OpenAI Codex CLI vs Zed vs goose

Side by side, as alternatives to Claude Code. Rows that differ are highlighted; the strongest value in a row is marked. Unknown means no source yet.

OpenAI Codex CLIopenai/codex

Zedzed-industries/zed

gooseaaif-goose/goose

Claude Codepaid product

Cost and coverage

Price

$0 software; you run it

Included with Claude Pro ($20/month, or $17/month billed annually), Max (from $100/month), Team and Enterprise; not on the free plan source ↗

Edit code across a repo from the terminal with an AI agent

Partly

Yes

Run commands and tests

Partly

Yes

Use the agent inside VS Code or JetBrains

Partly

Yes

Connect tools and data through MCP

Partly

Yes

Write commits and pull requests

Partly

Yes

Run the agent headless in scripts or CI (GitHub Actions)

Partly

Yes

Jobs covered

5 of 6 jobs

3 of 6 jobs

6 of 6 jobs

All 6

Popularity and activity (from GitHub)

Stars

130,321Top

92,013

55,514

—

Gain this week

Unknown

—

Signal

Building history

—

Commits / 4 wk

892Top

453

139

—

Latest release

rust-v0.163.0 · 2026-10-15

v1.25.2 · 2026-10-21Top

v1.55.0 · 2026-10-16

—

Commits / 12 wk

3,490

1,417

657

—

People committing / 12 mo

377+

312+

77+

—

Issues opened / closed, 30 days

7371 / 1498

413 / 484

314 / 237

—

Facts, with sources on each project page

Runs on my machine?Differs

Yes, a command-line agent that runs on your computer; cloud models run on OpenAI's servers unless you use --oss

Yes, a desktop editor installed on your computer

Yes, desktop app and CLI run on your computer

Hosted by the vendor

Code licenceDiffers

Apache-2.0

GPL-3.0-or-later for most code, with some Apache-2.0 components (LICENSE-GPL and LICENSE-APACHE)

Apache-2.0

—

Model weights licence

No separate model weights

—

Commercial useDiffers

Allowed under Apache-2.0

Allowed; GPL-3.0 is copyleft, so changes you distribute must stay GPL

Yes, Apache-2.0 allows commercial use

—

Paid services needed?Differs

Not required with local models (--oss with Ollama or LM Studio) or the limited ChatGPT Free plan; paid ChatGPT plans and OpenAI API keys are optional

Editor is free; AI works with your own API keys or local models (Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp); Zed Pro is optional for hosted models and Zed edit prediction

Not required with local models (Ollama, LM Studio, Docker Model Runner, Ramalama) or free tiers such as Groq; paid APIs are optional

Subscription

HardwareDiffers

Not documented in the README or CLI docs

64-bit OS; Windows needs a DirectX 11 GPU, Linux a Vulkan 1.3 driver, Macs from about 2015 on; local models need more

No hardware requirements documented in the README or install docs (checked 2026-10-21)

—

Operating systemsDiffers

macOS, Linux and Windows (native PowerShell with a Windows sandbox, or WSL2)

macOS (10.15+, Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows 10 1903+ and 11, Linux x86_64 and Arm64; no web version

Desktop app and CLI for macOS, Linux and Windows; the Windows CLI runs natively in Git Bash, MSYS2 or PowerShell, or in WSL

—

Setup effortDiffers

Easy; one-line install script, npm or Homebrew, then sign in with ChatGPT

Easy; download installer, Homebrew, winget or a one-line Linux script, then add an API key or local model

Easy; download the desktop app, or install the CLI with a one-line script or Homebrew, then pick a provider

—

Stars over time

Switch to Growth % to compare projects of different sizes fairly.

The chart appears after a few nightly checks.

Notes for a video or post

A plain summary with today's date and a link to the sources. Check each project page before you publish.

OpenAI Codex CLI vs Zed vs goose (as alternatives to Claude Code)
Figures from RepoQuarry, 22 Oct 2026. Sources: https://repoquarry.dev/compare?ids=codex-cli,zed,goose&product=claude-code

Claude Code: Included with Claude Pro ($20/month, or $17/month billed annually), Max (from $100/month), Team and Enterprise; not on the free plan
OpenAI Codex CLI: free software; does 5 of 6 Claude Code jobs
Zed: free software; does 3 of 6 Claude Code jobs
goose: free software; does 6 of 6 Claude Code jobs

- OpenAI Codex CLI: 130,321 GitHub stars, 3,490 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0
- Zed: 92,013 GitHub stars, 1,417 commits in 12 weeks, licence GPL-3.0-or-later for most code, with some Apache-2.0 components (LICENSE-GPL and LICENSE-APACHE)
- goose: 55,514 GitHub stars, 657 commits in 12 weeks, licence Apache-2.0

Where they differ:
- Runs on my machine?: OpenAI Codex CLI Yes, a command-line agent that runs on your computer; cloud models run on OpenAI's servers unless you use --oss; Zed Yes, a desktop editor installed on your computer; goose Yes, desktop app and CLI run on your computer
- Code licence: OpenAI Codex CLI Apache-2.0; Zed GPL-3.0-or-later for most code, with some Apache-2.0 components (LICENSE-GPL and LICENSE-APACHE); goose Apache-2.0
- Commercial use: OpenAI Codex CLI Allowed under Apache-2.0; Zed Allowed; GPL-3.0 is copyleft, so changes you distribute must stay GPL; goose Yes, Apache-2.0 allows commercial use
- Paid services needed?: OpenAI Codex CLI Not required with local models (--oss with Ollama or LM Studio) or the limited ChatGPT Free plan; paid ChatGPT plans and OpenAI API keys are optional; Zed Editor is free; AI works with your own API keys or local models (Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp); Zed Pro is optional for hosted models and Zed edit prediction; goose Not required with local models (Ollama, LM Studio, Docker Model Runner, Ramalama) or free tiers such as Groq; paid APIs are optional
- Hardware: OpenAI Codex CLI Not documented in the README or CLI docs; Zed 64-bit OS; Windows needs a DirectX 11 GPU, Linux a Vulkan 1.3 driver, Macs from about 2015 on; local models need more; goose No hardware requirements documented in the README or install docs (checked 2026-10-21)
- Operating systems: OpenAI Codex CLI macOS, Linux and Windows (native PowerShell with a Windows sandbox, or WSL2); Zed macOS (10.15+, Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows 10 1903+ and 11, Linux x86_64 and Arm64; no web version; goose Desktop app and CLI for macOS, Linux and Windows; the Windows CLI runs natively in Git Bash, MSYS2 or PowerShell, or in WSL
- Setup effort: OpenAI Codex CLI Easy; one-line install script, npm or Homebrew, then sign in with ChatGPT; Zed Easy; download installer, Homebrew, winget or a one-line Linux script, then add an API key or local model; goose Easy; download the desktop app, or install the CLI with a one-line script or Homebrew, then pick a provider

Stars show popularity, not quality. Check each project page before publishing.

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Numbers: GitHub, fetched nightly. Facts: read from each project's own documentation, with the source on its page. How we check. openai/codex ↗zed-industries/zed ↗aaif-goose/goose ↗

OpenAI Codex CLI vs Zed vs goose

Stars over time

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