Ox Alpha in OpenCode: Setup and Fallbacks
OpenCode's live Zen catalog exposes a free model alias named x-preview-f-free. The public catalog does not yet call that alias Ox Alpha, so this guide shows how to verify it instead of hard-coding an assumption.
1. Install the current OpenCode client
# Official installer
curl -fsSL https://opencode.ai/install | bash
# Or npm
npm i -g opencode-aiUse the official OpenCode download page for desktop builds and platform-specific instructions.
2. Connect and verify the alias
- Start OpenCode in your project.
- Run
/connectand choose the provider you intend to test. - Run
/modelsand search forx-preview-f-free. - Open the live OpenCode model list if the entry is missing or renamed.
The alias mapping is not an official reveal
Command Code currently exposes the named model as stealth/ox-alpha, while OpenCode exposes x-preview-f-free. That is a strong operational clue, not a public provider statement. Do not use the alias as evidence of who built Ox Alpha.
3. Test with a fallback
Free previews can be capacity-limited. For a meaningful comparison, keep the same task ready in OpenRouter with stealth/ox-alpha or a named model such as DeepSeek V4 Flash. Log the client, provider, alias, latency, retries, and tool-call errors so an interruption is not mistaken for a model-quality result.
If the model stops mid-task, capture the error and retry once with a smaller continuation. If the behavior repeats, switch to the fallback rather than repeatedly resubmitting sensitive context.