# Laguna S 2.1 Free

Laguna S 2.1 Free is the free access tier for Laguna S 2.1. The model behind it is the same open-weight agentic coding model that the paid version serves, and the difference you plan around is the context window of 256K tokens rather than any change in capability.

- **Model ID:** `poolside/laguna-s-2.1-free`
- **Type:** chat
- **Providers:** poolside
- **Context window:** 256,000
- **Maximum output tokens:** 32,768
- **Pricing:** See the provider details below
- **Canonical page:** https://vercel.com/ai-gateway/models/laguna-s-2.1-free

## Supported parameters

Detailed capability metadata has not been reported for this model.

## Example

```ts
import { streamText } from 'ai'

const result = streamText({
  model: 'poolside/laguna-s-2.1-free',
  prompt: 'Why is the sky blue?'
})
```

## About

Laguna S 2.1 Free became available on AI Gateway on July 21, 2026, alongside the paid version. Both entries serve Laguna S 2.1, an open-weight Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) model that Poolside built for agentic coding and released on Hugging Face under the OpenMDW-1.1 license. The listed difference between the two is access: Laguna S 2.1 Free carries a context window of 256K tokens, and the paid version carries a 1M-token window.

That makes Laguna S 2.1 Free the version to reach for first. Point an existing agent at it, run your own tasks, and judge the output before you commit to the paid version. Laguna S 2.1 scores 70.2% on Terminal-Bench 2.1 with thinking enabled, so a short evaluation on real repository work tells you quickly whether the model suits your harness and prompts.

A context window of 256K tokens covers a lot of practical work: focused bug fixes, single-service refactors, test repair, and terminal tasks that finish in a bounded number of steps. It runs short when an agent reads broadly across a large repository or keeps a session going for hours. Watch context usage in AI Gateway reporting and treat the first truncation as the signal to switch.

AI Gateway expanded capacity for both the free and paid versions after launch, so evaluation runs and batch experiments on Laguna S 2.1 Free have more room than they did at release. Capacity describes how much traffic the endpoint accepts, not how well the model performs.

Set the model to `poolside/laguna-s-2.1-free` in the AI SDK, Chat Completions API, Responses API, Messages API, or other API formats, from TypeScript or Python. To try Laguna S 2.1 Free inside a coding agent, run `vercel ai-gateway setup`, then select `poolside/laguna-s-2.1-free` in the agent's model configuration. Moving to the paid version later means changing one model string.

## What to consider

Pick a version by context budget, not by expected answer quality. Agent sessions grow quickly once terminal output, file contents, and tool results accumulate, so measure a representative run before you decide. If those runs stay inside 256K tokens, Laguna S 2.1 Free covers them. If they don't, move to the paid version at `laguna-s-2.1`, which supports a 1M-token window.

## When to use

### Best For

- **First Evaluation Runs:** Testing Laguna S 2.1 on your own repositories before you commit to it
- **Coding Agent Prototypes:** Early scaffolding where prompts stay well inside 256K tokens
- **Side-by-Side Model Comparisons:** Benchmarking against other models you already route through AI Gateway
- **Bounded Terminal Tasks:** Focused build, test, and repair work that finishes in a limited number of steps
- **Demos and Workshops:** Sessions that need a working agentic coding model on short notice

### Consider Alternatives When

- **Long-Horizon Agent Sessions:** Runs that outgrow 256K tokens belong on the paid version at `laguna-s-2.1`
- **Whole-Repository Prompts:** Large codebases sent in a single request exceed the window this version allows
- **Sustained Production Traffic:** The paid version is the endpoint to standardize on once a workload ships
- **Image or Audio Input:** Laguna S 2.1 takes text only, so multimodal work needs a model such as Inkling
- **Broad General Assistance:** Agentic coding is the target, not open-domain chat or factual recall

## Best for

- **First Evaluation Runs:** Testing Laguna S 2.1 on your own repositories before you commit to it
- **Coding Agent Prototypes:** Early scaffolding where prompts stay well inside 256K tokens
- **Side-by-Side Model Comparisons:** Benchmarking against other models you already route through AI Gateway
- **Bounded Terminal Tasks:** Focused build, test, and repair work that finishes in a limited number of steps
- **Demos and Workshops:** Sessions that need a working agentic coding model on short notice

## Consider alternatives

- **Long-Horizon Agent Sessions:** Runs that outgrow 256K tokens belong on the paid version at `laguna-s-2.1`
- **Whole-Repository Prompts:** Large codebases sent in a single request exceed the window this version allows
- **Sustained Production Traffic:** The paid version is the endpoint to standardize on once a workload ships
- **Image or Audio Input:** Laguna S 2.1 takes text only, so multimodal work needs a model such as Inkling
- **Broad General Assistance:** Agentic coding is the target, not open-domain chat or factual recall

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the difference between Laguna S 2.1 Free and the paid version?

The context window. Laguna S 2.1 Free supports 256K tokens, and `laguna-s-2.1` supports 1M tokens. Both entries serve the same Laguna S 2.1 model.

### Is Laguna S 2.1 Free a smaller or distilled model?

No. Laguna S 2.1 Free serves the same Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) model Poolside released for agentic coding, at a smaller context window. Quality within that window matches the paid version.

### When should I switch to the paid version?

Switch when agent sessions run out of context. Long terminal runs, whole-repository reads, and multi-hour agent loops accumulate more than 256K tokens. Everything else fits here.

### How much traffic can Laguna S 2.1 Free handle?

AI Gateway expanded capacity for both the free and paid versions after launch, which raised how many requests each endpoint accepts. Current limits and live usage appear in your AI Gateway dashboard.

### How do I call Laguna S 2.1 Free through AI Gateway?

Set the model to `poolside/laguna-s-2.1-free` in the AI SDK, Chat Completions API, Responses API, Messages API, or other API formats, from TypeScript or Python. Switching to the paid version later means changing that one string.

### Can I use Laguna S 2.1 Free in a coding agent?

Yes. Run `vercel ai-gateway setup` to connect your agents to AI Gateway, then select `poolside/laguna-s-2.1-free` in the agent's model configuration. See the coding agents guide at https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/coding-agents.

### Does Laguna S 2.1 Free run in thinking mode?

Yes. Laguna S 2.1 runs in thinking and no-thinking modes, and thinking is enabled by default. Thinking raises its Terminal-Bench 2.1 score from 60.4% to 70.2%.

### Does AI Gateway support Zero Data Retention for Laguna S 2.1 Free?

Zero Data Retention is not currently available for this model. Zero Data Retention is offered on a per-provider basis. See https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway/capabilities/zdr for details.

### What does Laguna S 2.1 Free cost?

Current rates appear in the pricing panel on this page. AI Gateway mirrors provider pricing with no markup and adds no platform fee on inference, including on Bring Your Own Key requests.

## Links

- [Model page](https://vercel.com/ai-gateway/models/laguna-s-2.1-free)
- [AI Gateway documentation](https://vercel.com/docs/ai-gateway)
- [Provider model documentation](https://docs.poolside.ai/release-notes/models#laguna-s-2-1)


If you encounter incorrect information, can’t find what you need, need a capability Vercel doesn’t currently offer, or have any other feedback to report, please do it by following the instructions at https://vercel.com/feedback.md.