goosevsSmallCode
Generated from the two spec rows. Green marks the better value where a spec has a clear direction. Everything else is just different.
goose
Agentic AI Foundation (originally Block) · Terminal agent
#13OSSMCP
Panel
6.87 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.”
SmallCode
Doorman11991 · Terminal agent
#71OSSMCP
Panel
6.80 spec wins
- Reliability
- 6.2
- Usefulness
- 6.0
- Cost
- 8.8
- Longevity
- 6.2
“Its README recommends models between 8B and 35B parameters, the first honest system requirement anyone in this category has printed.”
Spec by spec
| Spec | goose | SmallCode |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Yes | No |
| Capabilities | ||
| Runs terminal commands | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-file edits | Yes | Yes |
| Git operations | Yes | No |
| Browser control | 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. | No |
| Sandboxed execution | Yes`goose session|run --container <id>` executes extensions inside an existing Docker container; goose itself runs unsandboxed on the host otherwise. | No |
| Multi-agent orchestration | Yes | No |
| Headless / CI mode | Yes | No |
| Models | ||
| Backbone | Claude, GPT, Gemini, Ollama (local), OpenRouter, Azure OpenAI, Amazon Bedrock | Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp, OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, Qwen, OpenRouter |
| Bring your own model | Yes | Yes |
| Local models | Yes | YesLocal models are the design target: the README recommends 8B to 35B parameters and states the tool works with no network at all. |
| 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 | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 54,860 | 2,029 |
Which one would each critic pick
| Critic | goose | SmallCode | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Juez | — | — | not enough reviews |
| El Amigo | 7.3 | 6.8 | 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 | 6.5 | 6.3 | 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 | 7.0 | SmallCode — The design is a set of compensations for a small context window: a managed and summarised budget, work decomposed into steps held in an external file, and edits expressed as patches. |
| La Inversora | 5.3 | 6.5 | SmallCode — 2,022 stars, a permissive licence and one author, on a thesis that consumer hardware keeps getting better at this. The thesis is right and nobody here monetises being right. |
| La Jefa | 5.8 | 6.0 | SmallCode — Free at any headcount, and free end to end with no network calls at all, which is the only answer in this category that satisfies a data residency question outright. |
| El Hacker | 9.3 | 8.3 | 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.