Overview
Roo Code is an open-source AI coding agent that runs as an extension inside your VS Code editor. Instead of just suggesting lines, it can generate code from plain-language descriptions, refactor and debug existing code, write documentation, and answer questions about your codebase.
What sets it apart is its set of modes. You switch between Code mode for everyday edits and file operations, Architect mode for planning systems and migrations, Ask mode for quick explanations, and Debug mode for tracing issues to their root cause. You can also build custom modes tailored to your team or workflow.
Roo Code supports MCP servers, so you can connect it to external tools and data sources. It is licensed under Apache 2.0 and originated from the Cline project.
What it does
- Generates code from natural-language descriptions and specs
- Switchable modes: Code, Architect, Ask, Debug, and custom modes
- Refactors and debugs existing code, and traces issues to their root cause
- Writes and updates documentation, and answers questions about your codebase
- Connects to MCP servers to extend what the agent can do
- Custom modes you can build for your own team or workflow
Getting started
Roo Code installs as a VS Code extension. Once installed, you pick a mode and describe what you want in natural language.
Install the extension
Install Roo Code from the VS Code Marketplace, then open it inside your editor. The official documentation covers configuration in detail.
Pick a mode
Choose the mode that fits the task: Code for everyday edits and file operations, Architect for planning systems and migrations, Ask for quick answers and explanations, or Debug for tracing issues. You can also create custom modes.
Describe your task
Tell Roo Code what you want in plain language, such as generating code from a spec, refactoring a function, or explaining part of your codebase, and review the changes it proposes.
Commands and code are distilled from the project's own documentation — always check the official repo for the latest.
When to use it
- Generating new code from a plain-language description or spec without leaving the editor
- Planning a system design or migration in Architect mode before writing any code
- Debugging an existing problem by tracing logs and isolating the root cause
- Asking questions about an unfamiliar codebase and getting quick explanations or documentation
How Roo Code compares
Roo Code alongside other open-source autonomous coding agents tools AI/TLDR tracks, ranked by GitHub stars.
| Tool | Stars | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| opencode | ★ 208k | OpenCode is an open source AI coding agent that runs in your terminal, with built-in build and plan agents and an optional desktop app. |
| Claude Code | ★ 146k | Anthropic's agentic coding tool for the terminal, IDE and GitHub: it understands your codebase, executes routine tasks, explains code and handles git workflows from natural-language commands. |
| OpenAI Codex | ★ 125k | OpenAI's cloud and CLI coding agent that writes features, fixes bugs, and proposes code changes across a repo, running tasks in parallel. |
| Gemini CLI | ★ 107k | An open-source command-line AI agent from Google that connects your terminal to Gemini models for reading code, editing files, running shell commands, and searching the web. |
| Pi | ★ 107k | Minimal terminal coding agent harness with four built-in tools, extended through TypeScript extensions, skills and prompt templates instead of forks. |
| autoresearch | ★ 96.2k | Karpathy's minimal harness that hands a coding agent a single-GPU LLM training script and lets it run fixed five-minute experiments, keeping or discarding each change on its own. |
| OpenHands | ★ 88.4k | An open-source AI software-development agent that plans tasks, edits files, runs commands, and tests code, usable from a terminal CLI, a local web GUI, or a Python SDK. |
| Roo Code | ★ 24.3k | An AI dev team inside your VS Code editor, with modes for coding, planning, and debugging |