Zed
A fast collaborative editor with AI features and an open source core.
freemiumFree: Yes
Read reviewOpen Source AI Coding Tools You Can Inspect
Open source AI coding tools give developers more control over model routing, data handling, and workflow customization. They are popular with teams that want transparency or need to adapt tooling to internal conventions. Open source does not automatically solve privacy or quality problems, but it does make architecture and behavior easier to inspect than closed SaaS products.
5 tools found
Continue
Open source AI code assistant for VS Code and JetBrains.
open-sourceFree: Yes
Read reviewAider
Open source AI pair programming from the terminal.
open-sourceFree: Yes
Read reviewCline
Open source VS Code agent that can edit files and use tools.
open-sourceFree: Yes
Read reviewGoose
Block open source agent for local developer automation.
open-sourceFree: Yes
Read reviewBuyer's guide
When evaluating open source tools, inspect the license, extension support, model-provider options, and maintenance velocity. Also budget for setup time. Continue, Aider, Cline, Goose, and Zed can be excellent, but they often require more choices from the user than closed products like Cursor or Copilot.
FAQ
Which AI coding tools are open source?
Continue, Aider, Cline, Goose, and Zed are strong open source starting points.
Can open source AI tools run local models?
Many can route to local providers such as Ollama, but output quality depends heavily on the model and hardware.
Are open source tools better for privacy?
They can be, especially with local models or controlled routing, but you still need to review configuration and provider terms.