goose
an open source, extensible AI agent that goes beyond code suggestions - install, execute, edit, and test with any LLM
The Lens
By Erik Loyd, SaaS CEO and former COO/CFO of an AWS Premier Partner.
Updated Jun 2026
Goose does that. Built by Block (the company behind Square and Cash App), it's a local AI agent that uses any LLM you point it at and has full access to your development environment.
The key differentiator: extensibility. Goose uses a plugin system where you can add capabilities, called 'toolkits', for specific tasks. Need it to manage your Kubernetes cluster? Deploy to AWS? Run your CI pipeline? Add the toolkit. It's designed to be the agent framework that grows with your workflow.
Apache 2.0. Backed by a major tech company, not a weekend project.
The catch: Goose needs an LLM, and the quality of its work depends entirely on which model you use. With Claude or GPT-4, it's impressive. With smaller local models, it struggles on complex tasks. Also: giving an AI agent full access to your terminal is powerful but risky. Always review what it's doing, especially with destructive commands.
Free vs Self-Hosted vs Paid
fully freeFully open source under Apache 2.0. No paid tier, no hosted service, no commercial edition. Block built it and open sourced it.
The cost is the LLM API you connect. Using Claude Pro/API or OpenAI API means per-token costs. Using Ollama with a local model means zero marginal cost (but lower quality on complex tasks).
For a developer using it daily: expect $30-100/mo in API costs depending on usage intensity and model choice. That's comparable to a GitHub Copilot subscription but with significantly more capability.
Free tool. You pay for whatever LLM API you connect, $30-100/mo typical for active use.
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Trust Signals
License: Apache License 2.0
Use freely. Patent grant included.
Commercial use: ✓ Yes
About
- Owner
- Block Open Source (Organization)
- Backed by
- Block Inc (fka Square)
- Stars
- 52,485
- Forks
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