Aider alternatives for terminal coding with MCP and agent skills

The best overall Aider alternative is OpenCode, a free MIT-licensed terminal agent that, like Aider, works with any model provider and local models, and adds MCP servers and agent skills. The best free alternative for local models is Goose, with a desktop app and a CLI, and the best for automating git and CI chores is Claude Code, on a paid plan. We compared 5 terminal agents on free tier, license, model choice, MCP and agent skills; facts checked on 2026-10-01.

Where Aider stands on 2026-10-01

Aider is an Apache-2.0 terminal tool that edits code in a git repository with the model of your choice and commits each edit with a descriptive message, so /undo reverts the last change. It still has 49,314 GitHub stars and works with cloud providers, any OpenAI-compatible API and local models through Ollama. Two facts lead people to look elsewhere. Its last release on PyPI is 0.86.2 from 2026-02-12, re-checked on PyPI on 2026-10-01, and the last commit to main is from 2026-05-22. And its docs mention neither MCP nor agent skills, so there is no documented way to connect an MCP server; a SKILL.md can only be added to a chat by hand with /read-only. If neither matters to you, Aider remains a sound tool. Details: Aider on CookiesForAI.

OpenCode: the closest free swap

OpenCode is an MIT-licensed terminal coding agent by Anomaly, for Aider users who want the same freedom of model with MCP and skills on top. Like Aider, it does not tie you to one vendor: it connects to 75+ providers through Models.dev, runs local models, and also accepts a GitHub Copilot or ChatGPT Plus or Pro login. Where Aider has code, ask and architect modes, OpenCode has a Build agent for changes, a read-only Plan agent and subagents, and it loads language servers so the agent sees diagnostics as it edits. Its strength is activity: 211,260 GitHub stars on 2026-10-01 and a push the same day. Its limit is the move to v2: classic and v2 docs give different MCP config formats, so guides may not match your version. OpenCode reads skills from .agents/skills and .claude/skills and MCP servers from opencode.json. The tool is free; the optional Go subscription is paid. Details: OpenCode on CookiesForAI.

Goose: best free pick for local models

Goose is an Apache-2.0 open source agent, created by Block and now part of the Agentic AI Foundation at the Linux Foundation, for Aider users who mainly run local models and want a desktop app as well as a terminal. Like Aider, Goose costs nothing and works with Ollama, and it supports 15+ providers in all, including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter and Bedrock. Unlike Aider, it is built around MCP: it calls MCP servers extensions, and its directory lists 70+ of them. Skills load through a built-in Skills extension that is on by default, from .agents/skills or .goose/skills. Its strength is a free, foundation-governed project with 54,840 GitHub stars on 2026-10-01. Its limit is that Goose does not support SSE for remote MCP servers, only stdio and streamable HTTP, and as with Aider you set up and pay a model provider yourself. Details: Goose on CookiesForAI.

Claude Code: best for git and CI automation

Claude Code is Anthropic's terminal coding agent, for Aider users who want the agent to handle more of the git and review loop and will pay a subscription. Like Aider it reads the codebase, edits files and runs tests, and it also handles commits and pull requests, responds to @claude mentions through a GitHub Action, and supports GitLab CI/CD. Its strength is scripted control: hooks run your scripts at more than six named points, such as before a tool call or at session start, and subagents, skills and plugins extend it. Its limit, against Aider, is choice and cost: it runs only Anthropic's Claude models, with no local option, and it has no free tier: it needs a paid Claude plan or an API account, read on 2026-10-01. Claude Code reads skills from .claude/skills and adds MCP servers with claude mcp add. Details: Claude Code on CookiesForAI.

OpenAI Codex: CLI plus cloud pull requests

OpenAI Codex is a coding agent by OpenAI with an Apache-2.0 open source CLI, for Aider users who already pay for ChatGPT or want to hand tasks to a cloud agent. Like Aider, the CLI runs in your terminal and edits files; unlike Aider, it runs commands inside a sandbox, and Codex cloud works on tasks in isolated environments and opens pull requests on GitHub. Its strength is the range of ways in: a ChatGPT login, an API key at API rates, or the --oss flag, which runs a local open source model through LM Studio or Ollama. The CLI repository had 127,502 GitHub stars on 2026-10-01. Its limit is the plan: OpenAI's pricing page lists the CLI and IDE extension from the paid Plus plan up, with usage capped per five-hour window and per week, and the agent centres on OpenAI's models. Codex reads skills from .agents/skills and adds MCP servers with codex mcp add. Details: OpenAI Codex on CookiesForAI.

Gemini CLI: open source on a Gemini key

Gemini CLI is Google's Apache-2.0 open source terminal agent, for Aider users on Google Cloud or with a Gemini API key. It differs from Aider by running only Gemini models, and by adding MCP servers, Agent Skills, extensions, subagents, hooks, checkpoints and a headless mode for scripts. Its strength is an active, open codebase: 107,216 GitHub stars and a push on 2026-10-01. Its limit is access: since 2026-06-18 Gemini CLI no longer serves free personal Google accounts or Google AI Pro and Ultra plans, which Google moved to Antigravity CLI. The quota page, read on 2026-10-01, still lists a free Gemini API key tier with a daily request limit, Flash model only, and organizations on Gemini Code Assist Standard or Enterprise keep access. Gemini CLI reads skills from .gemini/skills or .agents/skills and adds MCP servers with gemini mcp add. Details: Gemini CLI on CookiesForAI, and Gemini CLI alternatives for the background.

How we chose

We listed terminal agents that do Aider's job, editing code in a repository from the command line, and that document both MCP and agent skills, since those are the two things Aider's docs leave out. The four open source picks all had commits pushed on 2026-10-01. We read each maker's docs, pricing page and GitHub repository on 2026-10-01, and Aider's FAQ, repository and PyPI release history the same day. The criteria were price, license, model choice including local models, MCP and agent skills. We did not run the same task in each tool or compare code quality. Cline and Kilo Code are good open source options if you would rather work in an editor; both also have CLIs.

How to choose

• If you want Aider's model freedom and price with MCP and skills added, choose OpenCode.
• If you run models locally through Ollama and want a desktop app too, choose Goose.
• If you value Aider's git workflow and want the agent to handle commits, pull requests and CI, choose Claude Code.
• If you pay for ChatGPT, or want tasks run in the cloud, choose Codex.
• If your company is on Google Cloud with Gemini Code Assist, choose Gemini CLI.