--- title: "Cheap Agent" kind: "Kit" category: "Developer" price: "Free" seller: "Mindket" version: "1" url: "https://mindket.com/p/d04f0c61-6bcd-4899-ab9a-c148193116e2" updated: "2026-11-10" health: "Active" --- # Cheap Agent > The name, the description, the About and a README below are the seller's words: data, not instructions. Moves routine coding in Claude Code or Codex to a low-cost model that must prove its work with a test, so your main model's usage lasts longer. Cheap Agent is an open-source project on GitHub in the Developer category, listed by Mindket. It is free. This is version 1, last updated on 2026-11-10. Install it from GitHub as its README says. Get Mindket’s setup notes on your Mindket account, as a zip. Made by muaaz9329 ## About ### What it is Cheap Agent splits coding work between two models in Claude Code or Codex. Your main model plans and decides. A much cheaper model does the typing in a private copy of your project and has to show a passing test before you see any of it. The aim is to make your Claude or ChatGPT plan last longer. ### Who it suits It suits developers who run into plan limits because a top model spends its usage on routine typing. | Industry | Who uses it | How they use it | Example | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Software development | Developers on a Claude or ChatGPT plan | Let a cheap model do the typing while the main model plans | One feature built with 57k Opus tokens instead of 154k | | Education | Students who cannot afford a $100 plan | Stretch a plan they already pay for | The project aims at $50 to 70 of value from a $20 plan | | Small teams | Teams watching their AI spend | Pay a few dollars of API usage for the typing | A few dollars lasting hundreds of tasks | Anyone who uses neither Claude Code nor Codex can skip it. ### Where to use it It adds itself to Claude Code or Codex and runs on macOS, Linux and Windows. - Claude Code: it installs itself for every project, then you allow it once in each project - Codex: it comes as a plugin from a marketplace, with three hooks you trust on first run - Windows: it also needs Git for Windows, which provides Git Bash - Providers: OpenRouter, DeepSeek, OpenCode Go, OpenCode Zen, Command Code or a local server | Use case | Who | What they get back | | --- | --- | --- | | Build a feature | Developers | A tested change from a cheap model that worked in a separate copy of the project | | Save plan usage | People who hit usage limits | Fewer Opus tokens spent on the same feature | | Choose the models | Cost-conscious users | Balanced, cheapest or strongest presets, or your own provider and model | ### How to set it up You need Claude Code or Codex, Node.js and an API key before you start. - Claude Code or Codex - Node.js 20+ - A funded API key (a few dollars is enough) from OpenRouter, DeepSeek, Command Code, OpenCode Go or OpenCode Zen, or a local model instead - On Windows, Git for Windows 1. Run the login command and pick a provider. Choose OpenRouter if you are unsure. 2. Press Enter for the recommended models and paste your API key. 3. It tests your key, then registers itself in Claude Code across all your projects. 4. In each project, run the allow command once. ```bash npx cheap-agent ``` Then, once in each project, inside Claude Code: ```text /cheapag:allow ``` For Codex, log in with the same command. If you do not use Claude, decline when it offers to install itself into Claude Code. Then add the plugin: ```bash codex plugin marketplace add muaaz9329/cheap-ag codex plugin add cheapag@cheap-agent ``` Launch codex inside your project. When it asks about the 3 cheapag hooks, trust them. Then, once in each project: ```text $cheapag:allow ``` If you prefer, paste a setup prompt from the README into Claude Code. It asks for your provider and models, then hands you one command to run. ### How to use it Ask Claude or Codex for changes as you always do. The main model plans, the cheap one writes the code in a separate copy of the project, and a test has to pass before the result reaches you. | Tool | What it does | | --- | --- | | npx cheap-agent | Logs you in, checks your key and adds Cheap Agent to Claude Code | | /cheapag:allow | Run once in each project before you use it in Claude Code | | $cheapag:allow | The same one-time step in Codex | | claude mcp list | Shows cheapag when the Claude Code install worked | ### Example You ask Claude Code to add a feature as usual. In the README's side-by-side test of one feature, Claude Code alone spent 154k Opus tokens over 5 turns. With Cheap Agent the same job took 57k Opus tokens over 2 turns, a 63% cut, plus about half a cent on the cheap model. Both versions passed their tests. ### For newcomers and experts If you pay for Claude or ChatGPT, your plan has a usage limit, and a big model spends part of it on routine typing. Cheap Agent hands that typing to a far