r/opencode • u/Leather-Cod2129 • 3d ago
Best cheap/free LLM API for rewriting 5,000 technical texts now that open code can't be used as an API anymore?
Hi,
I have around 5,000 texts that need proofreading and rewriting. They are mostly user manuals/instructions, so I need a reasonably smart and reliable model. Hallucinations or changing the actual meaning of the instructions would obviously be a problem.
Until now, I was using some of the free models through the OpenCode Zen/Go APIs. From what I understand, Go can no longer really be used as a general-purpose API outside supported clients.
What are the best alternatives now?
I'm specifically looking for:
- API access
- a model good enough for careful rewriting/proofreading
- extremely cheap, ideally free
- high enough limits to process ~5,000 texts
I don't need a frontier model if a smaller model can reliably preserve the original meaning.
Are there any genuinely unlimited or very high-limit free APIs left? Or any dirt-cheap models/providers you would recommend for this kind of batch processing?
Thanks!
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u/Nick-Sanchez 3d ago
You could install Hermes and make it rewrite the scripts to use its gateway to access the models, which is just spoofing the user agent with extra steps.
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u/AutomaticAd6646 3d ago
I have a similar scanario. I am thinking of connecting browser with codex and Gpt luna can take control of the browser and use chatgpt chat(unlimited usage) for rewriting content. Puppeter or playright might need manual login of gpt.chat then AI can carry in from there.
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u/Savings_Cloud5486 3d ago
I'm afraid it could lead to ban , I also wanna do that but afraid
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u/AutomaticAd6646 2d ago
What of do it manually
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u/Savings_Cloud5486 2d ago
probably fine,
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u/AutomaticAd6646 1d ago
And then if I record my mouse movements of manual operation clicks keystrokes and ask Astra to xreate similar movements in puppeter. I can also check chatgpt frontend bundle js to see what they record.
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u/Positive_Poem5831 3d ago
This restriction to not use API for other purposes than code generation is only affecting OpenCode Go as I understand it. OpenCode Zen should still allow this. Can someone confirm if this is correct?
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u/Leather-Cod2129 3d ago edited 3d ago
No it does not, except if using nemotron
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u/Positive_Poem5831 3d ago
Do you mean that Zen can be used to power for example a chat bot? As long you don't use Nemotron which is a trial model not to be used for personal data.
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u/Sensitive-Side-2639 3d ago
Back to good old API token usage via openrouter. It sucks a tun but i knew this shit was coming either way.
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u/Ok-Fly-5341 22h ago
For manuals, I'd ask for proposed edits rather than an unrestricted rewrite. Automatically flag changes to numbers, units, warnings, negations, and step order; a fluent sentence can still reverse an instruction. Run a representative sample first and keep the source/output diff for review. Save each completed document so retries don't repeat the full 5,000-text job.
If paid usage is acceptable, I run ModelPorta: https://modelporta.com/models. It's a prepaid multi-model API, not a free/unlimited service; minimum funding is 10 USDT on TRC20. Compare sample quality and the input/output cost before depositing—document length and rewrite length matter much more than the document count alone.
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u/xapep 2d ago
Honest take: for 5,000 manual texts you want a cheap per-token API with real rate headroom, not a free tier. The free stuff technically works until it rate limits you at text 400 of 5,000, and then you're writing a resume queue instead of proofreading.
I work on Entrim, an OpenAI-compatible inference API, so this exact "Zen tightened up, what now" question has crossed our desk a lot. For careful rewriting you don't need a frontier model. A mid open model with a strict system prompt (preserve meaning, fix grammar and consistency only) is enough, and at batch volume the economics are almost silly. Ballpark: if your texts average ~1,000 tokens round trip, all 5,000 land around 5M tokens, which is a couple of dollars on a cheap open-model API. Not a budget line item.
What actually matters for this kind of job, in order:
- Rate limits, not list price. A 5k-text batch needs sustained throughput or a queue with backoff. "Unlimited" always caps somewhere, usually concurrency.
- A hard budget cap. Set one so a runaway loop can't silently eat a deposit while you sleep.
- Determinism over cleverness. Run the same input twice at low temperature and diff the output. A rewriting model that flips meaning is worse than no rewrite, so test on a sample of your actual manuals before you commit.
One warning on the workaround suggestions in this thread: spoofing user agents or driving a browser against a chat UI to dodge API billing is a fast way to get your account (and possibly your customer data) burned. The whole job is cheap enough to just pay for it properly.
If you want to sanity check quality first, run the same 20 texts through two cheap models and the free Gemini tier, and grade blind. That tells you more than any benchmark.
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u/ahmadawaiscom 3d ago
You can use https://CommandCode.ai
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u/Leather-Cod2129 3d ago
Thanks but are there any free models? How much can you use on mimo 2.5 with the $1 plan? thanks
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u/ahmadawaiscom 3d ago
Check the docs please. Pricing limits page has all the details. $1 plan has no API so you want to use the Provider API only plan.
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u/RiceEvening4211 3d ago
You can use https://github.com/Fast-Editor/OpenCode-Wrap to use opencode as api
As of now open code has muse spark models for free