What it does
Kilo is an open-source AI coding agent that the site says runs in VS Code, JetBrains, a command-line interface and cloud agents, with a Slack option as well. The same agent is used across these surfaces, and local and cloud agents can run in parallel isolated worktrees from one portal. It has modes for different jobs: Ask, Architect for planning a feature before writing code, Code for writing and refactoring, Debug for reading errors and proposing fixes, and Custom. Auto Model chooses a model for you with three options, Efficient, Frontier or Free, so you do not have to pick one per task. The site also mentions cloud agents and code review workflows. The site says model usage is passed through with no inference markup, that you can bring your own keys, and that local models are supported. The source is MIT-licensed, and the site says you can see which prompt was sent, what the context window held and how choices were made, with no silent model switching.
Capabilities
- Runs in VS Code, JetBrains, a CLI and cloud agents
- Agent modes: Ask, Architect, Code, Debug and Custom
- Auto Model routing with Efficient, Frontier and Free options
- 500+ models, your own API keys, and local models
- Parallel agents in isolated worktrees
- MIT-licensed source with visible prompts and context
When to use it
- You want an open-source coding agent you can inspect, fork or self-host
- You want to switch models or use your own keys without lock-in
- You want one agent across your editor, terminal and cloud
- You want to plan a feature in Architect mode before any code is written
