Ollama can already start Claude Code on a local model from the terminal (its guide). Alchemist Coder puts that in a window: pick an Ollama or LM Studio model under the message box, and follow what the agent plans, runs and changes, without a cloud account.
What runs on local models in the free edition
- Claude Code and Codex, through the Agent Client Protocol: their plan, every tool call, file diffs and permissions, which you approve or deny inline.
- The agent tree: subagents appear under the agent that launched them, with their status and tokens.
- The Arena: a planner drafts a plan, you approve it, and up to four agents solve the task in parallel, each in its own git worktree. Compare their diffs and tests, then merge the winner.
- Your organization of agents: a coordinator plans your assignments and hands them to agents with their own roles and projects.
- Autopilot: agents stop waiting for you, and what can’t be undone (sudo, force-pushes, publishing) is always refused.
- Automations that run on a schedule with a daily spending cap.
Which local servers it talks to
Ollama on port 11434 and LM Studio on port 1234. Other servers (vLLM, llama.cpp’s server, oMLX) are not supported yet. Ollama recommends a context window of at least 64k tokens for coding agents, so choose a model and a setting that allow it.
How to try it
- Install Ollama or LM Studio and pull a coding model.
- Download Alchemist Coder and open it: the welcome screen lists the models it found.
- Open a project, choose Claude Code or Codex and the local model in the chips under the message box, and write your task.
What the free edition does not do
The free Community edition runs Claude Code and Codex on local models only, through Ollama or LM Studio. Running agents on your Claude or ChatGPT subscription, or on API keys, belongs to Pro, which is not on sale yet. Searching and reading your history works whichever plan you use.
The builds are not signed by Apple or Microsoft yet, so macOS and Windows warn you the first time. The download section explains the two clicks it takes.
Questions
Does it work offline?
Yes. With Ollama or LM Studio on your computer, Claude Code and Codex run without internet. The adapters that connect them are fetched through npx the first time.
Can I use my Claude subscription instead?
Not in the free edition. Running agents on Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok or Kimi accounts is part of Pro, which is not on sale yet. Your existing Claude Code and Codex history is searchable either way.
More guides
Facts about other tools were checked on October 28, 2026, at the links in the text. Alchemist Coder’s source is on GitHub.