Amp

Amp is a coding agent that runs in cloud environments called orbs, so agents keep working after the laptop closes, or locally via its CLI.

Amp is a coding agent and development environment for developers working with frontier models. Each agent can get its own orb, a cloud environment where it runs without supervision, so work continues after the laptop is closed and can be picked up from a phone; agents can also run on the developer's own machine with Amp's CLI and runner. Agents can use automations to wake themselves up and check production, receive screen recordings of bugs, test changes and send screenshot proof, and be granted temporary production access from the terminal. Threads can be shared with teammates, and orbs remove the need to juggle git worktrees for parallel work. Amp is free to start, with paid tiers that include more agent and orb usage for individuals and teams.

Amp at a glance

Best for: Software engineer
Runs on: Web, CLI
Pricing: Free to start; paid tiers with more agent and orb usage
Released: May 2025
Category: AI coding tool
Website: ampcode.com

Key features

Orbs: cloud environments for unsupervised agents
Local CLI and runner on the developer's machine
Automations that let agents wake up and check production
Bug reports from screen recordings
Screenshot proof of changes
Shared threads with teammates
Temporary production access granted from the terminal

Use it for

Hand off a bug fix and check back from a phone
Monitor a production rollout with an agent
Run several agents in parallel without managing worktrees

Companions

Tools that articles about Amp recommend using with it, each with its job.

Zed — The Amp CLI connects to Zed with "ide connect".
VS Code — Binds the CLI session to VS Code and its forks.
Neovim — Supported through the Amp Neovim plugin.
Linear — A skill can load the Linear MCP server only when needed.
GitHub — The Librarian subagent searches public and private repos.

Alternatives to Amp

Augment — Org-wide agent loops on top of a deep codebase context engine
OpenCode — Works with 75+ model providers, local models, and existing subscriptions
Agent OS — Manage AI coding sessions side by side and check on them from your phone.
Open Agents Template — Spawn autonomous coding agents with full sandboxes and durable workflows.
CloudCLI — Run AI coding agents in persistent cloud environments from any device.
Warp — AI terminal plus cloud agents with built-in evals and benchmarks
Agent Relay — It carries turns between different AI agents and stops for human decisions.
Conductor — Run coding agents in isolated cloud sandboxes and collaborate in real-time.
Google Agents CLI — Turns coding agents into experts at building and deploying Google Cloud agents.
Collaborator — Runs coding agents on a persistent cloud machine separate from a local device.
Kilo Code — Open-source agent with any model and no markup on inference
Orca — Runs multiple AI coding agents simultaneously in isolated workspaces.

All Amp alternatives