OpenCode: A Complete Guide to the Open-Source AI Terminal Coding Agent

TL;DR OpenCode is an open-source AI coding agent built in Go (95K+ GitHub stars) with a built-in TUI, support for 75+ LLMs, LSP integration, Vim-style editing, and SQLite session management. Free, no subscription required — works with local or cloud models.

#opencode #ai-tools #cli #coding-agent #open-source #tui

Table of Contents

Installation
Core Features
Dual Agent Modes
Supported Model Providers
GitHub Actions Integration
OpenCode vs. Aider
Typical Use Cases
How OpenCode Compares to Other Tools
Resources
References

🌏 中文版

OpenCode is an open-source AI coding agent built in Go by the SST/AnomalyCo team, running entirely in your terminal. No subscription required, supports 75+ LLM providers, and amassed 95K+ GitHub stars shortly after its Q4 2025 launch.

Installation

# One-liner install via curl
curl -fsSL https://opencode.ai/install | bash

# npm
npm install -g opencode

# Homebrew
brew install opencode

# Other options
# Scoop / Chocolatey (Windows), pacman (Arch), Nix

Core Features

Feature	Description
TUI Interface	Interactive terminal UI built with Bubble Tea — feels close to an IDE
75+ LLMs	OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, AWS Bedrock, Groq, Azure, OpenRouter, local models (Ollama, LM Studio)
LSP Integration	Language Server Protocol support for intelligent completions and semantic analysis
Vim-style Editor	Edit files directly in the terminal using Vim keybindings
SQLite Sessions	Persistent conversation history with cross-session context retention
GitHub Integration	Trigger tasks from PR comments using `/opencode` or `/oc`

Dual Agent Modes

OpenCode ships with two built-in agents, switchable with Tab:

Agent	Permissions	Purpose
Build (default)	Full read/write	Development work: writing code, fixing bugs, refactoring
Plan	Read-only	Analysis and exploration: understanding codebases, planning architecture, code review

This design lets you quickly switch between “doing” and “thinking.” Plan mode never accidentally modifies any files.

Supported Model Providers

One of OpenCode’s biggest selling points is model freedom:

Cloud:

OpenAI (GPT-4o, GPT-5, o3, etc.)
Anthropic (Claude Sonnet, Opus, etc.)
Google (Gemini Pro, Ultra)
AWS Bedrock, Azure OpenAI
Groq, OpenRouter, DeepSeek

Local:

Ollama
LM Studio
Any OpenAI-compatible API

No vendor lock-in — swap providers whenever you want.

GitHub Actions Integration

Add /opencode or /oc to a GitHub PR or Issue comment, and OpenCode will execute the task inside a GitHub Actions runner:

/opencode fix the lint errors and run the tests

Great for automating code review responses and simple fixes.

OpenCode vs. Aider

	OpenCode	Aider
GitHub Stars	95K+	39K+
Language	Go	Python
Interface	TUI (IDE-like)	CLI
Key Features	LSP integration, parallel sessions, shareable links	Git-first workflow with auto-commits after every AI edit
Best For	Interactive dev sessions, exploratory work	Systematic refactoring, repo-wide changes

Many developers use both: Aider for systematic refactoring, OpenCode for interactive development.

Typical Use Cases

Interactive development: Conversational coding in the TUI with real-time feedback
Code exploration: Use Plan mode to read-only analyze an unfamiliar codebase
Multi-model comparison: Switch between providers within the same session to compare results
Local model development: Connect Ollama for fully offline operation
GitHub automation: Trigger AI tasks directly from PRs

How OpenCode Compares to Other Tools

OpenCode’s core strengths: completely free and open-source, no vendor lock-in across 75+ model providers, an IDE-like TUI experience, and semantic-level understanding via LSP integration. Ideal for developers who want maximum model flexibility and refuse to be tied to any single provider.