# Kilo Code | Artificialus

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# Kilo Code

Open-source agentic coding platform — one CLI core, every surface, 500+ models, 1.5M+ devs.

Kilo Code (open source, Apache 2.0)

Open source

Since 2024

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Kilo Code is an open-source AI coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains, and the terminal, with 1.5M+ users and the #1 spot on OpenRouter by traffic. Rebuilt in April 2026 on a portable Kilo CLI core that powers every surface (IDE, terminal, Cloud Agents), with renamed agents (Code, Plan, Debug, Ask, plus custom), automatic subagent delegation (Orchestrator mode deprecated), 500+ models via the Kilo Gateway at zero markup, a memory bank for project context, and KiloClaw managed cloud agents.

##
+

Pros
- Fully open source under MIT license with 19.6k GitHub stars — one of the most popular open-source AI coding agents available.
- Multi-platform support spanning VS Code, JetBrains (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm), CLI, Slack, and Cloud agents — works wherever you code.
- Access to 500+ AI models including GPT-5.5, Claude Opus 4.7, Gemini 3.1 Pro, DeepSeek, Qwen3, and more — with BYOK support for most providers.
- Five specialized agent modes (Code, Architect, Debug, Ask, Custom) let users switch contexts without switching tools — plus inline autocomplete for real-time suggestions.
- Rapid release cadence with frequent updates (multiple releases per week at v7.3.x) and active community with 2.6k forks and 1k+ closed issues.
- Free tier with no subscription required for the agent itself — you only pay for AI model usage via pay-as-you-go credits, your own API keys, or a monthly Kilo Pass.
- KiloClaw feature provides one-click hosted OpenClaw deployment with auto-restart, monitoring, and Slack/Telegram/Discord integration — no Docker or SSH needed.

##
−

Cons
- AI model usage is billed separately from the free agent — costs can add up quickly with heavy use, and Kilo Pass subscriptions ($19–$199/mo) or BYOK keys are needed for sustained work.
- Very rapid release cycle (sometimes 2-3 versions per day) means less stability vetting — pre-release tags dominate the release history and production users may encounter regressions.
- CLI is a fork of OpenCode, inheriting its architecture and some limitations rather than being built from scratch as a purpose-built coding agent.
- Some advanced features (voice transcription, KiloClaw deployment, certain model routing) require connecting via the Kilo Gateway — not fully self-contained for users wanting total independence.
- Managed KiloClaw offering is relatively expensive at $51-55/month plus separate AI inference costs, which may deter individual developers compared to self-hosted OpenClaw alternatives.

##

Pricing

### Free & Open Source

$0

Apache 2.0/MIT, BYOK

### KiloClaw Cloud

$9/mo

Managed cloud agents, 1-week free trial

### Teams

$15/user/mo

Analytics, shared billing, admin controls

### Kilo Pass

From $19/mo

Inference credits for AI models

Kilo Code is an open-source AI coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains, and the terminal, with over 1.5 million users and the #1 ranking on OpenRouter by monthly traffic. Originally forked from Cline and Roo Code, Kilo was rebuilt in April 2026 on a portable, open-source core — the Kilo CLI — shared across the VS Code extension, the standalone CLI, and Cloud Agents. The same engine now powers every surface, with parallel tool calls, subagent isolation, and an Agent Manager for running multiple agents side by side.

After the v7 rewrite, modes were renamed to agents — Code, Plan, Debug, and Ask, plus user-defined custom agents. The previously separate Orchestrator mode has been deprecated: agents with full tool access (Code, Plan, Debug) now delegate to isolated subagents automatically when a task benefits from decomposition or parallel exploration, no manual mode switching required. The memory bank persists architectural decisions, coding conventions, and project context across sessions, and local AI-powered code reviews can be triggered with /local-review and /local-review-uncommitted.

Kilo connects to 500+ models from 60+ providers via the Kilo Gateway — GPT-5.5, Claude Opus 4.7, Claude Sonnet 4.6, Gemini 3.1 Pro, DeepSeek, Mistral, and a long tail of open-weight models — billed at exact provider cost with zero markup. KiloClaw, the managed cloud edition, deploys an agent in under a minute with auto-restart, scheduled tasks, and connectors to Telegram, Discord, and Slack for asynchronous workflows. The extension is Apache 2.0; the CLI is MIT. Kilo Code was co-founded by Sid Sijbrandij (GitLab co-founder) and Scott Breitenother, and raised $8M in seed funding in December 2025.

## Key Features

• Agents (renamed from modes): Code, Plan, Debug, Ask, plus custom
• Automatic subagent delegation — Orchestrator mode deprecated (Apr 2026)
• Rebuilt on Kilo CLI: same engine in VS Code, JetBrains, terminal, and Cloud Agents
• Agent Manager: run multiple agents side by side with inline diff review
• 500+ models from 60+ providers via Kilo Gateway: GPT-5.5, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Mistral, OpenRouter
• Zero markup: inference billed at exact provider cost
• Memory bank: persists architectural decisions and project context across sessions
• Local AI code review: /local-review and /local-review-uncommitted commands
• KiloClaw managed cloud: auto-restart, cron scheduling, Telegram/Discord/Slack connectors
• MCP Marketplace: 500+ tool, API, and database integrations
• Multi-model comparisons and per-agent default models
• 1.5M+ users · #1 on OpenRouter · 25T+ tokens processed monthly
• Apache 2.0 extension · MIT CLI
• Teams plan $15/user/mo: analytics, AI adoption score, shared billing, admin controls

## Version History

v7.3.12
May 26, 2026
Support choosing agent model and variant overrides from dropdowns. Voice transcription auto-show, inline subagent streaming responsiveness, configurable task subagent model, explicit Mistral/Inception autocomplete options, restored diff highlight colors.

v7.3.9
May 25, 2026
Support tracked background processes in CLI and VS Code so agents can start long-running dev servers and clean them up when sessions change. Show detected ports for tracked background processes in TUI sidebar.

v7.3.8
May 22, 2026
Fix token usage display to show usage for the entire session instead of per-request.

v7.3.6
May 21, 2026
Prevent VS Code local CLI reconnect flapping while event stream is unavailable. Clear Agent Manager file diff previews stuck on loading. Improve VS Code diff rendering stability across review and chat surfaces.

v7.3.4
May 19, 2026
Claude Code Compatibility Mode improvements. Fix connection to MCP servers using streamable HTTP. Fix conversation summaries in subagent context.

Best for Developers and teams who want a fully open-source, multi-mode coding agent with access to the widest model catalog (500+) at cost price. Ideal for teams needing orchestrator mode, parallel agents, AI code review, and asynchronous agent workflows via Telegram/Discord/Slack.

Capability Rebuilt on Kilo CLI (April 2026), agents (Code/Plan/Debug/Ask/custom) with automatic subagent delegation, 500+ models at zero markup, memory bank, Agent Manager, local AI code review, KiloClaw managed cloud

Runs on VS Code · JetBrains · CLI · Mobile (cross-device sync) · KiloClaw cloud

Signature Snippet

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```
`A team uses Kilo Code in Orchestrator mode: Architect mode designs the feature spec, Coder mode implements it across 5 files, Debugger mode runs the tests and fixes failures. KiloClaw manages a parallel agent on a cron schedule that triages incoming GitHub issues overnight and posts summaries to Slack — zero human input required.`
```

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