How to Deploy 9Router: Free AI Coding for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor

In this tutorial, you'll deploy 9Router with Docker and connect Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and Cline to free AI providers — in under 10 minutes. No credit card, no rate limits, no hassle.

Step 1: Requirements

Any machine with Docker works. Minimum specs are modest: 2 CPU cores and 4 GB RAM; for heavy multi-agent workloads go with 4 cores and 8 GB. Linux VPS, a Mac, or even a Raspberry Pi class device will do.

Step 2: Deploy with Docker Compose

services:
  9router:
    image: decolua/9router:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - 8080:8080
    volumes:
      - ./data/9router:/data

Save that as docker-compose.yml, then run docker compose up -d. The official image has 275K+ pulls, so it's battle-tested across thousands of deployments.

Step 3: Connect Your Agents

Open the dashboard at http://localhost:8080, add your provider keys (or use the free tiers), and point your agent at the router endpoint:

• Claude Code — set ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL to your 9Router URL
• Codex / Cursor / Cline — configure the custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint
• Copilot / Antigravity — enable via the agent router profile

Step 4: Enable RTK and Auto-Fallback

Two settings make the biggest difference. Auto-fallback keeps you online when a provider throttles you, and RTK mode compresses prompts so you consume up to 40% fewer tokens. Together they turn 9Router into a truly unlimited coding setup.

Verification Checklist

That's it — your agents now have unlimited access to 40+ free AI providers with automatic failover. Deploy it once and forget about rate limits forever.