ForgevsVT Code
Generated from the two spec rows. Green marks the better value where a spec has a clear direction. Everything else is just different.
Forge
Tailcall, Inc. · Terminal agent
#33OSSMCP
Panel
6.92 spec wins
- Reliability
- 6.5
- Usefulness
- 6.8
- Cost
- 8.0
- Longevity
- 6.2
“You summon it by typing a colon, which is the most vim thing ever to happen to a coding agent.”
VT Code
vinhnx · Terminal agent
#60OSSMCP
Panel
7.02 spec wins
- Reliability
- 6.5
- Usefulness
- 6.7
- Cost
- 8.8
- Longevity
- 6.2
“It supports skills and a plugin system, so you can extend it in two ways and later discover which one is maintained.”
Spec by spec
| Spec | Forge | VT Code |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | ||
| Category | Terminal agent | Terminal agent |
| Runs | local | local |
| Platforms | macos, linux, windows | macos, linux |
| Context window | not documented | not documented |
| Protocols | ||
| MCP client | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | No | No |
| Capabilities | ||
| Runs terminal commands | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-file edits | Yes | Yes |
| Git operations | Yes | Yes |
| Browser control | No | YesOnly through the opt-in WebMCP browser bridge. |
| Sandboxed execution | No | No |
| Multi-agent orchestration | Yes | No |
| Headless / CI mode | No | No |
| Models | ||
| Backbone | Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek | OpenAI, Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp |
| Bring your own model | Yes | Yes |
| Local models | No | Yes |
| Cost | ||
| Pricing model | byok | byok |
| Starts at | n/a | $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 | 7,638 | 860 |
Which one would each critic pick
| Critic | Forge | VT Code | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Juez | — | — | not enough reviews |
| El Amigo | 7.0 | 7.5 | VT Code — Pick it if you want one agent that answers in the terminal and inside Zed; pick an editor-native tool if you never leave the editor. |
| El Crítico | 6.8 | 6.8 | no preference |
| El Profesor | 7.3 | 7.3 | no preference |
| La Inversora | 6.3 | 6.5 | VT Code — 832 stars, one maintainer, no company and nothing hosted: a good tool in a category where good tools are the commodity. |
| La Jefa | 6.0 | 6.0 | no preference |
| El Hacker | 8.0 | 8.3 | VT Code — Apache-2.0, `cargo install`, and Ollama, LM Studio or llama.cpp as providers, so the entire loop runs on my own hardware for the price of electricity. |
Picks are derived from each critic's own scores. Humans vote on matchups on the duels page.