Zerostack · 2026-05-16 · notable
Zerostack — Minimalist Rust Coding Agent Ships 1.0 With an 8 MB RAM Footprint, Multi-Provider Support, and Git Worktree Workflows
Zerostack is an open-source coding agent written in Rust. The 1.0 release runs in roughly 8 to 12 MB of RAM, supports OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, and Ollama, and adds git worktree workflows, MCP, and runtime prompt modes.
A terminal coding agent that runs in about 8 MB of RAM instead of the hundreds a typical JavaScript agent needs.
What is it?
Zerostack is a terminal coding agent — a command-line tool that reads your codebase, edits files, and runs commands on your behalf. It is written in pure Rust and aims to be the smallest agent of its kind, shipping as an 8.9 MB binary built from roughly 7,000 lines of code.
How does it work?
It connects to a model provider — OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, or Ollama — and exposes file, shell, and search tools to the model. Four prompt modes (code, plan, review, debug) can be switched at runtime, each carrying its own per-tool permission patterns and session allowlists. It integrates git worktrees for branch-per-task work, supports MCP servers and Exa search, and includes loop detection that stops a runaway agent before it spams destructive commands.
Why does it matter?
JavaScript-based coding agents commonly idle at a few hundred megabytes of RAM. An agent that holds steady around 8 to 12 MB lets developers run several sessions in parallel, or work on constrained machines, without the memory tax.
Who is it for?
Rust developers and terminal-first engineers
Try it
cargo install zerostack