Kilo Code
Open-source VS Code coding agent merging the best of Cline and Roo Code with extra power-user modes.
Kilo Code is an open-source VS Code coding agent merging the best of Cline and Roo Code with extra power-user modes. Open-source codebase that allows community inspection and contributions.
About Kilo Code
Kilo Code is an open-source VS Code coding agent that merges features from Cline and Roo Code into one extension, with extra power-user modes.
Its pitch is both, plus more: it combines two established open agents in a single free VS Code extension, adds power-user modes for workflows beyond basic completion, and keeps an open codebase anyone can inspect.
It's for VS Code users who want the union of Cline and Roo Code without picking one. Two caveats: it's VS Code only — no JetBrains, CLI, or web — and because it merges two upstream projects, it inherits their maintenance and compatibility churn.
It's the merge-of-both option next to its parents, Cline and Roo Code, in the open, in-VS-Code lane.
Sources: kilocode.ai, this listing
What it does well
- Open-source codebase that allows community inspection and contributions.
- Merges features from both Cline and Roo Code, combining two established AI coding agents into a single extension.
- Includes power-user modes aimed at advanced coding workflows beyond basic completions.
- Available as a free VS Code extension with no paid tier required.
Where it falls short
- Only available as a VS Code extension, with no support for JetBrains, CLI, or web-based interfaces.
- As a fork that merges Cline and Roo Code, it depends on multiple upstream projects that can introduce maintenance and compatibility issues.
- Lack of an enterprise tier or dedicated support channels compared to commercial alternatives.
Tagged
- VS Code Extension
- Agentic Mode
- Free
- Open Source
Compared with similar things
Picked by shared tags inside the AI Coding Agents.
- 01Free →Roo Code
Open-source autonomous coding agent for VS Code, forked from Cline with multi-mode workflows.
- 02Free →Cline
Open-source autonomous coding agent for VS Code, formerly known as Claude Dev.
- 03Free →Puppeteer MCP Server
Browser automation MCP server using Puppeteer — navigate, fill, click, and screenshot pages.
- 04Freemium →n8n
Open-source workflow automation with native LLM nodes — self-host on your own infrastructure.
- 05Freemium →LangChain
Most-used framework for building LLM applications with retrieval, agents, and chains.
- 06Freemium →Convex
Reactive backend platform with AI agents and Chef — a no-code app builder built on Convex.
Related reading
- How to Build an MVP with AI
You don't start by building. You start by finding the one assumption that would kill the idea, then build the smallest thing that tests it. Here's the full idea-to-deployed workflow from a live AI build session: research the market with ChatGPT, pick a segment on unit economics, have AI write the PRD, then vibe-code and ship with Claude Code — in a couple of hours, not a quarter.
Read guide → - What Is an AI Agent Harness? The Runtime That Turns an LLM Into an Agent
A harness is the runtime wrapper that turns a bare language model into an agent — the layer that runs tools, holds memory, assembles context, and enforces limits. The model does the reasoning; the harness does everything the model can't do on its own. It's the part that decides whether you shipped a chatbot or a real agent — and it's why the same model feels brilliant in one tool and useless in another.
Read guide → - Claude Code Memory
Claude Code has built-in memory — a CLAUDE.md file it reads each session — but it only holds short, hand-written notes. To make it understand a large codebase or docs set, you add a second brain: turn the repo into a knowledge graph, fold that into an Obsidian vault, and let the agent query the map instead of re-reading every file.
Read guide →
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</a>Frequently asked questions
- What is Kilo Code?
- Kilo Code is an open-source VS Code coding agent merging the best of Cline and Roo Code with extra power-user modes.
- Is Kilo Code free?
- Kilo Code is free to use. There is no paid tier as of the last index update.
- What platforms does Kilo Code support?
- Kilo Code runs on vscode-ext.
- What category does Kilo Code belong to?
- Kilo Code is in the AI Coding Agents category — Autonomous agents that write, edit, run, and review code. Includes CLI agents, agentic IDE add-ons, and code-review bots.
- What are the downsides of Kilo Code?
- Only available as a VS Code extension, with no support for JetBrains, CLI, or web-based interfaces. As a fork that merges Cline and Roo Code, it depends on multiple upstream projects that can introduce maintenance and compatibility issues. Lack of an enterprise tier or dedicated support channels compared to commercial alternatives.