Ask HN: How to use agents via API cheaply?

A Hacker News user asks the community for advice on building a cheap AI coding agent setup using a BYOK open source client to avoid vendor lock-in, specifically inquiring about Deepseek and Kimi models. The user wants to inspect system prompts and compare pricing to subsidized plans like Claude Pro.

| |||||||||||| 1 point by | I’d like to code with an AI agent via a BYOK open source client. I want to be able to inspect everything, check the system prompt, etc. Also, I’d like to avoid vendor lock in. Is anyone here using a setup like this? Does this get close in pricing and efficiency to the subsidized plans offered by model providers like Claude Pro, etc ? In particular Deepseek and Kimi models are being praised as both efficient and cheap; I’m curious if anyone built a coding setup around them. | ||||||||||| Applications are open till July 27. |