Tools
OpenCode

OpenCode

Made by: Community / SST Type: Open-Source Terminal Coding Agent Best for: Developers who want full control, local-first workflows, scripting and automation

⌨️
OpenCode
Open-source terminal coding agent. Model-agnostic, self-hostable, fully scriptable.
🔓
Open source
Read the code, contribute, extend — no vendor lock-in
🔌
Any model
Claude, GPT-4, Gemini, or a local Ollama model via one config line
🔒
Air-gap friendly
Run entirely on-premise with local models — zero data leaving your network
⚙️
Fully scriptable
Pipe tasks via stdin, use in CI/CD, build automated coding pipelines
Agent Cookbook
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What it is

OpenCode is an open-source terminal-based coding agent — the community answer to Claude Code and Codex CLI. It runs in your terminal, reads your codebase, and executes coding tasks using whichever AI model you connect to it.

Because it's open source, you can:

  • Self-host it entirely (no data leaving your network)
  • Connect your own models (local LLMs, private deployments)
  • Script and automate it however you like
  • Audit exactly what it's doing

Why it matters

Most coding assistants are proprietary — your code goes to someone else's server. For organisations with strict data policies, on-premise requirements, or air-gapped environments, OpenCode is often the only viable choice.

It also serves developers who simply want ownership over their tools: the ability to read the source, contribute, and extend without waiting for a vendor.

Core features

Model-agnostic — Works with Claude, GPT-4, Gemini, Mistral, or a locally-running Ollama model. Switch models with a single config change.

Terminal-native — No GUI, no Electron app. Runs wherever a shell runs — local machine, SSH session, Docker container, CI runner.

File-system tools — Reads files, writes files, creates directories, runs shell commands. The same tool loop as Claude Code but open and configurable.

Scriptable — Pass tasks via stdin or arguments for fully automated pipelines:

echo "Add input validation to POST /users" | opencode --model claude-sonnet

Plugin system — Add custom tools (database queries, internal APIs, company-specific linters) without forking the project.

Getting started

Install

npm install -g opencode-ai
# or
curl -fsSL https://opencode.ai/install | bash

Configure your model

opencode config set model claude-sonnet-4-5
opencode config set api_key YOUR_ANTHROPIC_KEY

Or for a local model via Ollama:

opencode config set model ollama/codellama
opencode config set base_url http://localhost:11434

Run in your project

cd my-project
opencode

Give it a task

> Refactor the database layer to use connection pooling

Configuration

OpenCode is configured via ~/.config/opencode/config.json or a .opencode.json in your project root:

{
  "model": "claude-sonnet-4-5",
  "provider": "anthropic",
  "api_key": "${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}",
  "auto_approve": false,
  "tools": {
    "shell": true,
    "browser": false,
    "custom": ["./tools/internal-api.js"]
  }
}

Using local models

For fully offline or private operation:

# Install Ollama
curl -fsSL https://ollama.ai/install.sh | sh
 
# Pull a code model
ollama pull codellama:13b
 
# Configure OpenCode
opencode config set model ollama/codellama:13b
opencode config set base_url http://localhost:11434/v1
⚠️

Local models are significantly less capable than frontier models like Claude Sonnet for complex multi-file tasks. Use them when privacy requirements are strict and accept the quality tradeoff.

OpenCode vs Claude Code

OpenCodeClaude Code
Open source✅ Yes❌ No
Self-hostable✅ Yes❌ No
Local models✅ Yes❌ No
Model quality (default)Depends on your choiceClaude (Anthropic's best)
MaintenanceCommunityAnthropic
Enterprise supportCommunity forumsAnthropic support

Best use cases

  • Teams with strict data sovereignty requirements
  • Developers building automated pipelines that call a coding agent programmatically
  • Organisations running air-gapped environments
  • Developers who want to extend and customise their coding agent
  • Engineers comfortable on the command line who don't want or need a GUI

Resources

CursorScout