Roo Code Alternatives After the Shutdown: Where to Move Next

If you're looking for Roo Code alternatives, you're probably not shopping around. You're moving out. Roo Code's own docs say the extension "was shut down on May 15th," and its GitHub repo is now archived. The fastest landing spots are Zoo Code (the community fork that kept Roo's modes), Cline (the project Roo was forked from), and Kilo Code (an open-source agent that now runs in your IDE, terminal and cloud).

Here's the short version:

• Want Roo exactly as it was? Install Zoo Code. It uses the same settings and license and has a migration guide.
• Want the most active open-source VS Code agent? Cline.
• Want one agent across VS Code, JetBrains, CLI and cloud? Kilo Code.
• Ready to leave the editor sidebar? OpenCode, Claude Code, Codex CLI or Aider.
• Thinking of Continue? Don't. Continue was acquired by Cursor and its repo is read-only.

Below: what actually happened to Roo, a quick comparison, and where each alternative wins.

What happened to Roo Code

Roo Code was an open-source AI coding agent for VS Code, forked from Cline. It was best known for modes: Architect for planning, Code for edits, Ask for questions, Debug for tracing problems, plus custom modes you could define yourself.

Three things are now confirmed from Roo's own sources:

1. The extension is shut down. The Roo Code docs say the extension was shut down on May 15th and point users to two alternatives: ZooCode and Cline. Paying users with billing questions are told to email the team.
2. The repo is archived. GitHub lists RooCodeInc/Roo-Code as archived. The last release, v3.54.0, shipped on May 15, 2026.
3. The team moved on. The roocode.com domain now promotes Roomote, a cloud coding agent "by the creators of" Roo Code. It's a different product: it runs tasks in the cloud and hands back pull requests, rather than sitting in your editor.

If you still have Roo installed, it won't vanish overnight. But it gets no new model support, no bug fixes and no security patches. With models changing every few weeks, a frozen agent falls behind fast.

Quick comparison

Closest replacements: stay in VS Code

Zoo Code: Roo Code, continued

Zoo Code is the answer if you liked Roo and just want it to keep working. Its README says it "continues development of this project after the Roo team wound down active Roo Code work to focus on Roomote." The core team is made up of developers who contributed to Roo.

What carries over:

• The same modes. Architect, Code, Debug and custom modes all work the way you remember.
• Same settings, same license. Apache 2.0, model-agnostic, bring your own key.
• A migration path. The project publishes a Roo-to-Zoo migration guide.

What's new since the fork: semantic code search, stronger Orchestrator workflows for parallel subtasks, a guard that blocks destructive commands during long runs, and support for newer model families. The project is shipping fast. Version 3.96.0 landed on November 7, 2026.

The honest caveat: Zoo Code is community-maintained, with a much smaller following than Cline or Kilo. It's the lowest-friction move today, but you're betting on a young volunteer team.

Cline: back to the original

Cline is where Roo came from, and the Roo docs themselves suggest it. It's now much bigger than the extension Roo forked. Cline runs as an IDE extension (VS Code, Cursor and JetBrains), as a CLI, as an SDK you can embed in your own tools, and as a new desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux that doesn't need an editor at all.

Roo Code vs Cline, in practice:

Cline's pricing page says the open-source extension is free for individual developers and you pay only for AI inference, either with your own API keys or through the Cline provider. Enterprise adds team features.

Where Cline loses to Zoo: if you leaned on four or five custom modes, Plan/Act will feel like a step back. Our Cline alternatives guide covers the reasons people leave Cline, so you can check none of them apply to you before you switch.

Kilo Code: Kilo Code vs Roo Code

Kilo Code is the most ambitious open-source option on this list. It's MIT licensed and runs in VS Code (and any Open VSX editor), JetBrains, a terminal CLI, a browser-based cloud agent, Slack and a mobile app. There's also a beta desktop app. Its CLI is a fork of OpenCode, according to the Kilo repo.

The pitch is choice and cost transparency: 500+ models, and inference sold "at cost," with no markup. You can also bring your own keys or run free and local models. Kilo's pricing page splits costs into three parts: the platform (free for individuals, with paid Teams and Enterprise plans), AI inference and cloud compute.

Kilo Code vs Roo Code comes down to scope. Roo was a focused VS Code agent. Kilo is a platform: local and cloud agents, parallel worktrees, automated code reviews and team analytics. If you only ever used Roo in one editor, Kilo may be more product than you need. If your team uses several editors, it's the best fit here.

Open-source AI coding agents outside the editor

Many Roo users ran long, multi-file tasks in the sidebar. That's exactly where terminal and desktop agents are strongest, so the shutdown is a good moment to try one.

