# goose

> Open-source AI agent with a desktop app, CLI and API

goose is an open-source, general-purpose AI agent that runs on your own machine as a desktop app, a command-line tool or an API. It connects to more than 70 extensions through the Model Context Protocol, works with over 15 model providers or an existing Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini subscription, and can run local models with built-in inference. Block donated the project to the Agentic AI Foundation at the Linux Foundation in 2026; it is Apache 2.0 licensed and free.

- **Category:** AI Agents
- **Made by:** Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF)
- **Website:** https://goose-docs.ai
- **Runs on:** macOS, Windows, Linux
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 9, 2026

## Pricing

goose is free to use.

- **Pricing model:** Free
- **Free plan:** Goose is free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license, with no paid plan. Model usage is billed by the provider you connect, unless you run a local model or use a provider's free tier.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| goose (Apache 2.0) | Free | The full desktop app, CLI and API. You bring a model provider, an existing AI subscription or a local model. |

Read from https://goose-docs.ai/docs/getting-started/providers/ on Oct 9, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with goose before buying.

## Key features

- **Desktop app, CLI and API:** The same agent runs in a native desktop app, a terminal CLI and an API for embedding. The desktop app and CLI share provider, model and extension settings.
- **MCP extensions:** More than 70 documented extensions connect goose to databases, APIs, browsers, GitHub, Google Drive and other tools through the Model Context Protocol, and you can build your own.
- **Providers and existing subscriptions:** Works with 15+ providers, including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Ollama, OpenRouter, Azure and Bedrock, or with a Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini subscription you already have, through ACP.
- **Built-in local inference:** The desktop app can download a GGUF model from Hugging Face and run it in-process with llama.cpp, with no API key and no separate model server.
- **Recipes:** Workflows are saved as portable YAML recipes holding instructions, extensions, parameters and subrecipes, then shared with a team or run in CI.
- **Subagents and safety controls:** Subagents handle parallel tasks outside the main conversation. Safeguards include prompt injection detection, tool permission controls, a sandbox mode and an adversary reviewer.

## Good for

- Developers who want a local agent for coding and terminal work
- People who want to reuse a Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini subscription they already pay for
- Teams that share repeatable workflows as recipes

## Worth knowing

- goose is free, but hosted models are billed by the provider you connect, and the docs note that not every provider has a free tier.
- It runs on your own machine: there are desktop apps for macOS, Linux and Windows and a CLI, and the site lists no hosted cloud version.
- The docs say goose relies heavily on tool calling and currently works best with Claude 4 models.
- The project left Block for the Agentic AI Foundation in April 2026; its repository moved from block/goose to aaif-goose/goose.

## Works with

Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, Ollama, OpenRouter, GitHub, Google Drive, VS Code

**Tags:** AI agents, Open source, Local-first, Workflow automation, Public API

## Alternatives

- [OpenClaw](https://toolgpa.com/tools/openclaw): Open-source personal AI agent you run yourself and message in chat. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/goose-vs-openclaw)
- [Hermes Agent](https://toolgpa.com/tools/hermes-agent): Open-source AI agent with persistent memory and a messaging gateway. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/goose-vs-hermes-agent)
- [Agent Zero](https://toolgpa.com/tools/agent-zero): Open-source agent framework that works in its own Linux computer. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-goose)
- [Eigent](https://toolgpa.com/tools/eigent): Open-source desktop app for working alongside AI agents. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/eigent-vs-goose)
- [NanoClaw](https://toolgpa.com/tools/nanoclaw): Open-source personal AI agent that runs in containers you host. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/goose-vs-nanoclaw)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 9, 2026:

- https://goose-docs.ai/
- https://goose-docs.ai/docs/getting-started/installation/
- https://goose-docs.ai/docs/getting-started/providers/
- https://goose-docs.ai/blog/2026/04/07/goose-moves-to-aaif/
- https://goose-docs.ai/blog/2026/04/24/use-goose-with-built-in-local-inference/
- https://github.com/aaif-goose/goose
- https://github.com/aaif-goose/goose/blob/main/LICENSE

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/goose
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).