Installation

Linux / macOS

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Skunk-Tech/aismush/main/install.sh | bash

Windows — Package Managers (Recommended)

# Scoop
scoop bucket add aismush https://github.com/Skunk-Tech/aismush
scoop install aismush

# winget
winget install SkunkTech.AISmush

Windows — PowerShell Script

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Skunk-Tech/aismush/main/install.ps1 | iex

From Source

git clone https://github.com/Skunk-Tech/aismush.git
cd aismush
cargo build --release
cp target/release/aismush ~/.local/bin/

Supports: Linux x86_64, macOS (Intel + Apple Silicon), Windows x86_64.

Provider Setup

After installing, run the interactive setup to configure your providers:

aismush --setup

This walks you through three provider types with connection testing for each:

1. DeepSeek (Smart Routing)

Routes mechanical tasks (tool results, file reads, simple edits) to DeepSeek at $0.27/M tokens instead of Claude's $3-15/M. Free tier available at platform.deepseek.com.

2. OpenRouter (290+ Models)

Single API key for GPT-4o, Llama, Mistral, Gemini, and hundreds more. Get a key at openrouter.ai/keys.

3. Local Models (Free)

AISmush auto-discovers local model servers running on known ports. Supported servers:

Server	Default Port	Auto-Detected
Ollama	11434	Yes
LM Studio	1234	Yes
llama.cpp	8080	Yes
vLLM	8000	Yes
Jan	1337	Yes
text-generation-webui	5000	Yes
KoboldCpp	5001	Yes

CLI Commands

Running the Proxy

Command	Description
aismush-start	Start proxy + launch Claude Code in one command (recommended)
aismush-start --direct	Claude-only mode — no DeepSeek key needed, full compression active
aismush	Start the proxy server only (use when running Claude Code separately)
aismush --direct	Start proxy in Claude-only mode

Setup & Configuration

Command	Description
aismush --setup	Interactive provider configuration — tests each connection before saving
aismush --providers	List all configured and auto-discovered providers with health status
aismush --config	Show current configuration (keys, ports, thresholds)
aismush --scan	Scan codebase and generate project-specific agents, skills, and CLAUDE.md

Tools

Command	Description
aismush --search "query"	Search past conversations by meaning (semantic search)
aismush --embeddings	Start with 90MB semantic search model loaded (opt-in for memory)
aismush --status	Check if proxy is running, show quick stats
aismush --version	Show version number
aismush --help	Show all available commands

Maintenance

Command	Description
aismush --upgrade	Download and install the latest version
aismush --uninstall	Remove AISmush completely (optionally delete data)

Running Modes

Smart Routing (Default)

Routes each turn to the cheapest model that can handle it. Requires at least one secondary provider (DeepSeek, OpenRouter, or local model).

aismush-start

Local + Cloud

If you have Ollama or another local server running, AISmush auto-detects it and routes free tasks there. Cloud providers handle the rest.

# Start Ollama, then:
aismush-start

Direct Mode (Claude Only)

No secondary provider needed. You still get full compression (file caching, command patterns, structural summaries), memory, agents, and cost tracking.

aismush-start --direct

Supported Providers

Provider	Tier	Pricing (per M tokens)	Use Case
Claude Opus	Ultra	$15 in / $75 out	Most complex reasoning
Claude Sonnet	Premium	$3 in / $15 out	Planning, debugging, architecture
Claude Haiku	Premium	$0.80 in / $4 out	Fast responses
DeepSeek	Mid	$0.27 in / $1.10 out	Code generation, tool processing
OpenRouter models	Varies	Varies by model	Access to 290+ models
Local models	Free	$0 / $0	Tool results, file reads, simple edits

Smart Routing

AISmush uses multi-factor routing to pick the right provider for each turn:

Task Classification

Task Type	Minimum Tier	How It's Detected
Planning / Architecture	Premium (Claude)	First messages, "plan"/"design"/"refactor" keywords
Debugging	Mid	3+ recent errors, "fix"/"bug"/"debug" keywords
Code Generation	Mid	Mid-session with tool history
Tool Results	Free	Message is purely tool_result blocks
File Reads	Free	"read"/"show me" keywords

Blast-Radius Analysis

AISmush parses your project's import graph to understand which files are critical. Editing a type definition that 12 other files import? That gets routed to Claude. Editing a leaf test file? Local model handles it free.

Blast Radius Score	Routing Override
> 0.7 (high impact)	Force Premium (Claude)
0.4 - 0.7 (moderate)	Force Mid (DeepSeek)
< 0.4 (low impact)	Allow Free (local model)

Compression

AISmush compresses context at three levels. All compression is active in every mode, including Claude-only direct mode.

Layer 1: File Caching

Claude Code reads the same files repeatedly. AISmush caches file content hashes and replaces unchanged re-reads with a compact marker.

• First read: ~2,000 tokens (full content, cached for later)
• Subsequent reads: ~10 tokens ([File unchanged — cached])
• 99% savings on repeated file reads
• LRU cache with 500 entries

Layer 2: Command-Specific Patterns

CLI output from Bash tool results gets compressed with command-aware patterns:

Command	What's Kept	What's Stripped	Savings
cargo test	Pass/fail summary, error details	Individual "ok" lines, build output	~95%
cargo build	Errors, warnings, finish line	"Compiling" lines, download progress	~90%
git status	Branch, file list by status	Hint text, section headers	~80%
git diff	File names, hunks, changed lines	Headers, index lines	~60%
git log	Short hash, message, date	Author, decorations, full hash	~70%
npm/yarn	Errors, audit summary	Package details, progress	~85%
docker	Names, status, errors	SHA digests, build progress	~80%

Layer 3: Structural Summarization

Older tool results (beyond the last 4 messages) get replaced with structural summaries — just function signatures, type definitions, and imports. Recent work stays fully intact.

