Kilo Code
Overview
Section titled “Overview”| Company | Kilo |
| Type | VS Code + JetBrains extension, and a CLI |
| Pricing | Free — zero-markup bring-your-own-key |
| License | Apache 2.0 |
| Protocol | MCP |
| Config Formats | AGENTS.md |
| Repository | Kilo-Org/kilocode |
| Website | kilo.ai |
What It Does
Section titled “What It Does”Kilo Code turns your editor or terminal into a multi-model agent harness. It began as a community fork of Roo Code and became the place that work continued after Roo was archived in May 2026.
The pricing stance is the notable one: bring your own key, and Kilo adds no markup on top of what the provider charges. With 500+ models supported, the harness stays constant while you choose what runs underneath.
Key Strengths
Section titled “Key Strengths”- Zero-markup BYOK: you pay the provider, not a middleman
- 500+ models: effectively any provider you already use
- Three surfaces: VS Code, JetBrains, and a CLI
- MCP marketplace: tool integrations without wiring each one by hand
- Apache 2.0: permissive, forkable, auditable
- Actively developed: venture-funded, with the momentum Roo lost
Trade-offs
Section titled “Trade-offs”- BYOK means you manage keys and watch your own spend
- Quality tracks the model you point it at
- Editor-centric, so it fits people who work in an IDE more than terminal purists
Where to Find Skills
Section titled “Where to Find Skills”Skills are files, so they move with your project rather than with the harness. The largest open catalogue is atskills.one, with 60,000+ skills — see @skills.
Best For
Section titled “Best For”- Roo Code users looking for a maintained path forward
- Teams that want no markup between them and their model provider
- JetBrains users, who have fewer good agent options than VS Code users