---
url: https://docs.freetheai.org/getting-started/introduction.md
description: >-
  FreeTheAI is a free, OpenAI-compatible AI API. One account and one key give
  you dozens of free models in any app or SDK that lets you set a base URL.
---

# What is FreeTheAI

FreeTheAI is a free, OpenAI-compatible AI API. One account and one API key give you access to dozens of free models, including GLM 5.3, Kimi K3, MiniMax M3, Gemini 3.5 Flash, and gpt-oss, with 50 free requests a day and no credit card.

Because it speaks the same protocols as OpenAI and Anthropic, anything that lets you change the base URL can use it: the official OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs, roleplay apps like JanitorAI and SillyTavern, chat apps like Open WebUI and LibreChat, and coding agents like Claude Code, Codex, Cline, and Aider.

## What you get

* **One key for every free model.** Model IDs start with `fta/`, for example `fta/zai/glm-5.3` and `fta/kimi/k3`. The [Models page](https://freetheai.org/models) lists every model with its context size and the endpoints it supports.
* **Three wire formats.** [Chat Completions](/api/chat-completions), [Responses](/api/responses), and [Anthropic Messages](/api/messages). Every free model answers on all three, streaming and tool calls included, so you can keep the SDK you already use.
* **Web search for any model.** [`/v1/search`](/api/search) returns current results with text excerpts, and [`/v1/answer`](/api/answer) returns a short answer with its sources.
* **Privacy.** FreeTheAI does not store your prompts or replies.

## How the free tier works

1. You create a free account on [freetheai.org](https://freetheai.org) with a Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, or iCloud address and confirm the email.
2. You create an API key. It starts with `ftai_` and is shown once.
3. Once a day you do a short [check-in](/getting-started/check-in) on freetheai.org. It unlocks free models until 00:00 UTC.
4. You send requests from any app or SDK.

Every account starts with **50 free requests a day**, resetting at 00:00 UTC, and gets **50 more a day for linking Discord**. Free accounts run one request at a time. Requests that fail, or that are turned away because a model is busy, do not count. The details are on [Limits and the daily reset](/concepts/limits).

Paid models and plans are coming soon. Nobody needs to pay to use the free tier.

## The addresses you need

| What | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Base URL (OpenAI SDKs and most apps) | `https://api.freetheai.org/v1` |
| Full chat URL (apps that want the whole address, such as JanitorAI) | `https://api.freetheai.org/v1/chat/completions` |
| Anthropic base URL (Claude Code and the Anthropic SDK) | `https://api.freetheai.org` |
| Auth header | `Authorization: Bearer ftai_...` |
| OpenAPI 3.1 spec | [api.freetheai.org/openapi.json](https://api.freetheai.org/openapi.json) |

FreeTheAI used to live at freetheai.xyz. It moved to freetheai.org and api.freetheai.org; old freetheai.xyz links redirect, but old `api.freetheai.xyz` addresses and old model IDs no longer work.

## Next steps

* [Quickstart](/getting-started/quickstart): your first request in curl, Python, JavaScript, or TypeScript.
* [App guides](/guides/): step-by-step setup for 24 apps.
* [API reference](/api/): every endpoint, parameter, and response.
* [Errors](/errors): every error message, word for word, with the fix.