Claude Code is a productivity monster until your API credits dry up right in the middle of a deployment. But what if you could keep the harness-the ability to read files, spawn sub-agents, and search your repo-while routing the actual compute through a free model?

Today, we’re breaking down the exact setup for the OpenRouter Claude Code Hack. I’ll show you how to swap your Anthropic auth token for an OpenRouter API key and run capable, free models like Stealth OX Alpha directly inside your IDE or Terminal.

But this isn't just a tutorial; it's a reality check. We ran this setup through 5 brutal stress tests, from coding landing pages to generating YouTube analytics reports, and the results were a mixed bag of impressive engineering and 6-hour retry loops.

We’ll talk about:

• The  ...