hello, confirm connection status."</code> <h2>Useful Resources</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://github.com/diegosouzapw/OmniRoute" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OmniRoute Official GitHub Repository</a></li> <li><a href="https://nodejs.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Download Node.js for Mac</a></li> <li><a href="https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/agents-and-tools/claude-code/overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Claude Code Official Documentation</a></li> </ul>
Use GPT 6 Astra FREE in Codex (Free Unlimited Codex with GPT 6)
In this video, I'm walking you through how to set up and configure the GPT-6 Astra model with your local development environment using Flagship Router. This is an educational tutorial about local model configuration and development tool management—all standard practices that developers use for their workflows. 📌 What This Video Covers: Cloning the Flagship Router repository from the official source Installing Node.js and project dependencies with npm install Running the launch command to build and start the local router Logging into the Flagship Router web interface Turning off the API key requirement for smoother operation Exploring the model library—336 models available with 86 ready to use Finding and testing the GPT-6 Astra model Copying the model identifier for configuration Using the CLI Tools section to configure your development application Applying the model configuration and launching your app Verifying the setup with a live test prompt Confirming the connection through Flagship Router ⚙️ How It Works: Flagship Router is a local routing tool that helps developers manage connections between their coding applications and various model providers. In this tutorial, I demonstrate how to configure it with the GPT-6 Astra model and integrate it with development tools using standard local proxy techniques. 🛠️ Prerequisites: Node.js installed on your system Git installed for cloning the repository Basic familiarity with terminal or command prompt A development application or code editor installed 🔗 Resources Mentioned: Flagship Router Repository: https://github.com/theRizwan/FlagshipRouter Node.js Official Website: https://nodejs.org 📝 Disclaimer: This video is for educational and informational purposes only. It demonstrates standard local development environment configuration techniques using open-source tools and models. The tools and methods shown are intended for personal learning and legitimate development workflows. Always ensure you comply with the terms of service of any software or platform you use. 💬 Have questions about the setup or ran into an issue? Drop a comment below and I'll personally help you out. 🔔 Subscribe to Rizwan for more coding tutorials, development environment setups, and tech guides every week. #GPT6Astra #FlagshipRouter #LocalDevelopment #CodingSetup #AIModels #ProgrammingTutorial #Rizwan
OmniRoute Setup on Mac: 1.62 Billion FREE AI Tokens/Month (Claude,GPT,Gemini)
OmniRoute is a free, open-source AI gateway that puts 90+ free-tier providers behind ONE local endpoint. In this video, I show you the complete OmniRoute setup on Mac, from install to connecting Claude Code, Cursor, Cline, and Codex, so you can code with free AI models and automatic fallback. 🔥 What you'll learn: - What OmniRoute is and how the free-token math works (~1.6B tokens/month) - Installing OmniRoute on macOS with npm - Opening the dashboard and connecting free providers - Using the local endpoint (http://localhost:20128/v1) in your AI tools - Auto-routing and combos: fallback when one provider hits its limit - Token compression to stretch your free limits further - Honest limits: what "free" really means ⏱️ Chapters: 0:00 Intro: Are billions of free tokens real? 0:45 What is OmniRoute? 2:00 Prerequisites (Node.js, Terminal) 3:00 Install OmniRoute on Mac 4:30 Dashboard walkthrough 6:00 Connecting free providers 09:00 Auto-routing & fallback combos 💻 Commands used: npm i -g omniroute 🔗 Links: OmniRoute GitHub: https://github.com/diegosouzapw/OmniRoute Node.js: https://nodejs.org Note: the token numbers come from the project's own aggregation of documented free tiers. Actual availability depends on the providers you sign up for and their limits, which can change. 👍 If this helped, like and subscribe for more AI tools and developer tutorials. #OmniRoute #FreeAI #AIGateway #ClaudeCode #MacSetup