Re:AI coding at home without going broke
by sail0rm00n on Sunday June 14, 2026 @12:56AM
(#48524312)
This is awesome, thank you for posting this. Are you using pi, Hermes, or another harness? Iād love to hear more about your workflow.
I've been using [OpenCode](https://opencode.ai/) - I find it works quite well and has things like web search and build/plan modes built in. I had to modify the settings though (On Linux at `~/.config/opencode/opencode.json`) to stop it from just modifying files without first asking for permission, which I didn't like. I like being able to read the changes my AI agent suggests before the files are modified.
I just use it for my side-project coding and brainstorming tasks. At work I use AWS's Kiro CLI + Opus 4.6. At home I use Opencode + V4 Flash for the majority of "general" usage. I swap to V4 Pro for complex tasks if I feel like V4 Flash is struggling.
One other thing I highly like about the platform.deepseek API usage is it's a metered setup - not subscription based. Which means you only pay for what you use (the money that you put in doesn't expire) and can't spend more than you've deposited. This works well for me for my non-work coding because it generally happens in bursts. I may not code for a whole month (and therefore if I had a subscription it would have been wasted) and then spend a whole weekend coding nonstop.
It's entirely possible that there are middle-man providers that give a discount on Deepseek's own pricing, but I'm quite happy with the amount I'm paying so I haven't really looked into it.
[1]: https://lushbinary.com/blog/deepseek-v4-vs-claude-opus-4-7-v...