Roo Code

Roo Code was free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license, but it is no longer maintained. Roo Code, Inc. shut the extension down on May 15, 2026 and archived the GitHub repository. The final build remains on the VS Code Marketplace and still carries no subscription fee, but it receives no bug fixes, security patches, or new model support. Roo Code's own documentation now points users to ZooCode, a fork started by the Roo Code community, or to Cline, the project Roo Code originated from.

Roo Code has four built-in modes with different permissions and tools. Architect mode is read-only and helps you plan changes without editing. Code mode has full access to edit files, run terminal commands, and use MCP servers. Debug mode uses a mathematical approach to narrow down bug possibilities step by step. Ask mode answers questions about your codebase without making changes. You can assign a different LLM to each mode, for example Claude Opus for Architect and DeepSeek V3 for Code.

Roo Code started as a fork of Cline (originally called Roo Cline) and shares much of its DNA, browser automation, shell access, BYO API key, MCP support. The main differences are Roo Code's multi-mode system (Architect, Code, Debug, Ask), its more granular auto-approve settings, and its permission-based control flow. Cline is simpler and faster to get started with; Roo Code is more powerful and customizable for advanced workflows.

Yes. Roo Code integrates with Ollama, LM Studio, LocalAI, and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, so you can run Qwen 2.5 Coder, DeepSeek Coder V2, Llama 3.3, or any other local model entirely on your machine. None of your code leaves your laptop. Performance is noticeably below Claude Sonnet but is adequate for most small-to-medium tasks and is a strong choice for privacy-sensitive work.

Roo Code works well with Claude Opus and Sonnet (best overall quality), GPT-5.4 and o1 (strong reasoning), DeepSeek V3 and R1 (cheapest high-quality option), and Gemini 2.5 (long context). For Architect mode, Claude Opus or o1 shine because planning benefits from deep reasoning. For Code mode, DeepSeek V3 is the sweet spot on cost vs quality. You can assign different models per mode for optimal cost-performance.

Roo Code is permission-based by default, meaning every file change or terminal command requires your approval before it runs. Advanced users can enable auto-approve settings for specific actions (like auto-approving file reads but requiring approval for deletes or shell commands). This granular control lets you safely run longer autonomous tasks while keeping risky operations under manual review.

Roo Cloud was an optional hosted layer for teams that added Roomote Control for managing agents remotely across devices, plus task sharing so teammates could see and continue AI sessions. It is no longer sold as part of Roo Code. After the May 15, 2026 shutdown, roocode.com redirects to Roomote, a separate source-available engineering agent from the same team. Roo Code, Inc. directs outstanding billing questions to billing@roocode.com.

Yes. Roo Code inherits Cline's browser automation capability, which lets the agent open a headless Chromium browser, navigate to pages, click elements, fill forms, and read page content. This is useful for tasks like scraping documentation, verifying that a web app works end to end, or researching APIs. Combined with shell access and file editing, it makes Roo Code a capable end-to-end coding agent for tasks that span code and the web.