Kilo Code

Kilo Code is an open-source AI coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains, the terminal and the cloud, with 500+ models at provider prices.

Kilo Code is an MIT-licensed AI coding agent that works the same way in VS Code and other editors through Open VSX, in JetBrains IDEs, in the terminal and as cloud agents. It ships with specialised agent modes for writing and refactoring code, planning complex features before coding, and debugging from error traces, and it can run long jobs such as platform migrations. One portal controls local and cloud agents, parallel isolated worktrees and IDE or CLI sessions. Users choose from more than 500 models across 60+ providers at provider rates with no markup, bring their own keys, or run local models for privacy, and the source shows every prompt and context decision. Kilo has been acquired by Anaconda, and the extensions are free, with Teams and Enterprise plans adding shared billing, analytics and governance.

Kilo Code at a glance

Best for: Software engineer
Runs on: VS Code, JetBrains, CLI, Web, open source
Pricing: Free extensions; model usage at provider rates; Teams and Enterprise plans
Released: March 2025
Category: AI coding tool
Website: kilo.ai

Key features

Open-source agent for VS Code, JetBrains, CLI and cloud
Agent modes for coding, planning and debugging
500+ models at provider prices, or bring your own keys
Local models for private code
Parallel isolated worktrees and cloud agents
Usage analytics and team management on paid plans

Use it for

Plan and build a feature with a structured plan first
Debug an error from its stack trace
Run a long migration with a cloud agent

Companions

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

OpenRouter — 300+ models on one key, with routing and failover rules.
Ollama — Local inference and free embeddings for codebase indexing.
LM Studio — OpenAI-compatible local endpoint Kilo can call.
JetBrains — Native plugin for IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm and more.
Qdrant — Vector store for Kilo's opt-in semantic indexing.

Alternatives to Kilo Code

OpenCode — Works with 75+ model providers, local models, and existing subscriptions
Kiro — Spec-driven coding with property-based tests to catch hidden bugs
Cline — Open source, any model, with approval on every step
Kimchi — Enforces hard budget caps and data privacy before requests hit models.
Kolo — Teams share one browser session to watch, type, and control AI agents together.
GoCodeo — Generates production-ready code, explains code, and creates tests in seconds.
SmallCode — Runs fully local with budget-managed context and a forgiving parser for small models.
Codex — Runs many coding tasks in parallel and opens pull requests for you.
OpenClaude — Connects one terminal interface to over 200 different AI models.
Snippet Service — It runs locally, keeps sessions on disk, and provides a companion app for remote steering.
CodeGraph — It eliminates file crawling, reducing AI agent tool calls by 88% and cutting costs.
AgentsKB — It supplies thousands of verified technical answers without hallucinations or stale data.

All Kilo Code alternatives