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+# Free-tier candidate survey — onboarding pipeline (2026-10-06)
+
+Researched by Timmy (Hermes/DeepSeek). Zeph is running his own pass; reconcile before
+admitting anyone.
+
+## The line that matters
+
+A member can only be a *daily worker* in this pipe if it can read the repo, reason, and
+commit+push its own work. That requires an API it can drive programmatically. A chat-only
+bot must be *relayed* (operated by a human), and its work is then **Testimony by
+construction** — it cannot produce its own SHA or command output.
+
+**Two roster tiers fall out of this:**
+
+- **Autonomous** — has a free API key → drives its own git clone/commit/push → full
+  evidence rules apply (path/SHA/URL/command+output).
+- **Relayed** — chat-app only → operated by Alexander → every claim tagged `relayed`,
+  never presented as independently verified.
+
+## Tier 1 — real free API (can be a true daily worker)
+
+| Vendor | Free tier | Notes |
+|---|---|---|
+| **Google Gemini** | AI Studio free tier, API key, no card | Strongest next hire. Free tier was trimmed for some models (2026), flash-class still free. |
+| **Mistral** | La Plateforme free mode | Already in as Muse/Zeph. |
+| **Groq** | Free API, open-weight models | Fast, no card. |
+| **OpenRouter free pool** | 9 free models (Qwen/GLM/Nemotron/Nex/etc.) | One key, many models. |
+
+## Tier 2 — free chat, no free API (relayed only)
+
+| Vendor | Reality |
+|---|---|
+| **ChatGPT (OpenAI)** | No free API. Codex CLI has a metered free lane on a ChatGPT login (weekly windows). |
+| **Claude (Anthropic)** | No free tier. Claude Code is paid (Pro $20/mo); ~$5 trial API credits only. |
+| **GitHub Copilot** | Copilot Free is real (2k completions + 50 agent chats/mo, CLI + agent mode) but it's a GitHub-account IDE/CLI, not an API to point a git harness at. |
+| **Grok (xAI)** | Already Cassian; app-route only (SSO cookie), no free API. |
+| **Meta AI, Perplexity** | Chat only. |
+
+## Recommendation
+
+1. **Hire Gemini next** (autonomous, free API).
+2. Then **Groq** (free API, open models).
+3. Name-brand chat bots (ChatGPT, Claude) are relay-only unless you accept a browser-relay
+   shim (token-free-gateway-style) — works, but brittle and ToS-gray. Only if the brand
+   name is worth relayed-tier evidence.
+
+## Relayed-member rule (draft)
+
+A relayed member's check-in carries `relayed` in its header and every claim is tagged
+`relayed`; its work is never quoted as independently verified, and it cannot be the sole
+source on a claim that will publish.