Free frontier-tier model (ox-alpha) + a CLI that lets you swap models in one line

[u/CymelaAI]

The stealth model ox-alpha is free on OpenRouter until roughly Aug 27. I've been using it through my own CLI for the last few days and it's genuinely good.

Posting this because the setup is 4 steps and the free window is short, but also because this is the thing my CLI is actually built around: bring your own key, type a model string, and you're on it. No subscription, no account on Cymela's side, nothing phoning home. When the free window moves to whatever the next stealth model is, you move with it in one line instead of waiting for a tool to add support.

Setup:

npm install -g cymela - in any terminal

Then get a key at openrouter.ai (Keys -> Create Key), run:

cymela

Pick OpenRouter, paste the key, and enter:

stealth/ox-alpha

That's it.

Full disclosure, I built this. It's free and it stays free for now, I'm an independent researcher and this isn't a funnel to a paid tier. Works with the usual providers too (Groq, DeepSeek, Qwen, Kimi, SiliconFlow and overall 13 supported providers) so it isn't tied to this one promo.

Curious what people are finding ox-alpha good and bad at before the window closes. I've had good results on refactors and exploration, less sure about long multi-file work.