DeepSeek V4.1 Flash free on OpenCode: how to code with AI without paying for subscriptions or tokens

Starting today you can code with AI without paying for a subscription or for tokens: OpenCode, an open source coding agent and an alternative to Claude Code, has made the DeepSeek V4.1 Flash model free. Zero input costs and zero output costs, for a limited time that OpenCode hasn’t defined yet.

What is OpenCode and why does this promo matter?

OpenCode is an open source coding agent that runs in the terminal, inside your project folder. In practice it does the same job as Claude Code: it reads the code, understands how it’s organized and edits files when you ask.

The barrier for anyone starting to code with AI is cost: monthly subscriptions or pay-as-you-go tokens. With DeepSeek V4.1 Flash free on OpenCode, that cost disappears, at least for now.

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is a Chinese model released in September 2026 and built specifically for coding. According to OpenCode’s data page, the paid version costs $0.30 per million input tokens and $1.20 per million output tokens: the Free version brings both to zero.

How do you install and set up OpenCode with free DeepSeek?

It takes a few minutes and six steps:

1. Open the terminal and install OpenCode with the command curl -fsSL https://opencode.ai/v2/install | bash.
2. Go to your project folder and run the opencode command.
3. Inside OpenCode, type /connect and choose the OpenCode pay-as-you-go provider.
4. Log in at opencode.ai/console, add a payment card (you need one even to use the free model), copy the key and paste it into the terminal.
5. Type /models and select DeepSeek V4.1 Flash Free.
6. Type /init: OpenCode reads the project, understands how it’s built and initializes the whole system.

From here on OpenCode is ready and you can ask it anything about your code.

What should you know before using it?

There are three things to know about DeepSeek V4.1 Flash Free in OpenCode.

• It’s free for a limited time. The OpenCode Zen documentation confirms it, but gives no end date.
• The context window is 200,000 tokens. The paid version goes up to 1,000,000 tokens. To get started, 200,000 tokens of context is plenty: enough to work on a real project.
• There’s a Zero Data Retention policy. The provider doesn’t keep your data and doesn’t use it to train other models.

What does Zero Data Retention mean for your code?

Zero Data Retention means the code and prompts you send to the model aren’t stored after the response. For developers this is the key point: your project’s code doesn’t end up in the training data of another model.

Who should try it now?

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash free on OpenCode is the simplest way to understand what working with a coding agent feels like without spending anything. If you’re wondering how far you can go, I’ve also written about what it takes to build software with AI without knowing how to code.

The promotion will end without notice. If you want to start coding with AI, now is the time to try it.