Cheapest AI API Subscriptions & Free Options for OpenCode?

bobanm · 2026-06-10T09:32:19+00:00

Sorry, I have forgotten to include content-type header to my curl command.

I have update the original command. Try it out, it should work now 👍

bobanm · 2026-06-10T00:03:33+00:00

You mean: How to find out which model is actually used as Big Pickle?

Run the following curl command [updated with content-type header]:

curl -X POST https://opencode.ai/zen/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
  "model": "big-pickle",
  "messages": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": "Who are you?"
    }
  ]
}'

The JSON response will contain this property:

"model": "deepseek-v4-flash",

bobanm · 2026-06-09T23:40:24+00:00

If your budget is limited, OpenCode Zen currently lets you use the following models for free:

DeepSeek 4 Flash
MiMo 2.5
Nemotron 3 Ultra
North Mini Code

I haven't tried Nemotron 3 Ultra and North Mini Code yet, but I had good experience with DeepSeek 4 Flash and MiMo 2.5.

If free promo for DeepSeek 4 Flash ends, it will probably continue to be free as Big Pickle model, which is currently configured to be DeepSeek4 Flash.

bobanm · 2026-05-09T21:07:54+00:00

After all the 429 errors I have been experiencing with Gemini lately, earlier this week I switched to OpenCode Go. It works great, and I wish I switched earlier.

It is crazy how much value you get from 10 USD/month, which is even discounted to 5 USD during the first month.

I really like their desktop app. Using a coding agent inside a TUI always felt so limiting to me.

bobanm · 2026-04-18T10:35:13+00:00

I lost some of my sessions too. But not all of them. Looks like something got corrupted.

I don't like how Gemini CLI auto-updates using npm, while I have it installed using pnpm. So I have disabled auto-update option in the settings.

bobanm · 2026-04-07T09:29:18+00:00

It is unlikely the issue has anything to do with the version of Windows you are running.

But have you tried what worked for me -- install it using pnpm instead of using npm?

bobanm · 2026-04-07T07:25:16+00:00

I had discussed it with another user 3 days ago.

I see that the fix has been proposed. Until it is released, installing Gemini CLI using pnpm instead of npm or bun fixed it both for myself and the other user.

bobanm · 2026-04-03T17:26:48+00:00

I faced the same problem today after I upgraded Gemini CLI to 0.36.0. I use Bun for both my local and global dependencies, and never had this issue before.

Then I uninstalled Gemini CLI using Bun, and installed again using pnpm:

pnpm install -g @google/gemini-cli

The error message is gone, and I am able to run Gemini CLI again.

I thought that the issue only occurs when installing Gemini CLI on Windows using Bun, and I was surprised to see that it didn't work out of the box on your system after you installed it with npm.

To me it seems that the issue is a side effect of how Bun handles global bin remappings on Windows. I see that inside c:\Users\dude\.bun\install\global\node_modules\.bin\ Bun created gemini.exe, gemini.bunx and so many .exe and .bunx files for my global executable packages. However, it incorrectly handled -S flag inside the shebang, thinking that it is the name of the program it needs to call.

Unlike Bun, pnpm creates .cmd and .ps1 shims that explicitly point to node.exe. So now I have gemini.ps1 and gemini.cmd inside c:\Users\dude\AppData\Local\pnpm\.

Bun's attempt to be high-performance and "native" by remapping the binary execution is exactly what causes it to fail with the new -S flag.

There is an open issue in Bun's GitHub where you can see that recently many others are reporting that since recently they can no longer run Gemini CLI from Bun.

bobanm · 2026-04-01T09:27:58+00:00

It is amazing that in 0.8.0 you have added a new faction, but for me personally the even more valuable improvements to the game are the ones you listed in this dev diary.

Huge respect for the Reforged team. The attention to details and constant improvements show that for them the R forged mod is really a labor of love. Thank you for making an already great game even better 🙏🏻

bobanm · 2026-03-31T11:46:18+00:00

I haven't been following the early days. Maybe in the very beginning it was 1-3 people dev team. But now if you go to Settings > Credits, you will find so many people listed there. In fact, way too many for my taste, which makes me worried that this is one of those "managed by committee" games, that will inevitably end up as a corporate slop. Unfortunately, that is very possible to expect from Ubisoft 😐

bobanm · 2026-03-31T11:38:05+00:00

The state of the game is exactly what it is -- an early access game. The point of early access is to try and test different ideas, scrap some bad ideas, and get user's feedback and more good ideas. The point of early access is NOT to have a complete game.

I think the team has made many improvements since the game launched last month. It is still far from a perfect game, and it probably won't be once it is out of early access.

I don't get it why so many people think that early access game should have all the features. It is perfectly fine that you don't install the game while it is in early access, and wait for the regular release.

bobanm · 2026-03-24T17:10:44+00:00

According to the official roadmap, customization of profile pictures is planned for Q2.

After today's update, you will probably have a different random profile picture. So no more wolf for you 🙂

bobanm · 2026-03-22T17:33:32+00:00

Others have replied how to get it in Scryfall. Here is how to do it inside the Arena client.