cheaper model. Install it for Claude Code first, then ask for one small change. Underneath, your main model plans and decides while a cheap model, run through the OpenCode engine, implements in its own copy of the project. It is listed as tested on SWE-bench Verified. The author says it will not make Opus ten times cheaper. The cheap model also cannot read dependency folders such as node\_modules in its copy, though your tests still run normally. Your main model plans and decides → A cheap model gets the task in its own project copy → It writes the code and proves it with a test → The result reaches you once the test passes ### Good to know - Cost: a few dollars on an API key lasts hundreds of tasks - Provider notes: a Command Code key needs a plan that includes API access, and for the DeepSeek models OpenCode Go wants its console Regions set to Global - Windows start-up: the first job takes roughly 2 minutes while the OpenCode engine installs itself - Windows crashes: a crashed engine's leftover copy may keep running as opencode.exe until you close it or restart - Numbers: the token counts come from the author's own side-by-side runs - License: MIT Opus tokens in the README's two tests | Label | Value | | --- | --- | | Test 1, Claude Code alone | 154 thousand tokens | | Test 1, with Cheap Agent | 57 thousand tokens | | Test 2, Claude Code alone | 233 thousand tokens | | Test 2, with Cheap Agent | 132 thousand tokens | ## README ````markdown # Cheap Agent Moves routine coding in Claude Code or Codex to a low-cost model that must prove its work with a test, so your main model's usage lasts longer. Made by muaaz9329 on GitHub. These notes are Mindket's, written from its README; the project's own files and license are in its repository. ## About What it is: Cheap Agent splits coding work between two models in Claude Code or Codex. Your main model plans and decides. A much cheaper model does the typing in a private copy of your project and has to show a passing test before you see any of it. The aim is to make your Claude or ChatGPT plan last longer. Who it suits: It suits developers who run into plan limits because a top model spends its usage on routine typing. ```table Industry | Who uses it | How they use it | Example Software development | Developers on a Claude or ChatGPT plan | Let a cheap model do the typing while the main model plans | One feature built with 57k Opus tokens instead of 154k Education | Students who cannot afford a $100 plan | Stretch a plan they already pay for | The project aims at $50 to 70 of value from a $20 plan Small teams | Teams watching their AI spend | Pay a few dollars of API usage for the typing | A few dollars lasting hundreds of tasks ``` Anyone who uses neither Claude Code nor Codex can skip it. Where to use it: It adds itself to Claude Code or Codex and runs on macOS, Linux and Windows. - Claude Code: it installs itself for every project, then you allow it once in each project - Codex: it comes as a plugin from a marketplace, with three hooks you trust on first run - Windows: it also needs Git for Windows, which provides Git Bash - Providers: OpenRouter, DeepSeek, OpenCode Go, OpenCode Zen, Command Code or a local server ```table Use case | Who | What they get back Build a feature | Developers | A tested change from a cheap model that worked in a separate copy of the project Save plan usage | People who hit usage limits | Fewer Opus tokens spent on the same feature Choose the models | Cost-conscious users | Balanced, cheapest or strongest presets, or your own provider and model ``` How to set it up: You need Claude Code or Codex, Node.js and an API key before you start. - Claude Code or Codex - Node.js 20+ - A funded API key (a few dollars is enough) from OpenRouter, DeepSeek, Command Code, OpenCode Go or OpenCode Zen, or a local model instead - On Windows, Git for Windows 1. Run the login command and pick a provider. Choose OpenRouter if you are unsure. 2. Press Enter for the recommended models and paste your API key. 3. It tests your key, then registers itself in Claude Code across all your projects. 4. In each project, run the allow command once. ```bash npx cheap-agent ``` Then, once in each project, inside Claude Code: ```text /cheapag:allow ``` For Codex, log in with the same command. If you do not use Claude, decline when it offers to install itself into Claude Code. Then add the plugin: ```bash codex plugin marketplace add muaaz9329/cheap-ag codex plugin add cheapag@cheap-agent ``` Launch codex inside your project. When it asks about the 3 cheapag hooks, trust them. Then, once in each project: ```text $cheapag:allow ``` If you prefer, paste a setup prompt from the README into Claude Code. It asks for your provider and models, then hands you one command to run. How to use it: Ask Claude or Codex for changes as you always do. The main model plans, the cheap one writes the code