# How to get Free AI credits in your terminal

> Source: <https://dev.to/chidera_ezeudu_0870985528/how-to-get-free-ai-credits-in-your-terminal-517f>
> Published: 2026-09-11 21:41:51+00:00

If you've ever wanted an AI coding assistant that lives right in your shell no browser tab, no subscription, no API key required to start I built exactly that, and it's free to use.

Dario is a terminal-based AI assistant you install with one command:

```
npm install -g @npmdevy25/dario
```

Then just ask it anything, right from your shell:

```
dario "how do I undo a git commit"
```

You'll get a clean, boxed answer straight in your terminal no context switching, no copypasting from a chat window.

Every user gets **150 free queries a day**, no signup, no credit card. That's a pretty generous daily allowance for quick coding questions, debugging help, or "wait, what's the syntax for this again" moments.

Under the hood, Dario falls back across multiple providers (Groq, Cerebras, and Gemini) so it stays fast and rarely hits a rate-limit wall if one provider is busy, it automatically tries the next.

If you ever need more than 150 queries in a day, you can plug in your own free [Groq API key](https://console.groq.com) and skip the daily limit entirely.

Dario is ad supported occasionally you'll see a small sponsored line under an answer. That's what funds the free tier instead of a paywall.

```
npm install -g @npmdevy25/dario
dario "explain the difference between git pull and git fetch"
```

I'd genuinely love feedback — what's confusing, what's missing, whether the daily quota feels right. Drop a comment or open an issue on the repo.

*Built as a solo project. If you find it useful, a share or a star goes a long way.*