• 200-line file becomes ~30 lines (3-5x reduction)
• Supports Rust, TypeScript, Python, Go, and generic fallback
• Never touches JSON, YAML, error output, or recent messages

Layer 4: Content-Type Compression

• Code: strip comments, normalize whitespace, deduplicate lines
• Data (JSON/YAML/XML): never modified — safe passthrough
• Logs: aggressive deduplication
• ANSI escape codes and progress bars automatically stripped

Project Agents

aismush --scan

Scans your codebase, sends it to AI for deep analysis, and generates Claude Code agents customized to your project. Not generic templates — agents that know your file structure, naming conventions, test framework, and build commands.

• 5-7 AI calls for deep analysis (~$0.03)
• Generates .claude/agents/, .claude/skills/, and CLAUDE.md
• Each agent assigned the cheapest model that can do the job
• Incremental — re-scans only changed files (SHA-256 hashing)
• First scan: ~$0.03. Re-scans: ~$0.003

Plan Orchestrator

Ask Claude to make a plan, then say "run plan". AISmush builds a dependency graph, maps each step to a specialized agent, and executes with maximum parallelism.

How It Works

1. Create a plan using Claude (it uses EnterPlanMode naturally)
2. Say "run plan" or "execute plan"
3. AISmush parses the steps and builds a dependency graph
4. Shows the execution plan and asks for confirmation
5. Launches agents in parallel — steps unblock individually as their dependencies complete
6. Runs verification (cargo test, etc.) after completion

Dashboard

Live at http://localhost:1849/dashboard while the proxy is running.

• Overview: Request counts, provider distribution, token usage, compression savings
• Savings breakdown: Routing savings + compression savings + file cache savings combined
• Date filtering: Today, 7 days, 30 days, or custom date range
• Request history: Every request with provider, model, reason, tokens, cost, latency
• Memory viewer: Browse and search project memories with relevance scores
• Semantic search: Search past conversations by meaning

Configuration

AISmush reads config from (in priority order):

1. Environment variables (highest priority)
2. config.json or .deepseek-proxy.json in the current directory
3. ~/.hybrid-proxy/config.json

Config File Format

{
  "apiKey": "sk-your-deepseek-key",
  "openrouterKey": "sk-or-your-openrouter-key",
  "local": [
    {"name": "ollama", "url": "http://localhost:11434", "model": "qwen3:8b"}
  ],
  "routing": {
    "blastRadiusThreshold": 0.5,
    "preferLocal": true,
    "minTierForPlanning": "premium",
    "minTierForDebugging": "mid"
  },
  "port": 1849,
  "verbose": false
}

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
DEEPSEEK_API_KEY	(none)	DeepSeek API key for smart routing
OPENROUTER_API_KEY	(none)	OpenRouter API key for 290+ models
LOCAL_MODEL_URL	(none)	Local model server URL
LOCAL_MODEL_NAME	(none)	Local model name (e.g. qwen3:8b)
PROXY_PORT	1849	Port for the proxy server
FORCE_PROVIDER	(none)	Force all requests to a specific provider
PROXY_VERBOSE	false	Enable debug logging
AISMUSH_BLAST_THRESHOLD	0.5	Blast-radius score for tier escalation
AISMUSH_AUTO_DISCOVER	true	Auto-detect local model servers
AISMUSH_EMBEDDINGS	0	Load semantic search model on startup

API Endpoints

Available while the proxy is running on localhost:1849:

Endpoint	Method	Description
/dashboard	GET	Live HTML dashboard
/stats	GET	Aggregated statistics (JSON). Supports ?from=&to= Unix timestamps
/history	GET	Recent request log (JSON). Supports ?from=&to= date filtering
/health	GET	Health check
/memories	GET	All stored memories (JSON)
/memories/clear	POST	Delete all memories

FAQ

Does this affect response quality?

For planning and complex reasoning — no, those always go to Claude. For mechanical tasks (reading files, processing tool results) — the routing ensures you get the best model for each specific task. Compression only affects old messages, not your active work.

Can I use this with just Claude (no DeepSeek/local models)?

Yes. Run aismush-start --direct. You still get file caching, command compression, structural summaries, memory, agents, and cost tracking. No extra API key needed.

Does Claude Code know it's being proxied?

No. It sends requests to localhost instead of api.anthropic.com, but the API format is identical. All Claude Code features work normally.

What if a provider goes down?

AISmush has automatic fallback chains. If your local model stops responding, it falls back to DeepSeek. If DeepSeek fails, it falls back to Claude. Both have to be down simultaneously for a request to fail.

Is my data sent anywhere?

Your requests go to the same APIs you'd normally use (Anthropic, DeepSeek, OpenRouter, or your local server). The proxy runs locally. No third-party servers, no telemetry.

How much does the compression actually save?

It depends on your workflow. File caching saves 99% on repeated reads. Command compression saves 80-95% on CLI output. Structural summaries save 60-80% on old code. Combined, a typical session sees 30-60% total token reduction even in Claude-only mode.

Where is my data stored?

~/.hybrid-proxy/
  proxy.db       — SQLite database (requests, sessions, memories)
  config.json    — Your provider configuration
  instance_id    — Persistent machine fingerprint
  proxy.log      — Proxy log output