Continue CLIvsgoose
Generated from the two spec rows. Green marks the better value where a spec has a clear direction. Everything else is just different.
Continue CLI
Continue · Terminal agent
#24OSSMCP
Panel
6.40 spec wins
- Reliability
- 6.2
- Usefulness
- 6.3
- Cost
- 8.0
- Longevity
- 5.2
“It installs by piping a URL straight into your shell, then politely asks permission before it touches a single file.”
goose
Agentic AI Foundation (originally Block) · Terminal agent
#13OSSMCP
Panel
6.85 spec wins
- Reliability
- 6.3
- Usefulness
- 6.5
- Cost
- 6.8
- Longevity
- 7.3
“Block gave it to the Linux Foundation, which is the one exit strategy that cannot be un-acquired.”
Spec by spec
| Spec | Continue CLI | goose |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | ||
| Category | Terminal agent | Terminal agent |
| Runs | local | local |
| Platforms | macos, linux, windows | macos, linux, windows |
| Context window | not documented | not documented |
| Protocols | ||
| MCP client | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | No | Yes |
| Capabilities | ||
| Runs terminal commands | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-file edits | Yes | Yes |
| Git operations | Yes | Yes |
| Browser control | No | YesThe built-in Computer Controller extension drives macOS apps including the browser through the Peekaboo CLI, rather than via a dedicated CDP or Playwright tool. |
| Sandboxed execution | NoThe docs describe running the CLI inside a Docker container, not sandboxing the agent in one. | Yes`goose session|run --container <id>` executes extensions inside an existing Docker container; goose itself runs unsandboxed on the host otherwise. |
| Multi-agent orchestration | No | Yes |
| Headless / CI mode | Yes | Yes |
| Models | ||
| Backbone | any provider configured in config.yaml, Anthropic | Claude, GPT, Gemini, Ollama (local), OpenRouter, Azure OpenAI, Amazon Bedrock |
| Bring your own model | Yes | Yes |
| Local models | YesThe CLI reads the same ~/.continue/config.yaml provider schema as the IDE extensions, including a custom apiBase, so any local server can be configured; the CLI pages defer to that reference rather than naming Ollama or LM Studio. | Yes |
| Cost | ||
| Pricing model | byok | byok |
| Starts at | $0/mo | $0/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Bring your own key | Yes | Yes |
| Openness | ||
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| GitHub stars | 36,084 | 54,860 |
Which one would each critic pick
| Critic | Continue CLI | goose | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Juez | — | — | not enough reviews |
| El Amigo | 6.8 | 7.3 | goose — A free, open, local agent under the Linux Foundation that talks to any model and any MCP server; you will spend a weekend tuning it and then own it. |
| El Crítico | 6.3 | 6.5 | goose — A local agent with terminal execution whose Docker isolation is a --container flag you have to remember, a foundation instead of a vendor, and a bill that depends entirely on which model you point it at. |
| El Profesor | 6.5 | 6.5 | no preference |
| La Inversora | 5.3 | 5.3 | no preference |
| La Jefa | 6.0 | 5.8 | Continue CLI — Zero licence for sixty and a single-shot flag that fits our pipelines, but sign-in goes to a vendor account by default and nothing on the row mentions SSO or audit. |
| El Hacker | 7.8 | 9.3 | goose — Rust, Apache-2.0, every extension an MCP server in YAML, Ollama on my box, a foundation instead of a vendor; this is the one I would build if I had the time. |
Picks are derived from each critic's own scores. Humans vote on matchups on the duels page.