clixadA free Codex alternative for the terminal
Clixad is a terminal coding agent that works through a repository the way the Codex CLI does, and it reads the same AGENTS.md. It needs no ChatGPT plan and no OpenAI key. Five models are free every day, and GPT-6 Sol runs on credits you earn or buy.
- No API key
- No monthly subscription
- Free models every day
npm install -g clixad
Node 20 or newer. Then clixad login signs you in with GitHub, and clixad in a project opens the agent.
Codex and Clixad, side by side
OpenAI's side comes from its Codex pricing page and the Codex README, both read on 29 September 2026.
| Codex | Clixad | |
|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free $0, Go $8 a month, Plus $20 a month, Pro from $100 a month | No plans. $0, and one-time credit packs from $5 if you want them |
| The free plan | "Explore Codex capabilities on quick coding tasks." No usage figure is published for it | 24,000 credits of usage a day on five models, and 25,000 credits on signup |
| How usage is counted | Estimates in local messages per five hours, which OpenAI says "are not fixed message limits" | Credits metered on real tokens, 100,000 to one US dollar of list value |
| Signing in | A ChatGPT account, or an OpenAI API key paid per token | A GitHub account. No key |
| Models | OpenAI's own, with GPT-6 Sol and GPT-6 Luna on Plus | 13 models from five vendors. OpenAI's two are GPT-5 Nano, which is free, and GPT-6 Sol |
| Project instructions | AGENTS.md | AGENTS.md, and CLIXAD.md beside it |
| Cloud features | "Cloud-based integrations like automatic code review and Slack integration" on Plus | None |
| Source code | Open source under Apache-2.0 | Not open source |
| Advertising | None | A marked ad line while a model call runs, off with CLIXAD_SPONSOR=0 |
OpenAI's models on Clixad
Two of the thirteen models in the catalogue are OpenAI's. Both are priced per turn of 20,000 input and
1,500 output tokens, the size the /model picker estimates with.
| Model | Credits per turn | Free turns a day | Turns in a day at the earning cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-5 Nano | 240 | 100 | 2,083 |
| GPT-6 Sol | 8,250 | not a free model | 60 |
GPT-5 Nano is the cheapest model in the catalogue, which is why the free allowance goes furthest on it. GPT-6 Sol is not free: the 25,000-credit signup bonus covers 3 turns on it, and a full day at the earning cap of 500,000 credits covers 60. Earned credits come from completing an offer in a browser tab, and they land on completion. A screenout, where a survey ends part way with nothing or a small bonus, is the most common outcome of starting a survey. The free allowance itself sits inside a daily budget shared by everybody, so on a busy day the free turns can end sooner.
When Codex is the better choice
If Codex is your daily tool. Plus is $20 a month, and OpenAI estimates 15 to 150 local messages every five hours on GPT-6 Sol. A message does not convert into our credits, since what it costs depends on what the agent does next, and OpenAI's own page says as much. The gap is wide enough that the conversion hardly matters: a full day at our earning cap is 60 turns on GPT-6 Sol.
If you use OpenAI's newest models. GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6 Luna and GPT-6 Astra are in Codex and not in Clixad.
If you want cloud tasks or code review in GitHub. Plus includes both. Clixad runs in your terminal and nowhere else.
If you want the source. The Codex CLI is open source under Apache-2.0. Clixad is not.
Clixad also shows a line marked Ad while a model call runs. Nothing you type takes part in
choosing it, and CLIXAD_SPONSOR=0 turns it off, request and all. Codex shows no advertising.
For OpenAI's plans in full, and what its free plan leaves unsaid, read
is Codex free?
Moving a repository over
npm install -g clixad, thenclixad loginwith GitHub.- Keep
AGENTS.md. Clixad reads it as it is, so a repository set up for Codex needs no new instruction file. - Declare MCP servers in the project's
.mcp.json. Servers set up only in Codex's own configuration have to be added there. - Run
clixadand pick a model with/model. Free rows show the turns they have left today.
FAQ
Is there a free alternative to Codex?
Clixad is one. It is a terminal coding agent that needs no ChatGPT plan and no OpenAI key, and five models are free up to 24,000 credits of usage a day. OpenAI's own Free plan for Codex also costs $0, and OpenAI publishes no usage figure for it.
Does Clixad have GPT models?
Two: GPT-5 Nano, which is one of the five free models, and GPT-6 Sol, which costs 8,250 credits for a turn of 20,000 input and 1,500 output tokens. GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6 Luna and GPT-6 Astra are not in the catalogue.
Does Clixad read AGENTS.md?
Yes. It reads AGENTS.md and its own CLIXAD.md, so a repository set up for Codex keeps its instructions.
Is Clixad open source like the Codex CLI?
No. The Codex CLI is open source under Apache-2.0, and Clixad's CLI is not. Both are free to install.
Read next
Sources
- OpenAI, Codex pricing, the canonical address of the page also served at developers.openai.com/codex/pricing, for the Free, Go, Plus and Pro prices, "Explore Codex capabilities on quick coding tasks.", GPT-6 Sol and GPT-6 Luna on Plus, "Cloud-based integrations like automatic code review and Slack integration", the estimate of 15 to 150 local messages per five hours on GPT-6 Sol on Plus, and "These estimates are not fixed message limits". Read 29 September 2026.
- OpenAI, openai/codex, for signing in with ChatGPT or an API key and "This repository is licensed under the Apache-2.0 License". Read 29 September 2026.
- Every Clixad figure:
packages/pricing(creditsForUsage,signupBonusCredits,freeTierDailyCreditsPerUser,FREE_MODEL_IDS,maxAdRewardUsdPerDay,CREDIT_PACKS), over the model catalogue read from OpenRouter on 27 September 2026, recomputed by the test beside this page. A turn is 20,000 input and 1,500 output tokens,FREE_TURN_USAGE, the size the/modelpicker estimates with. - Which instruction files and MCP configuration Clixad reads:
apps/cli/src/context.tsandapps/cli/src/mcp.ts. That the CLI is not open source:apps/cli/package.json, whose licence isUNLICENSED.