YiYaoAI

Posted on Mar 31

"I Found the Underground Map of Free LLM APIs — Then Wired Them All Into One Proxy"

#ai #devtools #productivity #opensource

There are two kinds of developers in 2026.

The first kind is paying for every AI request like it's normal.

The second kind is quietly collecting free quotas, trial credits, OpenAI-compatible endpoints, Gemini access, Groq speed, random hidden gems, and stitching them together into one ridiculous local setup.

This post is for the second kind.

The Real Problem Isn't "Which Model Is Best?"

The real problem is this:

One provider gives you speed
Another gives you free credits
Another gives you decent coding models
Another looks promising but isn't integrated yet
And your tools? They all want different configs, different keys, and different endpoints

So your stack turns into a graveyard of:

half-used trial credits
forgotten API keys
rate-limited accounts
browser bookmarks you'll never open again

So I Built the Map

ProxyPool Hub now includes a Resources Catalog: a dedicated page that tracks free and trial LLM API platforms in one place.

Not just a dumb markdown list.

A real, filterable directory.

You can now browse a curated catalog of providers like:

OpenRouter
Google AI Studio
Groq
Cerebras
SambaNova Cloud
Hyperbolic
Scaleway Generative APIs
and more

Each entry includes:

whether it's free or trial
whether ProxyPool Hub already supports it
representative models
signup requirements
quota notes
compatibility details
whether it can be preset directly into the proxy

In other words:

it doesn't just tell you what's out there — it tells you what you can actually use right now.

This Is Where It Gets Dangerous (In a Good Way)

Because ProxyPool Hub isn't just a resource browser.

It's also the thing that lets you use those resources without losing your mind.

1. Free Model Routing

The new free model flow lets lightweight requests route to free providers automatically.

So instead of burning paid credits for every tiny task, you can push fast or low-cost workloads toward free-tier resources.

That means:

quick coding questions → free routes
lightweight model tasks → free routes
expensive reasoning jobs → your better accounts or keys

It's not just cheaper.

It changes your whole cost model.

2. Load Balancing Across API Keys

Most people use API keys like this:

Add one key
Use it until it breaks
Panic
Switch manually

ProxyPool Hub does the opposite.

It watches all your available keys and picks the one with the fewest requests first.

That's simple load balancing, but the practical effect is huge:

your keys last longer
rate limits hit later
traffic spreads out automatically
failures become much less noticeable

It feels less like "using an API key"

and more like running your own tiny inference mesh on localhost.

3. Pooling Accounts and Providers Like a Greedy Goblin

This is the part I like the most.

You don't have to marry one provider.

You can build a setup like this:

OpenRouter for rotating free models
Google AI Studio for Gemini access
Groq when you want stupid-fast responses
Cerebras when you want extra OpenAI-compatible capacity
SambaNova / Hyperbolic / Scaleway for trial credits
your own Claude / OpenAI / Azure accounts for the heavy jobs

Then point your tools at one local address.

That's the whole trick.

Your tools don't need to know your secret economy.

They just talk to the proxy.

4. The Catalog Is Actually Strategic

The smart part of the Resources Catalog isn't that it lists providers.

It's that it classifies them by practical usability:

supported → already works cleanly with ProxyPool Hub
presettable → can be slotted in with current patterns
candidate → promising, but needs extra adapter work
catalog only → good to know, not worth pretending it's plug-and-play yet

That's rare.

Most AI lists are fluff.

This one is operational.

It answers:

"Can I actually use this in my setup today?"

Why This Matters

Because the AI tooling world is getting weirder, not simpler.

Every month, new free endpoints appear.
Every week, quotas change.
Every day, someone discovers another provider with surprise credits and weird limits.

If you don't organize that chaos, you waste it.

ProxyPool Hub now gives you both sides of the game:

Discovery — find free/trial opportunities fast
Execution — route, pool, balance, and survive rate limits

The Vibe

This is no longer just "a proxy for Claude Code and Codex."

It's becoming something more interesting:

a local control plane for AI tool traffic.

One place to:

discover providers
compare quotas
pick usable free options
spread load across keys
route by app
preserve paid credits
keep your CLI tools working even when one provider taps out

Try It

npx proxypool-hub@latest start

Then open:

http://localhost:8081 → dashboard
http://localhost:8081/resources/ → free & trial resources catalog

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