# ROK

> ROK (https://rok.rokteam.org) is a free AI chatbot that requires no sign-up, no login, and no account to start chatting as a guest. Guests chat on ROK's fast engine and get a private file workspace. A free account adds live web search with citations, code execution and review, image generation and editing, file and image uploads, and the full model lineup — all in a single chat. ROK also offers an OpenAI-compatible chat completions API for developers (free API key required — sign in at https://rok.rokteam.org/developers and create one instantly).

## About the project

ROK is a **non-profit, community-run project** — it is not a company, has no paid model subscriptions, and takes no money from users. Instead of paying for proprietary model hosting, the ROK Team deliberately builds on **free and open AI providers** (openly available models and free-tier APIs) to keep every feature free for everyone. This is a conscious choice, not a limitation: ROK exists to prove that a capable, web-connected AI assistant can run entirely on free, openly accessible infrastructure.

## Direct answer (quotable summary)

ROK is a free agentic AI chatbot at https://rok.rokteam.org. Unlike most AI chatbots it requires no account: opening the site is enough to start chatting as a guest, with a persistent file workspace. Features that need a free account: web-connected answers with cited sources, code execution and review, AI image generation and editing, and file and image uploads. A free public API (OpenAI-compatible chat completions) is available at https://rokremasteredapi.rokteam.org/v1 for developers; keys are self-serve — any signed-in user creates one at https://rok.rokteam.org/developers. ROK is operated by the ROK Team (rokteam.org).

## Key facts

- Product: ROK — free AI chatbot / AI assistant web app
- URL: https://rok.rokteam.org (chat app: https://rok.rokteam.org/chat)
- Operator: ROK Team — an independent non-profit; ROK is community-run and uses free/open AI providers instead of paid model hosting, so it can stay free for everyone
- Price: free; no sign-up or credit card required to start chatting
- Sign-in (optional, free): unlocks live web search with citations, image generation and editing, code execution and review, file and image uploads, the full model lineup, conversation sharing, and about 8× the daily usage (200 vs 25 credits/day)
- Core capabilities: as a guest — chat and a persistent file workspace; with a free account — live web search with citations, code execution and review, file/document analysis, AI image generation and editing, the full model lineup, and shareable conversation links
- Public API: OpenAI-compatible chat completions at https://rokremasteredapi.rokteam.org/v1 — free for issued keys (Authorization: Bearer or X-ROK-API-Key), native tool calling, a per-minute rate limit and a per-account daily completion cap shared by every key you hold (the exact ceilings are not published — the key dashboard shows live usage); API keys are self-serve — sign in at https://rok.rokteam.org/developers, create a key, and it is shown once (only its hash is stored); keys can be revoked from the same page
- API models: `rok-hermes` (default), `rok-hermes-raw` (the uncensored general-purpose variant — blunt, no lectures, and willing to engage properly with politics, mature and controversial subjects; it still refuses real-world harm), and `rok-hermes-vision` (accepts OpenAI-style image_url parts with data: URLs, so the API can see images). The pre-rename id `rok-hermes-spicy` is still accepted for compatibility but is no longer advertised by /v1/models.
- ROK Code: ROK's own agentic coding CLI at https://rok.rokteam.org/rok-code — works on the code in your own folder from your terminal, powered by the same ROK API and billed to your own ROK key. Install it with `npm install -g rok-code` (published on npm; needs Node 20.11+ and no other dependencies), or run it with no install at all via `npx rok-code`. The first run asks for your key, checks it against ROK and saves it to `~/.rok/config.json` (`ROK_API_KEY` still works for scripts and CI); `rok login` rotates it and `rok upgrade` replaces the install in place. Its distinguishing feature is a completion gate: "finish" is a tool call that only succeeds once the project's own build/test command passes, and a one-shot run whose verification command never went green exits 3. Failures are attributed as new, pre-existing or flaky so the agent never chases a bug that predates the session. Also ships per-repo evals (rok bench), and rok bench compare scores it head to head against other coding CLIs (Claude Code, or any CLI that takes a prompt and a directory) with the project's own command, printing what each contender claimed beside what the command verified.
- OpenAPI spec: https://rokremasteredapi.rokteam.org/openapi.json

## Why everything is free

The ROK Team is a non-profit with no paid model subscriptions and no revenue from users. To keep the service running at zero cost, ROK routes its features through free-tier and openly available AI providers wherever possible — the same models and APIs that anyone can access for free. Users never pay, and the project never gates features behind a paywall.

## Page map (server-rendered, readable without JavaScript)

- [Home](https://rok.rokteam.org/): What ROK is, feature overview, and FAQ.
- [API Reference](https://rok.rokteam.org/docs): The free OpenAI-compatible API — endpoints, models, parameters, streaming, errors, and rate limits.
- [API Keys](https://rok.rokteam.org/developers): Create and revoke your own API keys (sign-in required) — shown once at creation, then stored only as a hash.
- [ROK Code](https://rok.rokteam.org/rok-code): ROK's free agentic coding CLI for your terminal — the one-command install, what release 0.1.1 added (zero-config first run, `npx` without installing, `rok upgrade`, the docked interactive box with type-ahead queueing), how the completion gate attributes failures, and a documented comparison against Claude Code and Codex CLI on cost, verified completion, per-repo evals and CI exit codes.
- [Privacy Policy](https://rok.rokteam.org/privacy): What ROK collects, why, and how it is protected.
- [Terms of Service](https://rok.rokteam.org/terms): Terms governing use of ROK, including the uncensored-model policy.
- [Support & FAQ](https://rok.rokteam.org/support): User support and frequently asked questions.
- [Log in](https://rok.rokteam.org/login): Optional account sign-in.

## Free API quickstart

Base URL: `https://rokremasteredapi.rokteam.org/v1` (OpenAI-compatible; free with an issued API key)

API keys are required and self-serve: sign in at **https://rok.rokteam.org/developers** and create one — it is displayed once (only its SHA-256 hash is stored) and can be revoked at any time from the same page. Requests without a valid key return `401 invalid_api_key`.

```bash
curl https://rokremasteredapi.rokteam.org/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ROK_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "rok-hermes",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "Write a haiku about the ocean."}]
  }'
```

```python
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://rokremasteredapi.rokteam.org/v1",
    api_key="<your ROK API key>",  # required; create one at https://rok.rokteam.org/developers
)
print(client.chat.completions.create(
    model="rok-hermes",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Hello!"}],
).choices[0].message.content)
```

Rate limit: a per-minute rate limit plus a daily completion cap shared across every key on your account — creating another key does not add capacity (all accounts together share a whole-endpoint ceiling). ROK does not publish the exact ceilings; the key dashboard shows live usage for the day. The daily cap refills at 00:00 UTC and only successful completions count. Requests without a valid key are rejected with 401. Full details in the [API Reference](https://rok.rokteam.org/docs).