# Stop Paying: Get $4,000 in AI Credits for VS Code (Kimi 128k, DeepSeek R1 & Claude 3.5)

**URL:** <https://onehack.st/t/stop-paying-get-4-000-in-ai-credits-for-vs-code-kimi-128k-deepseek-r1-claude-3-5/324191>\
**Category:** Tutorials & Methods\
**Tags:** tools, programming, freebies, tips-tricks, ai\
**Created:** [July 27, 2026, 7:08pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/stop-paying-get-4-000-in-ai-credits-for-vs-code-kimi-128k-deepseek-r1-claude-3-5/324191 "2026-07-27T19:08:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dr-Tarek](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/dr-tarek/32/172844_2.png) [@Dr-Tarek](https://onehack.st/u/Dr-Tarek)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 7:08pm UTC](https://onehack.st/t/stop-paying-get-4-000-in-ai-credits-for-vs-code-kimi-128k-deepseek-r1-claude-3-5/324191/1 "2026-07-27T19:08:17Z")

</div>

![Hcnsec AI Assistant in VS Code](https://hcnote.cn/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/20260723094458775-Screenshot-From-2026-07-23-04-44-40.png)

Paying for Copilot or Cursor? There’s a relay gateway handing new accounts **promotional API credits** — one `sk-` key, OpenAI-compatible, drops straight into VS Code. Kimi K2, DeepSeek R1, Qwen3 Max, Claude Sonnet, all from one endpoint.

**Register → make a token → paste it in your editor.** Three steps, no card.

> ℹ **Full disclosure:** I built the VS Code extension in this guide ([source on GitHub](https://github.com/seotarek/Hcnsec-AI-Assistant), MIT). No referral links anywhere — and everything below works with _any_ OpenAI-compatible client, not just mine.

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> **📋 Every model on the gateway — Kimi, Claude, DeepSeek, Qwen, GPT**
>
> One key, all of these:
> 
> ├─ **Kimi K2 Thinking**  
> ├─ **Moonshot 128K**  
> ├─ **Claude 3.7 Sonnet Thinking**  
> ├─ **Claude 3.5 Sonnet**  
> ├─ **DeepSeek R1**  
> ├─ **DeepSeek Coder**  
> ├─ **Qwen3 Max**  
> ├─ **Qwen2.5 Coder**  
> └─ **GPT models** _(availability varies)_
> 
> 💡 That’s the real pull of an OpenAI-compatible gateway: **swap between any of them without changing your editor** , compare answers from several models side by side, and use whichever one suits the task — all on a single API key.

> **⚙️ Step 1–4 — Register, generate the sk- key, install, configure**
>
> **1. Create the account**  
> → **[api.hcnsec.cn/sign-up](https://api.hcnsec.cn/sign-up)**
> 
> **2. Generate your key**  
> ├─ Open **Tokens / API Keys**  
> ├─ Click **Add Token**  
> ├─ Set quota to **Unlimited** _(this means “no separate cap on this key” — it does NOT mean unlimited credits; the account balance is still what you spend)_  
> └─ Copy the key starting with `sk-`
> 
> **3. Install the extension**  
> ├─ Open VS Code → Extensions view (`Ctrl + Shift + X`)  
> ├─ Search **Hcnsec AI Assistant**  
> ├─ Click **Install**  
> └─ Reload VS Code if prompted
> 
> 🔗 [Marketplace listing](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=HcnsecAIAssistant.hcnsec-assistant) · [GitHub source](https://github.com/seotarek/Hcnsec-AI-Assistant)
> 
> **4. Configure**  
> Base URL `https://api.hcnsec.cn/v1` · paste your `sk-` key · pick a model.

> **🔍 Check what you're actually getting — one curl before you build on it**
>
> Relay gateways route your request to whichever upstream is cheapest for them. That’s how the pricing works, and it’s fine — but you should know what answers you, not assume.
> 
> **Run this first. It takes five seconds:**
> 
> ```auto
> curl https://api.hcnsec.cn/v1/models -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-YOUR-KEY"
> 
> ```
> 
> ✅ You get the exact model IDs the gateway serves. **Use those strings** , not the marketing names — a wrong model ID is the #1 cause of “it connects but nothing happens.”
> 
> **Check your real balance the same way:**
> 
> ```auto
> curl https://api.hcnsec.cn/api/usage/token -H "Authorization: Bearer sk-YOUR-KEY"
> 
> ```
> 
> ↳ Returns `total_granted` / `total_available` / `unlimited_quota`. That’s your actual credit, straight from the source.
> 
> 💡 **Sanity check on any relay:** look at the `model` field echoed back in the response and confirm it matches what you asked for.

