Coding agent (CLI) · Codebuff
Codebuff
Terminal coding agent that orchestrates specialised subagents for file discovery, editing, review and research, with an SDK for CI use. Billed by credits or plan; a free ad-funded sibling, Freebuff, shares the repo.
Codebuff review
Codebuff is a terminal coding agent that hands work to specialised subagents. It is paid, by plan or by credit, and the repository is public. We read the vendor's pages and repository in October 2026. We did not run an independent test.
Who it is for
Developers who want a hosted multi-agent coding CLI and an SDK, and are fine paying per credit or per plan.
What stands out
Install with `npm install -g codebuff`. The package lists macOS, Linux and Windows; the docs do not state platforms. An orchestrator passes work to subagents for file discovery, editing, review and research.
A TypeScript SDK, `@codebuff/sdk`, is documented for CI and custom agents. MCP servers are set in `.agents/mcp.json` over stdio or HTTP and SSE.
You do not pick the model. The docs say the orchestrator runs on Claude Opus 4.7, with subagents on Opus, GPT and Gemini Flash Lite models.
Price and licence
Subscriptions seen 28 October 2026: $100 a month (1x usage), $200 (2.5x) and $500 (7x). Pay-as-you-go is 1 cent per credit. Model usage is included in the credits. The pricing page lists no free tier.
The licences disagree. The root LICENSE file is Apache-2.0, but npm metadata and the freebuff README say MIT. We could not tell which governs. Either way the source is public.
The repository, renamed CodebuffAI/freebuff, also hosts Freebuff, a separate free product that carries ads.
Where it falls short
- Paid from $100 a month or 1 cent per credit, and the vendor chooses the models.
- Identity is confusing: the homepage footer links to freebuff.com, the repository was renamed, and the licence text differs between files.
- Bring-your-own-key and local models are not documented for Codebuff. We saw them only in code worded for Freebuff.
- Requests go through the vendor's service, and the free tier has a privacy notice about ads and training.
Alternatives
See terminal coding agents. OpenCode and Aider take your own keys or local models.
Facts: platforms, price and licence
- platforms
- macOSLinuxWindowsnpm launcher whose package.json lists darwin, linux and win32 on x64 and arm64; the docs read do not state platforms. The GitHub repo CodebuffAI/codebuff was renamed CodebuffAI/freebuff and now hosts both Codebuff and the free ad-supported Freebuff products (Freebuff also has desktop, web, cloud and mobile apps).
- price
- SubscriptionPricing page (seen 2026-10-28): subscriptions $100/mo (1x usage), $200/mo (2.5x), $500/mo (7x); or pay-as-you-go at 1 cent per credit with no subscription. No free tier listed on the pricing page. Model usage is included in the credits: the orchestrator runs on Claude Opus 4.7 per docs. Freebuff is a separate free, ad-supported product.
- source
- Open sourceLicence: Apache-2.0 (repo LICENSE; npm metadata says MIT)
- github
- CodebuffAI/freebuff 13.8k stars, seen 2026-10-28
Codebuff features
- ✓ yes MCP
- ✓ yes Multi-agent
- ✓ yes Headless / CI
- ? not verified Sandbox
- ? not verified Local models
- ? not verified Your own API key
- ? not verified Git worktrees
- ? not verified SSH
✓ documented · – absent or not in its feature list · ? not verified
Codebuff strengths
- Multi-agent design: an orchestrator hands work to subagents; Max mode runs several implementations and picks one
- TypeScript SDK (@codebuff/sdk) for programmatic runs, documented for CI/CD and custom agents and tools
- MCP servers via .agents/mcp.json, stdio or HTTP/SSE
- Source is public under Apache 2.0 and updated daily
Codebuff weak points
- Paid: plans start at $100 per month or 1 cent per credit, and the model choice is made by the vendor
- Confusing identity: homepage footer links to freebuff.com, repo renamed to freebuff, and licence text differs between files (Apache-2.0 vs MIT)
- Bring-your-own-key and local models are not documented for Codebuff (BYOK appears only in the Freebuff CLI code)
- Cloud-routed: requests go through the vendor's service, with a Freebuff privacy notice about ads and training for the free tier
Who Codebuff is for
- best for
- Developers who want a hosted multi-agent coding CLI and an SDK, and are fine paying per credit or per plan.
- look elsewhere if
- Users who want to run their own model keys or local models with a paid-free tool; for a free option look at Freebuff or other agents.
Lists that include Codebuff
Sources and what we could not verify
Checked 2026-10-28. Prices and features change; the vendor's page is the authority.
- www.codebuff.com/pricing — plans $100/$200/$500 and 1 cent per credit
- www.codebuff.com/docs — install npm install -g codebuff, modes
- www.codebuff.com/docs/advanced/what-models — orchestrator and subagent models, Max mode parallelism
- www.codebuff.com/docs/advanced/sdk — @codebuff/sdk, CI/CD and programmatic use, needs Codebuff API key
- www.codebuff.com/docs/tips/mcp-servers — MCP support
- github.com/CodebuffAI/freebuff — repo renamed from codebuff to freebuff, README on Freebuff products and relation to Codebuff, stars, pushed_at
- github.com/CodebuffAI/freebuff/blob/main/LICENSE — Apache-2.0 text
- freebuff.com — Freebuff: free, ad-funded; install npm install -g freebuff
Not verified
- byok: /byok command exists in the shared CLI code but is worded for Freebuff; not documented for Codebuff, left null
- local_models: no doc found for Codebuff; left null
- sandbox: README mentions sandboxes for Freebuff Web/Cloud only, and docs say agent handleSteps code is NOT sandboxed; left null
- relationship text: Freebuff README says it is 'built on Codebuff, the open multi-agent framework'; the Codebuff site does not explain Freebuff
- whether codebuff.com has any free tier today (docs mention a 'Free' mode, pricing page lists none)
- platforms taken from npm package fields, not from the docs