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Project ideas from Hacker News discussions.

Anthropic blocks third-party use of Claude Code subscriptions

Original Article

Hacker News Discussion

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

1. OpenCode's Superior Engineering to Claude Code

Users repeatedly highlight OpenCode's advanced TUI, multi-provider support, lack of flickering, and features like web resumption, calling Claude Code buggy and inferior.
"dboon: The unfortunate truth is that the engineering in opencode is so far ahead of Claude Code... it doesn't flicker at 30 FPS whenever it spawns a subagent."
"azuanrb: Opencode has a web UI, so I can open it on my laptop and then resume the same session on the web from my phone."

2. Anthropic's Financial Motivations and Subsidized Pricing

Subscriptions ($200/mo Max Plan) are far cheaper than API for heavy use ($1k+/mo), seen as loss-leaders for lock-in, telemetry, and data collection; blocking prevents abuse.
"dfabulich: Anthropic's $200/month subscription for Claude Code is much cheaper than Anthropic's pay-as-you-go API... easy to use so many LLM tokens that it would have cost you more than $1,000."
"weird-eye-issue: This could be so easily abused by companies who spend thousands of dollars per month for API costs you could just reverse engineer it and use the subscription tokens."

3. Embarrassment and Poor Product Quality for Anthropic

Claude Code's bugs (flickering, scrolling, key handling) and failure to leverage their own LLMs undermine their AI leadership claims.
"dboon: Anyway, this is embarrassing for Anthropic... a mid-tier systems programmer isn't making these mistakes."
"alexiez: If only Claude Code developers had access to a powerful LLM that would allow them to close the engineering gap. Oh, wait..."

4. User Backlash, Cancellations, and Workarounds

Many cancel subscriptions, switch to OpenAI/GLM, or use fixes; seen as shortsighted amid open-source alternatives.
"planet_1649c: Cancelled my claude subscription over it. Opencode is miles ahead."
"lemming: All they've achieved here is that I am no longer giving them money... my money is going to OpenAI instead."

🚀 Project Ideas

OpenTUI Agent

Summary

  • An open-source TUI framework for AI coding agents, forked from OpenTUI, with fixes for flickering, scrolling issues in tmux/GNOME Terminal, and keypress lag; supports Anthropic Agent SDK for subscription auth.
  • Core value: Superior, bug-free CLI experience rivaling OpenCode without vendor hacks, enabling community-driven improvements.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience CLI-heavy developers frustrated with Claude Code bugs like flickering and tmux issues (e.g., "it just starts acting like it moved the cursor but didn’t delete anything" - IgorPartola).
Core Feature Generic TUI renderer with HTML/CSS subset, subagent stability, multi-session support.
Tech Stack Rust (Bubble Tea or Ratatui), TypeScript plugins, Anthropic Agent SDK.
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • HN users praise OpenTUI's engineering ("built an entire custom TUI backend... doesn't flicker" - dboon); would love a Claude-official fork.
  • High utility for tmux users; sparks discussions on open-sourcing Claude Code.

MultiModel Coding Harness

Summary

  • Cross-provider CLI/web agent (OpenCode-inspired) supporting Anthropic API/Agent SDK, OpenAI Codex, GLM, Grok; auto-switches models for cost/performance, resumes sessions cross-device via Tailscale/Web.
  • Core value: Escapes lock-in ("use OpenCode with GLM or Grok Code... mixing models" - brainless), cheaper than API for heavy users.

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Power users canceling Anthropic subs ("Switched to z.ai... open models reached inflection" - sergiotapia; "money going to OpenAI" - lemming).
Core Feature Model router with benchmarks (e.g., brokk.ai integration), session sync, web/TUI/desktop views.
Tech Stack Node.js server, React for web, Bubble Tea for TUI, Tailscale/WebSocket sync.
Difficulty High
Monetization Revenue-ready: Freemium ($10/mo pro models/sync).

Notes

  • Addresses "Claude Code sucks... opencode is superior" (dboon, azuanrb); "mixing models... no lock-in" (brainless).
  • Practical for workflows; fosters HN debates on multi-provider future.

PrivacyShield AI Proxy

Summary

  • Proxy service stripping telemetry/training signals from AI agent requests; enforces global "fuck off" opt-out, blocks trick prompts/data retention changes, works with any client (OpenCode, Claude Code).
  • Core value: One-click privacy for all providers, preventing "random trick prompts" (cma) and EU-mandated banners (transcriptase).

Details

Key Value
Target Audience Privacy-conscious users hit by opt-out dark patterns ("three popups... trick me into training" - cma; "mandate a single global 'fuck off' switch" - transcriptase).
Core Feature Request interceptor rewriting headers/tools, local mock telemetry, retention enforcer.
Tech Stack Go proxy, Mitmproxy, browser extension for web.
Difficulty Medium
Monetization Hobby

Notes

  • Quotes like "they ignore completely what you want" (croes) and DNT history show demand; HN loves anti-enshittification tools.
  • Utility in daily workflows; potential for EU compliance discussions.

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