> **🧠 Which model for which job — and the planner/executor split that actually works**
>
> | Task | Model | Why |
> | --- | --- | --- |
> | Fast code completion, boilerplate, unit tests, helper functions | **Qwen2.5 Coder / Qwen3 Max** | Cheap, fast, trained on code — the everyday workhorse |
> | Long files, whole-repo refactors | **Moonshot 128K / Kimi K2 Thinking** | 128k context holds an entire codebase at once |
> | Hard debugging, architecture decisions | **DeepSeek R1** | Reasoning model — thinks before answering |
> | Code-specific generation | **DeepSeek Coder** | Tuned purely for code output |
> | Production-ready code | **Claude 3.7 Sonnet Thinking / 3.5 Sonnet** | Strongest at clean, working output |
> 
> **⚡ Agent Mode — two models, one job:**
> 
> If the extension supports Agent Mode, this is the setup that works:
> 
> ```auto
> DeepSeek R1 -> planner (designs the implementation strategy)
> Claude 3.7 Sonnet -> executor (generates the production-ready code)
> 
> ```
> 
> ↳ Not a random pairing — Aider benchmarked R1-as-architect + Sonnet-as-editor and it topped their polyglot leaderboard at a fraction of the cost: **[the benchmark writeup](https://aider.chat/2025/01/24/r1-sonnet.html)**.
> 
> `Reasoning model` = one that works through the problem step by step before replying — slower, better at hard logic.

> **🔧 Same key, other editors — Cline, Roo Code, Continue, Kilo Code, Aider**
>
> The key is OpenAI-compatible, so **any** of these take it. Set Base URL `https://api.hcnsec.cn/v1`, paste the `sk-`, pick a model ID from the `/v1/models` list.
> 
> ├─ 🔌 **[Cline](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=saoudrizwan.claude-dev)** — [OpenAI-compatible setup](https://docs.cline.bot/provider-config/openai-compatible) · has [Plan/Act modes](https://docs.cline.bot/core-workflows/plan-and-act) for the planner+executor split  
> ├─ 🔌 **[Roo Code](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=RooVeterinaryInc.roo-cline)** — [setup](https://docs.roocode.com/providers/openai-compatible) · [Architect vs Code modes](https://docs.roocode.com/basic-usage/using-modes) · [per-mode model profiles](https://docs.roocode.com/features/api-configuration-profiles)  
> ├─ 🔌 **[Continue](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=Continue.continue)** — [`apiBase` config](https://docs.continue.dev/customize/model-providers/openai)  
> ├─ 🔌 **[Kilo Code](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=kilocode.Kilo-Code)** — [setup](https://kilocode.ai/docs/providers/openai-compatible)  
> └─ 💻 **[Aider](https://aider.chat/docs/llms/openai-compat.html)** (terminal) — `OPENAI_API_BASE` + `--model openai/<name>` · [architect mode](https://aider.chat/docs/usage/modes.html) · [keep keys out of shell history](https://aider.chat/docs/config/aider_conf.html)
> 
> ⚠ Roo Code uses **native tool calling** — if agent actions misfire on any relay, that’s the first thing to test.

> **🛟 When the promo credits run dry — official free tiers for these same models**
>
> Promotional credits are promotional. When they’re gone, these give you the **same models** direct from the source, free:
> 
> ├─ 🆓 **[Google AI Studio](https://aistudio.google.com/)** — generous free Gemini tier, OpenAI-compatible endpoint available  
> ├─ 🆓 **[OpenRouter free models](https://openrouter.ai/models?max_price=0)** — a rotating set of `:free` models, one key, OpenAI-compatible  
> ├─ 🆓 **[ModelScope](https://modelscope.cn/)** — daily free Qwen inference quota  
> ├─ 🆓 **[DeepSeek Platform](https://platform.deepseek.com/)** — R1 and Coder direct, cheapest official rates  
> └─ 🖥 **[Ollama](https://ollama.com/)** or **[LM Studio](https://lmstudio.ai/)** — run Qwen Coder / DeepSeek on your own machine. Serves an OpenAI-compatible `/v1` on localhost, so every editor above connects with zero changes and nothing to revoke
> 
> 💡 The pattern worth stealing: **the editor doesn’t care where the endpoint lives.** Gateway today, official API tomorrow, your own laptop after that — same config box.

> **🏗️ Run the gateway layer yourself — New API and LiteLLM, self-hosted**
>
> This site runs **[New API](https://github.com/QuantumNous/new-api)** (open source). You can run the identical stack and point it at your own upstream accounts:
> 
> ├─ 📦 [Install guide](https://doc.newapi.pro/en/installation/) — Docker, Compose, 1Panel, or binary  
> ├─ 📦 [Ready docker-compose.yml](https://docs.newapi.pro/en/installation/docker-compose-yml/)  
> └─ 📦 [First-run walkthrough](https://doc.newapi.pro/en/getting-started/) — add channel → make token → point client at `https://your-host/v1`
> 
> **Or [LiteLLM](https://github.com/BerriAI/litellm)** — a proxy that fronts many providers at once:
> 
> ├─ ⚙ [Docker quickstart](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/proxy/docker_quick_start) — your own `/v1` and your own `sk-`  
> ├─ 🔑 [Virtual keys with real budgets](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/proxy/virtual_keys) — per-tool keys, spend caps, model allowlists  
> ├─ 🔁 [Fallbacks and retries](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/proxy/reliability) — one dead upstream doesn’t stop your IDE  
> └─ 🔗 [Add any OpenAI-compatible upstream](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/providers/openai_compatible) — including this gateway, as one channel among several
> 
> ✅ End state: your editor points at _your_ endpoint forever. Providers become swappable parts instead of single points of failure.

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**The short version:** register, generate the key, curl `/v1/models` to see what you really have, then paste it into whichever editor you already use. Credits are promotional and provider terms change — build the setup so swapping the endpoint is a one-line edit.

_A key you can point anywhere is worth more than credits you can only spend in one place._