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goose

An open-source AI agent that runs on your machine as a desktop app, CLI or API, with any LLM.

Open sourceAI coding assistants
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About goose

goose is an open-source AI agent created at Block and now hosted by the Agentic AI Foundation. It runs locally as a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux, a CLI and an API, and it was built for coding first: it can read and edit files, run commands and tests, and work through multi-step tasks. Its makers now describe it as general purpose, so it is also used for research, writing, data analysis and automation. Everything is extended through MCP, with more than 70 extensions for databases, browsers, GitHub, Google Drive and more, and repeatable workflows can be saved as YAML recipes to share with a team or run in CI. It works with over 15 providers including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Ollama and OpenRouter, using API keys or existing Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini subscriptions. goose is free under the Apache 2.0 licence; you pay only for models. It suits developers who want a hackable local agent not tied to any vendor.

Best for: Developers who want a free, vendor-neutral local agent with a desktop app.

Pros and cons

What works

  • Free and Apache 2.0 licensed
  • Desktop app as well as a CLI
  • Works with 15+ providers and existing subscriptions

Why people leave

  • General-purpose focus means fewer coding-specific features
  • Quality depends on the model and extensions you set up
  • You manage your own API costs

Top goose alternatives

See all 5
  1. 1Cline logo
    Cline

    Open-source coding agent that lives inside VS Code or JetBrains.

    77.6
  2. 2OpenCode logo
    OpenCode

    Open-source agent focused on coding, with terminal, desktop and IDE versions.

    66.5
  3. 3OpenHands logo
    OpenHands

    Open-source agent platform that can scale out to VMs and cloud sandboxes.

    59.6
  4. 4Claude Code logo
    Claude Code

    A commercial agent with more coding-specific polish.

    57.2
  5. 5Aider logo
    Aider

    Open-source, terminal-only pair programmer with git auto-commits.

    55.3

Why people left goose

In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.

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goose: common questions

Is goose free?

Yes. goose is free, open-source software.

Is goose open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at block/goose.

What platforms does goose run on?

goose is available for macOS, Windows and Linux.

What are the best alternatives to goose?

The highest-ranked goose alternatives right now are Cline, OpenCode and OpenHands. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 5 goose alternatives