Earn Claude credits from your terminal.

FreeAI adds a reversible claude shell alias that shows one subtle sponsored line in Claude Code’s status bar only while Claude Code is thinking — and returns 50% of the revenue to you as credits you redeem for Claude Pro or Max.

What it looks like: the ad· line is a clickable link, and it disappears the moment Claude Code stops working.

Before you start

• Claude Code installed — the real claude command must already be on your PATH. (Try claude --version.)
• Node.js 20.12 or newer — check with node --version.
• A supported shell — zsh, bash, or fish.

No account or sign-in is needed to start earning — a device credential is created locally on first run, the same way the browser extension works.

1 Install the freeai command

Until the package lands on npm, install it from the repo. This puts a global freeai command on your PATH (the shell alias depends on it):

# clone and link the terminal client
git clone https://github.com/conorplunkett/freeai.fyi.git
cd freeai.fyi/terminal
npm link        # exposes the global `freeai` command

Keep the cloned folder in place — npm link points the global command at it. To remove it later, run npm rm -g @freeai/terminal.

2 Run setup

This finds your real claude, records it, and adds a small, clearly-marked, reversible block to your shell config that aliases claude to the FreeAI wrapper:

freeai claude setup

Then restart your shell, or source your config — setup prints the exact path:

source ~/.zshrc   # or ~/.bashrc, or ~/.config/fish/config.fish

That’s it. Use claude exactly as you always have — every flag, argument, and exit code is forwarded untouched.

3 Verify it works

Check the wiring — doctor prints the resolved paths as JSON; ok: true means the real claude was found:

freeai claude doctor

{
  "ok": true,
  "realClaudePath": "/usr/local/bin/claude",
  "configPath": "~/.freeai/claude/config.json",
  "shell": "zsh",
  "rcPath": "~/.zshrc"
}

Watch it live — open a project and ask Claude Code to do something that takes a few seconds:

claude

• While Claude Code is thinking or running tools, a subtle ad· line appears in the status bar.
• It’s a clickable link — opening it counts as a click (worth 50× an impression).
• The moment Claude Code finishes and waits for you, the line disappears.
• After 5 continuous seconds of activity, one impression is recorded — and 50% of its value becomes your credit balance.

Confirm it credited your device — the first run creates a device credential at ~/.freeai/device.json. After a session with a few seconds of activity, read it and check your earnings straight from the API:

# needs `jq`; the device file holds your deviceId + deviceKey
BASE="https://wpjfhezklpczxzocgxsb.supabase.co/functions/v1/api"
DID=$(jq -r .deviceId ~/.freeai/device.json)
DK=$(jq -r .deviceKey ~/.freeai/device.json)
curl -s "$BASE/v1/me/earnings?deviceId=$DID&deviceKey=$DK"

{
  "revenueShare": 0.5,
  "earnedUsd": 0.0025,
  "paidOutUsd": 0,
  "redeemedUsd": 0,
  "balanceUsd": 0.0025
}

A nonzero earnedUsd (and matching balanceUsd) means the impression landed server-side and your 50% share is in the ledger.

Redeem what you’ve earned anytime on the user login page — the terminal client shares the same device-credit balance as the browser extension.

How it stays out of your way

• It never edits the real Claude. No changes to the claude binary, the npm shim, or your persistent ~/.claude/settings.json. The ad is delivered through a per-session, temporary --settings file using Claude Code’s documented statusLine surface.
• It chains, never clobbers. If you already use a custom status line, yours still runs — the ad line is added above it.
• It fails open. If anything — network, config, ad fetch — doesn’t work, the wrapper just runs plain claude. You’re never blocked.
• It reads none of your prompts. Activity is detected only from the structure of Claude Code’s transcript (is it mid-response?), never its contents.

Not seeing an ad?

The ad path stays silent by design, so use these two checks to see what’s happening:

1. Probe the backend — doctor runs the full ad pipeline and ends with an adsWillServe verdict:

freeai claude doctor

{
  "backend": "https://…supabase.co/functions/v1/api",
  "steps": {
    "config": { "ok": true, "serving": true },
    "ads":    { "ok": true, "count": 1, "first": "Plan your next sprint faster" },
    "device": { "ok": true },
    "clickIntent": { "ok": true }
  },
  "adsWillServe": true
}

• "error": "fetch failed" on config/ads → your network can’t reach the API (firewall, proxy, or offline).
• "count": 0 → no ad is in rotation right now; nothing to show.
• adsWillServe: false → the failing step above is why no ad serves.

2. Trace a real run — set FREEAI_DEBUG=1 and watch why the wrapper did (or didn’t) inject an ad:

FREEAI_DEBUG=1 claude

If you see no freeai[debug] lines at all, the alias isn’t active — confirm with type claude (it should say aliased to freeai claude run), then re-open your shell.

Remember the ad only shows while Claude Code is actively working — it is hidden the moment it finishes and waits for you.

Opt out & uninstall

Skip ads for a single run without uninstalling:

FREEAI_DISABLE=1 claude

Remove the shell alias entirely (safe to run repeatedly):

freeai claude restore

FreeAI is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Anthropic. “Claude” and “Claude Code” are trademarks of Anthropic. By installing you agree to the Terms; see how earnings are computed in the open-source backend.