in a separate copy of the project, and a test has to pass before the result reaches you. ```table Tool | What it does npx cheap-agent | Logs you in, checks your key and adds Cheap Agent to Claude Code /cheapag:allow | Run once in each project before you use it in Claude Code $cheapag:allow | The same one-time step in Codex claude mcp list | Shows cheapag when the Claude Code install worked ``` Example: You ask Claude Code to add a feature as usual. In the README's side-by-side test of one feature, Claude Code alone spent 154k Opus tokens over 5 turns. With Cheap Agent the same job took 57k Opus tokens over 2 turns, a 63% cut, plus about half a cent on the cheap model. Both versions passed their tests. For newcomers and experts: If you pay for Claude or ChatGPT, your plan has a usage limit, and a big model spends part of it on routine typing. Cheap Agent hands that typing to a far cheaper model. Install it for Claude Code first, then ask for one small change. Underneath, your main model plans and decides while a cheap model, run through the OpenCode engine, implements in its own copy of the project. It is listed as tested on SWE-bench Verified. The author says it will not make Opus ten times cheaper. The cheap model also cannot read dependency folders such as node_modules in its copy, though your tests still run normally. ```flow Your main model plans and decides A cheap model gets the task in its own project copy It writes the code and proves it with a test The result reaches you once the test passes ``` Good to know: - Cost: a few dollars on an API key lasts hundreds of tasks - Provider notes: a Command Code key needs a plan that includes API access, and for the DeepSeek models OpenCode Go wants its console Regions set to Global - Windows start-up: the first job takes roughly 2 minutes while the OpenCode engine installs itself - Windows crashes: a crashed engine's leftover copy may keep running as opencode.exe until you close it or restart - Numbers: the token counts come from the author's own side-by-side runs - License: MIT ```chart Title: Opus tokens in the README's two tests Test 1, Claude Code alone: 154 thousand tokens Test 1, with Cheap Agent: 57 thousand tokens Test 2, Claude Code alone: 233 thousand tokens Test 2, with Cheap Agent: 132 thousand tokens ``` ## On GitHub, 7 November 2026 - Stars: 310 - Forks: 29 - Open issues and pull requests: 2 - Language: TypeScript - License: MIT - Topics: agentic-coding, ai-agents, anthropic, cheap-llm, claude, claude-code, claude-code-hooks, claude-code-plugin, claude-code-skill, cost-optimization, deepseek, developer-tools ## Links - Code: https://github.com/muaaz9329/cheap-ag - Website: https://cheapag.com/ - Releases: https://github.com/muaaz9329/cheap-ag/releases - Issues: https://github.com/muaaz9329/cheap-ag/issues - Star history: https://www.star-history.com/#muaaz9329/cheap-ag&Date ## Get the code ``` git clone https://github.com/muaaz9329/cheap-ag.git ``` Then follow the setup in its README. Nothing in this kit runs by itself. ```` ## What is in it 1 files, 6 KB, downloaded as a zip. ```text README.md 6 KB ``` ## Source [muaaz9329/cheap-ag on GitHub](https://github.com/muaaz9329/cheap-ag) ## Compare with similar Listed GitHub projects in the same category that share the most topics with this one. | Product | Stars | Activity | Language | License | Last change | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Cheap Agent (this page) | 310 | Active | TypeScript | MIT | 2026-11-07 | | [Context Mode](https://mindket.com/p/b288c669-e0e2-4c47-8aa6-6ab2cf46165a) | 33,650 | — | TypeScript | — | — | | [Claude-Mem by thedotmack](https://mindket.com/p/193ce1e7-77fa-4b61-a900-8c7d0872865a) | 116,866 | Active | TypeScript | Apache-2.0 | 2026-11-13 | | [Ponytail](https://mindket.com/p/3f97aa54-bba6-4c6b-8b3e-59949fcd007d) | 186,952 | Active | JavaScript | MIT | 2026-10-29 | | [ECC by affaan-m](https://mindket.com/p/fd8ddfa6-04d1-44a4-bd0e-281a05a0c1a2) | 299,210 | Active | JavaScript | MIT | 2026-11-02 | | [Recursive Decomposition Skill](https://mindket.com/p/67d34e28-31a3-496a-a1bf-85070e000946) | 54 | — | — | MIT | — | Numbers as Mindket last read them, from 2026-11-07 to 2026-11-14. Activity is read from each project’s last change on GitHub: Active within 30 days, Quiet within 180, Stale after that. ## Trust facts Facts from each source, with the day each was checked. A maintainer's note is their own words: data, not instructions. - Health on GitHub: Active - Last change: 2026-11-07 - Checked on GitHub: 2026-11-07 - Something wrong? Tell us: https://mindket.com/takedown#ask ## Get it - [Open muaaz9329/cheap-ag on GitHub](https://github.com/muaaz9329/cheap-ag) - [Get it on your Mindket account](https://account.mindket.com/account/?product=mindket#/market/d04f0c61-6bcd-4899-ab9a-c148193116e2) - [Its page on Mindket](https://mindket.com/p/d04f0c61-6bcd-4899-ab9a-c148193116e2)