Goose

What Goose does

Goose is a general-purpose AI agent built in Rust that runs as a desktop app, a CLI and an API on macOS, Windows and Linux. It can install, run, edit and test code, and it extends through MCP servers, which Goose calls extensions; its directory lists 70+ of them. Recipes, subagents, custom agents, hooks and plugins are documented features.

Goose works with 15+ model providers, including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Ollama, OpenRouter, Azure and Bedrock, and it can use an existing Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini subscription through the Agent Client Protocol. Local models through Ollama keep everything on your machine.

Goose was created by Block, which donated it on 2026-04-07 to the Agentic AI Foundation at the Linux Foundation, the same foundation that hosts the Model Context Protocol and AGENTS.md. The repository moved from block/goose to aaif-goose/goose, and the software stays free under Apache-2.0.

Who Goose is for

• People who want a free open source agent with a desktop app, not only a terminal
• Connecting an agent to many tools through MCP extensions
• Using an existing Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini subscription in an open source agent
• Organizations that prefer software governed by a neutral foundation

Who should pick something else

• Teams that want a hosted cloud agent that opens pull requests on its own; Devin or Codex cloud do that
• Users of remote MCP servers that only speak SSE: Goose does not support SSE
• People who want an agent built into their editor; Cline or Kilo Code are extensions

Goose: one strength, one limit

Strength. Goose is free under Apache-2.0 with 54,840 GitHub stars (2026-10-01), runs on macOS, Windows and Linux as both a desktop app and a CLI, and works with 15+ model providers.

Limit. Goose does not support SSE for remote MCP servers, only stdio and streamable HTTP, and setup means choosing and paying a model provider yourself.

What Goose costs

Free and open source under Apache-2.0 with no paid plans; you pay only your model provider, or nothing with local models.

Current prices: github.com ↗. We do not list prices: vendors change them often, so check the maker's own page before you buy.

Goose with agent skills and MCP servers

Skills. Goose supports Agent Skills natively through a built-in Skills extension that is on by default. It reads project skills from .agents/skills and global skills from ~/.agents/skills, and also discovers .goose/skills, .claude/skills and ~/.claude/skills; goose skills list shows them. SKILL.md support arrived in v1.16.0 (2025-12-10) and .agents/skills discovery in v1.18.0 (2025-12-19). The open skills CLI 1.7.0 installs Goose skills into .goose/skills.

MCP. Goose calls MCP servers extensions. In the desktop app, open Extensions in the sidebar and choose Add custom extension (Standard IO with a command, or a remote server). In the CLI, run goose configure, then Add Extension. Extensions are saved under extensions in ~/.config/goose/config.yaml, with types stdio and streamable_http; SSE is not supported.

Browse agent skills and MCP servers that work with Goose.

Alternatives to Goose

• OpenCode: OpenCode is an open source terminal coding agent by Anomaly that works with 75+ model providers, local models included, and also ships as a desktop app and IDE extension.
• Claude Code: Claude Code is a terminal coding agent by Anthropic that reads a codebase, edits files and runs commands, and also works in VS Code, JetBrains, a desktop app and the web.
• OpenClaw: OpenClaw is an open source personal AI agent from the OpenClaw Foundation that runs on your own machine and takes tasks from WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord and other chat apps.
• Hermes Agent: Hermes Agent is an open source personal AI agent by Nous Research that runs in the terminal, a desktop app and messaging apps, and writes new skills for itself from completed tasks.
• Cline: Cline is an open source coding agent by Cline Bot Inc. that runs as a VS Code or JetBrains extension and a CLI, using your own model keys or local models.