Goose (Block)
https://block.github.io/goose/
Block (Square)'s open-source on-machine agent — terminal + desktop GUI. Modular: extensions for shell, computer-control, MCP servers; multi-model via LiteLLM. Released 2024; positioned as a general-purpose local agent, not coding-only. Goose Recipes provide reusable agent workflows.
At a glance
- Type
- OSS terminal/desktop agent (Block, Inc.)
- Tier
- T2
- Section
- Agent IDEs & coding harnesses
- Created
- 2024-12
- Latest release
- Goose 1.x rolling
- License
- Apache-2.0
- GitHub
- ~14k★, Rust
- Pricing
- Free (OSS); usage via LLM provider
- Funding
- Block (parent — public co, NYSE:XYZ)
Taxonomy
- storage
- file
- retrieval
- injection
- persistence
- cross-session
- update
- user-edit
- unit
- document
- governance
- inspectable
- conflict
- human-arbitrate
When to use
Optimised for: general-purpose local agent + Goose Recipes
Anti-fit: smaller community than Claude Code / Aider; documentation thinner
Pros & cons
Pros
Block's open-source commitment + Goose Recipes give a clean YAML-templated agent-workflow story; Rust core keeps it fast.
Cons
Younger and smaller than Aider/Claude Code; less coding-specific tuning than dedicated coding agents.
Claims & capabilities
Built by Block; ~14k★ GH; multi-model via LiteLLM; extensible via MCP and Goose Recipes.
Technical surface
- API surface
- CLI (Rust) + desktop GUI; MCP
- Backend storage
- local config + extensions
- Deployment
- Self-host (CLI + desktop)
- Embedding model
- not applicable — not a memory product
- Multi-tenancy
- single-user (desktop)
- MCP
- native — Goose is an MCP client
- A2A
- searched not found
- OpenTelemetry
- searched not found
Similar systems
Other agent ides & coding harnesses in the catalog, ranked by inbound references.
- Bedrock AgentCore (AWS) T2
AWS Bedrock AgentCore — managed runtime to deploy + scale + observe agents. Multi-component: Runtime, Identity, Memory, Gateway, Browser, Code Interpreter, Observability. Distinct from Bedrock Agents (older fixed-config product); AgentCore is the 2025 framework-agnostic runtime for any agent (LangGraph, CrewAI, Strands, OpenAI Agents SDK).
- Claude Code (Anthropic) T1
Anthropic's official agentic coding CLI — runs Claude as a long-running coding agent in the developer's terminal. Memory layer = CLAUDE.md (project + user scoped), agent skills, MCP servers. Released GA October 2024; widely adopted as the reference harness for Claude-as-coder. Plan Mode and Compute Use surfaces extend it from coding to broader desktop automation.
- GitHub Copilot (Agent Mode) T1
The original AI coding assistant (Copilot in editor; 2021). 2025 evolved into a full agentic surface: chat, completions, Agent Mode (multi-step), and Copilot Workspace. Backed by Microsoft. Distinct row from Workspace — this row covers the everyday in-editor + agent mode product, Workspace covers the hosted spec-driven workflow.
- Aider (harness) T2
OSS terminal coding agent by Paul Gauthier — one of the original AI-pair-programmer CLIs (2023). Architect/Editor modes; repo-map for context; uses any LiteLLM-compatible model. Memory via CONVENTIONS.md and .aider.conf.yml — author-edited markdown. Distinct from the separate Aider memory-row in "Coding-agent memory"; this row characterises the harness itself.
- Amazon Q Developer T1
Amazon's developer-focused agent — formerly CodeWhisperer (renamed 2024-Q4). Available as IDE plugins (VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio, Eclipse), in AWS Console, and CLI. Strong AWS-tooling integration: Q can read CloudWatch, troubleshoot IAM, suggest AWS-SDK code. Companion to Kiro for spec-driven flows.
- Anthropic Computer Use T1
Anthropic's API-surface capability that lets Claude control a virtual desktop — see screenshots, type, click. Launched 2024-10 as a public beta. Not a finished IDE itself; it's the substrate that other harnesses (and Anthropic's own Claude apps) use to operate a computer.
Related systems
References (2)
- LiteLLM depends on at runtime — adjacent-infrastructure cell: LiteLLM for multi-model routing; MCP for tool integrations; Block-internal extensions (square/cash app workflows)
- Model Context Protocol (MCP spec) depends on at runtime — adjacent-infrastructure cell: LiteLLM for multi-model routing; MCP for tool integrations; Block-internal extensions (square/cash app workflows)