OpenCode

OpenCode calls itself "the open source coding agent," and it's the most-starred project in this group on GitHub. It runs as a fast terminal UI, a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux, a mobile app for steering sessions from your phone, and an SDK for scripts and CI. You can start on free models or connect any of 200+ providers. For a closer look at how it compares with Anthropic's agent, see OpenCode vs Claude Code.

Best for: developers who want an open-source, model-agnostic agent and are happy to work outside VS Code.

Claude Code

Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic coding tool. It reads your codebase, edits files and runs commands, and it runs in the terminal, in VS Code and JetBrains, in a desktop app and on the web. Its docs say most surfaces need a Claude subscription or an Anthropic Console account. The terminal CLI and IDE extensions also support third-party providers.

It isn't open source, and you can't swap in any model the way you could with Roo. In return, you get a tool built by the model's own maker, with skills, plugins, subagents and code review built in. We compared the two upstream projects in Cline vs Claude Code.

Best for: people who mostly ran Claude models in Roo anyway and want the deepest version of that experience.

Codex CLI

OpenAI's Codex CLI is an Apache 2.0 coding agent that runs locally on your computer. The same agent also comes as an IDE extension for VS Code and Cursor, a desktop app, and a cloud version in ChatGPT. You can sign in with a ChatGPT plan or use an API key.

Best for: teams standardized on OpenAI models who still want an open-source local client.

Aider

Aider is the original terminal pair programmer. It maps your whole codebase, works with almost any LLM (including local models), and commits each change to git with a sensible message, so every AI edit is easy to diff and undo. You can also drive it from your editor by writing instructions as code comments.

One thing to check: Aider's latest release is v0.86.0, from August 2025, and the repo's most recent commit is from May 2026. Development has slowed a lot. Our Aider alternatives post covers the trade-offs if that matters to you.

Best for: git-heavy developers who want small, reviewable commits rather than a long autonomous run.

Why not Continue?

Continue shows up on a lot of old "open source AI coding agent for VS Code" lists, so it deserves a direct answer. Continue's site now says Continue was acquired by Cursor. Its GitHub README says the repository "is no longer actively maintained and is read-only for all users," after a final 2.0.0 release. The code is still free to fork, but moving from one archived agent to another doesn't solve your problem.

How to choose your Roo Code replacement

Start with what you actually used Roo for:

1. You relied on custom modes. Go to Zoo Code. Nothing else keeps that workflow intact.
2. You want the safest long-term open-source bet in VS Code. Choose Cline. It has the biggest community and the most surfaces.
3. Your team works across several editors, or wants cloud agents. Choose Kilo Code.
4. You ran long autonomous tasks. Try a terminal agent: OpenCode if you want open source, Claude Code if you mainly use Claude models.
5. You want to stay on your own API keys. Zoo Code, Cline, Kilo, OpenCode and Aider all support this. Claude Code mostly expects an Anthropic account.

Whatever you choose, move your setup across deliberately. Export your custom mode prompts and rules from Roo before you uninstall it, check that MCP servers are configured in the new tool, and run one small, real task before trusting it with a big refactor.

Where Taku fits

Every tool above assumes you're a developer: you have API keys, a terminal and a repo. Some people installed Roo because a tutorial promised it would build things for them, then got stuck at that setup layer.

Taku is built for that second group. It's an AI-native desktop workspace where you mirror an AI app or workflow someone else already got working, then run and remix it without setting up an environment. It won't replace Cline or Claude Code for real software engineering, and it isn't trying to. Taku is in Beta, and the Mac app is available now.

FAQ

Is Roo Code shut down?

Yes. Roo Code's documentation says the extension was shut down on May 15, 2026, and the GitHub repository is archived. The final release was v3.54.0. The team now works on Roomote, a separate cloud coding agent.

What is the best Roo Code alternative?

For most people, Zoo Code is the closest match because it's a direct continuation with the same modes and settings. If you'd rather go with a larger, longer-established project, Cline is the original that Roo was forked from.

Roo Code vs Cline: what's the difference now?

Roo Code was a Cline fork that added multiple modes like Architect and Debug. It's now archived. Cline is still actively developed and has grown into an IDE extension, CLI, desktop app and SDK, built around Plan and Act modes.

Kilo Code vs Roo Code: which should I pick?

Roo Code is no longer maintained, so the real choice is Kilo Code vs Zoo Code. Pick Zoo if you want Roo as it was. Pick Kilo if you want one open-source agent across VS Code, JetBrains, the terminal and the cloud, with access to 500+ models.

Is there a free, open-source AI coding agent for VS Code?

Yes. Zoo Code, Cline and Kilo Code are all open source and free to install. You still pay for model usage unless you run free or local models.

Can I keep using Roo Code?

The installed extension can keep working, but it won't get bug fixes, security patches or support for new models. Plan to move off it rather than staying on a frozen version.

Did Continue replace Roo Code?

No. Continue was acquired by Cursor, and its repository is now read-only. It isn't a good place to move to after Roo.