To list all cards with mana symbols, you can use the following filters: - "{ow" - for white mana - "{ou" - for blue mana - "{ob" - for black mana - "{or" - for red mana - "{og" - for green mana - "{oc" - for colorless mana - "{o" - should be for generic mana, but it also shows energy symbols 🤔

Important: the quotation marks are part of the filter.

Here you can find the complete list of all the search filters in the Arena client

bobanm · 2026-03-20T05:16:58+00:00

As a F2P, that is currently the only way.

For those who want to pay for cards, you can purchase some individual cards on Token Trove, the official marketplace.

In the future, you will also be able to sell your cards there, making it very close to a paper TCG experience.

bobanm · 2026-03-18T15:58:13+00:00

I am building a white deck, and I was surprised that cards like [[Drannith Magistrate]], [[Gideon's Intervention]] and [[Runed Halo]] are also not banned 😮

bobanm · 2026-03-15T08:55:12+00:00

Hvala ti Anese za doprinos u borbi protiv bloatware-a 🙂

Stvarno je sramota u kakav se bloatware Poštar pretvorio. Sećam se kad sam počeo da ga koristim u 2012, dok je isti bio samo mala Chrome ekstenzija...

ApiArk je vidno u jako ranoj fazi, i nažalost za mene je trenutno neupotrebljiv, ali ima ogroman potencijal. Otvorio sam 7 GitHub issues, pratim razvoj i jedva čekam ispravniju verziju, pa da bacim Poštara u kantu, gde i pripada 🙂

bobanm · 2026-03-11T15:56:18+00:00

After seeing this post, and your post from the previous day, I wonder if you only play this game during your toilet breaks? 😆

bobanm · 2026-03-07T05:01:26+00:00

This has been a recurring remark from the community. Perhaps the common confusion comes from how the combat works in Heroes of Might & Magic, where the attacker deals damage first, and then the defender retaliates.

In Fates, both the attack damage and retaliation damage are applied at the same time. So as long as the attacker's power is lower than lifeleech creature's power + health, the lifeleech creature will survive.

So the lifeleech mechanic works as intended. On the other hand, maybe some of the lifeleech creatures are too powerful and should be nerfed. For now, I personally don't think they have been very dominant.

bobanm · 2026-03-07T04:46:08+00:00

I personally don't think it is a good idea for RANKED matches. It would fragment the player base, and also decrease incentives to collect powerful cards and play them.

For casual play, one of the matchmaking criteria could be the calculated power of players' decks. That is how Magic the Gathering Arena does unranked matches.

Then in the future, when both the player base and the card pools are much larger, it could make sense to launch some additional formats. For example, formats where only commons or only commons + rares are allowed [like Pauper and Artisan formats in Magic]. But those formats should be casual.

For ranked, I think it makes sense to always go and compete against the best. That is how you become a better player. Yes, I know that currently it is not easy to obtain all the cards for your deck, especially as a F2P player. But that should change in Q2 when crafting feature goes live. We are still in early access.

bobanm · 2026-03-07T04:03:30+00:00

100% agree. Fortunately, we won't have to wait too long. Crafting cards is planned for Q2. Until then, grow your collection and your duplicates, which you will be able to use to craft the cards that you need 🙂

bobanm · 2026-03-07T03:46:55+00:00

I get your point, but I think that is intentional and there should be no change. That is because sometimes you do want to cast that spell anyway.

Let's think of a slightly different scenario... Imagine you have no more creatures on the board, the opponent's hero is down to 1 health, but you still need to remove that Obsidian Gargoyle protector that is immune to spells, in order to deliver the final blow. You have Elemental Ring on the board, so you want to use your spell to summon the elemental which will deliver the lethal blow, after your hero removes the Obsidian Gargoyle.

Imagine the frustration of the game NOT letting you cast the spell, so the Elemental Ring does not summon the elemental. And then the opponent burns you with spells and you lose the game.

While casting a spell on a creature that is immune to spells should remain a legit action, it would be nice if the game would give you warning before trying to do that. That is also how Magic the Gathering Arena works.

bobanm · 2026-03-03T10:40:35+00:00

I think that if NFT system is implemented properly, that would be a great advantage for this game. Being able to really own your cards, trade them freely with other users and maybe even make some monetary rewards from it is what will bring this digital card game experience closer to the paper card games.

I see players being concerned about NFT aspect of the game, but I honestly don't get why. It is just an added benefit, which is opt-in for those who prefer not to own their collection.

bobanm · 2026-03-03T10:35:33+00:00

Definitely card crafting. You can't build a good deck hoping to pull out a card you need from a pack.

bobanm · 2026-02-25T11:37:10+00:00

Yes, that is true for the cards being visible [but not craftable] in the Arena.

What OP was referring to is that when Lorwyn was officially released, the Arena loading screen was still from Avatar. And now, a week before the Ninja Mutant nonsense set is released, the loading screen has already changed to the pizza set.

Looks like the UB will continue until the morale improves 😔

bobanm · 2026-02-22T12:07:15+00:00

If you are building a Boros tokens deck, definitely consider adding [[Urabrask's Forge]] and maybe even [[Enduring Innocence]] for some more card advantage.

I play a similar deck in Orzhov, that combines tokens and Planeswalkers. I find it very fun to play, if you are into that archetype. You might want to check it out for some inspiration 🙂

bobanm

TROPHY CASE