AI assistant

Chat and agentic builds in zizcode: your free token bucket and bringing your own key.

zizcode has a built-in AI assistant. The Assistant button in the editor toolbar (and in the More menu on mobile) opens a side panel that can answer questions about your code and build files for you. It is available once your account is approved for hosting.

Two modes

• Chat: ask questions about your project, get explanations, debugging help, and code snippets. The file you have open is sent as context, so answers are about your code.
• Build: describe what you want (“add a contact form that saves to SQLite”, “apply the look from index.php across the site”) and the assistant inspects your project and proposes the files to create or change.

Choosing a model

Above the composer is a Model picker with two dropdowns: the provider, then one of that provider’s models. Each model shows an approximate price per million tokens, so you can see what a choice costs before you make it.

• Google Gemini is the default, and the only provider that works without a key of your own, because the free allowance below runs on it.
• ChatGPT and Claude run on your own API key only. There is no shared key for them, so everything you do on those providers is billed to your own account.

Within a provider, the first model listed is the most capable and the last is the cheapest. The middle option suits everyday work.

Think harder

The composer also has a Think harder toggle, which gives the model you picked more reasoning before it edits:

• Off (the default) is faster and uses fewer tokens. It suits building new pages, layouts, and visuals.
• On is better at debugging and harder fixes. It costs more tokens, so use it when a normal request does not solve the problem.

Nothing changes until you apply it

In Build mode the assistant never writes to your project on its own. It shows each proposed file with a Preview and an Apply button. Review them, then Apply the ones you want (or Apply all). There is an optional Auto-apply toggle, but preview + confirm is the default.

Every change is also kept in version history (the History button on the editor toolbar), so you can restore an earlier version of a file.

Chat and Build remember your conversations

Each mode keeps its own conversations. Use New to start a fresh thread and History to reopen a past one.

Tokens: the free allowance, then your own key

AI providers bill by tokens (pieces of text in and out). To keep zizcode free, every member gets a small monthly allowance of free tokens on our Gemini key. The usage meter at the bottom of the assistant shows how much of that allowance is left.

When the allowance runs out, you can continue by adding your own Google Gemini API key. The key is free to create, is stored encrypted, and is only used for your own requests. Once it is in place, the free allowance is used first and your key takes over from there.

ChatGPT and Claude work differently. There is no free allowance on them, so you add a key for each provider you want to use, and that key pays for everything you do there. Each provider has its own key and its own monthly limit, so a cap you set on Claude does not affect your Gemini key.

Using your own key, step by step

The steps below use Gemini as the example. ChatGPT and Claude are the same, with a different site to create the key on: platform.openai.com/api-keys for ChatGPT and console.anthropic.com/settings/keys for Claude. Pick the provider in the Model picker first, then add its key: the key dialog always applies to the provider you have selected.

1. Create a key at Google AI Studio

1. Go to aistudio.google.com/apikey and sign in with your Google account.
2. Click Create API key.
3. Copy the key. It is a long string of letters and numbers. Store it safely and treat it like a password.

2. Add it to zizcode

1. Open the assistant in the editor (the sparkle Assistant button, or the More menu on mobile).
2. At the bottom of the assistant panel, click Use my key. (If your free allowance has run out, this dialog opens automatically.)
3. Paste your key into the API key box.
4. Optionally set a monthly token limit. Leave it at 0 for no limit, or enter a number to cap how many tokens zizcode will spend on this provider’s key each month. The price beside each model in the picker tells you what that works out to.
5. Click Save. Your key now powers the assistant, and the meter switches to your own usage.

3. Manage or remove your key later

Once a key is saved, the Use my key button becomes Manage key. Open it any time to:

• See your usage this month and an estimated cost. The estimate comes from token counts, so check the provider’s own account page for your actual spend.
• Replace the key: paste a new one and Save. Leave the box blank to keep the current key (you will see its last four characters so you know which one is stored).
• Change the monthly limit: update the number and Save.
• Remove the key: click Remove key. zizcode deletes it. On Gemini you go back to the shared free allowance. On ChatGPT and Claude that provider stops working until you add a key again.

If personal keys are turned off on this site, the Use my key button does not appear for Gemini and only the free allowance is available. ChatGPT and Claude always need a key of your own.

Tips

• Keep the file you want changed open. It is sent as context, so single-file edits are faster and cheaper.
• Be specific. “Add server-side validation to contact.php and show errors above the form” works better than “fix the form”.
• For large jobs, several focused requests work better, and cost fewer tokens, than one large request.
• Your code is sent to the provider you picked to generate replies. Do not paste secrets you would not want processed by a third party.

What to read next

• About zizcode
• Quick start in zizcode
• The built-in database