Roo Code
AI Coding AssistanceA powerful AI coding agent forked from Cline. Features custom modes, MCP support, and multi-model switching to dramatically boost development productivity in VS Code. Fully free and open source.
What is Roo Code?
Roo Code is an open-source AI coding agent developed as a fork of the popular AI coding assistant Cline. It runs as a VS Code extension, enabling AI to autonomously generate, edit, debug, and refactor code. Roo Code's standout feature is its Custom Modes system. You can define purpose-specific modes for coding, architecture design, debugging, code review, and more, with fine-grained control over which models and tool permissions each mode uses. It supports MCP (Model Context Protocol) for easy integration with external tools and data sources. Switch between Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, local LLMs, and more with a single click to choose the optimal model for each task. Additional features include diff previews for file edits, terminal command execution, and browser automation. The project benefits from an active community with frequent updates.
Pricing Plans
Key Features
Pros & Cons
Pros
- ●Completely free and open source (Apache 2.0 license)
- ●Custom Modes allow fine-grained control over AI behavior by use case
- ●Supports multiple models including Claude, GPT, Gemini, and local LLMs
- ●MCP support for easy external tool integration
- ●Smooth migration from Cline (backward compatible)
- ●Active community with frequent updates
Cons
- ●API key setup can be complex for beginners
- ●Feature overlap with Cline can make choosing between them difficult
- ●API costs can become expensive for large projects
- ●VS Code only — not available for other editors
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is the difference between Roo Code and Cline?
A. Roo Code is a fork of Cline with enhanced Custom Modes, advanced MCP integration, and improved model switching capabilities. It offers greater customizability than Cline and includes more features tailored for team development.
Q. Is Roo Code free to use?
A. Roo Code itself is completely free and open-source software. However, using AI models requires API keys from providers like OpenAI or Anthropic, which have their own charges. You can also use local LLMs at no API cost.
Q. Which editors does Roo Code support?
A. Currently, Roo Code is available exclusively as a VS Code extension. It also works with VS Code-compatible editors like Cursor and Windsurf, but official support is limited to VS Code.
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