A small experiment: building a zero-cost AI debate arena (BYOK)

Description and use

A lightweight client‑side web arena for AI model debates was built, allowing users to plug in their own API keys and avoid server or token costs.

Problem

Standard AI chat interfaces are overly polite and uninteresting, lacking engaging debate between models.

Outcome

The author successfully built a zero-cost, client-side AI debate arena that allows users to plug in their own API keys and witness models debating without server or token costs.

Workflow

• 1. Set up a simple web page using Tailwind CSS for styling.
• 2. Deploy the page on Vercel for free hosting.
• 3. Implement a Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) architecture so users can input their own API keys for Gemini, Groq, or other models.
• 4. Configure the client-side logic to send prompts to both models and display their responses in real time.
• 5. Run the arena and observe the models debating without server or token expenses.

Evidence

So, I built a lightweight web arena using Tailwind, Vercel, and a BYOK (Bring Your Own Key) architecture so users plug in their own API keys (Gemini, Groq, etc.) and it doesn’t cost me a dime in server or token bills every time the models start bickering.

Source