# Zero

> An open-source terminal coding agent built in Go that reads repos, edits files, runs commands, and supports 25+ model providers with local session storage and no telemetry.

Zero is an open-source, MIT-licensed terminal coding agent built in Go by Gitlawb. It runs entirely on your own machine, stores sessions locally, and supports more than 25 model providers — from frontier APIs like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Gemini to local runtimes like Ollama and LM Studio. The project reached v0.7.0 in August 2026 and has accumulated over 1,200 GitHub stars since its May 2026 creation.

## What It Is

Zero is a CLI-first AI coding agent that operates inside your terminal via an interactive TUI or headless `zero exec` mode. It can inspect a repository, edit files, run shell commands, fetch web content, and manage multi-step plans — all while keeping every session as durable, searchable, resumable history on your local disk. The core binary is a single Go executable that ships for Linux, macOS, and Windows on x64 and arm64.

## Permission and Safety Model

Zero makes every side effect visible and permission-gated rather than autonomous by default:

- **Workspace reads** are allowed by default.
- **File writes** are scoped to the workspace unless you explicitly grant additional directories with `--add-dir`.
- **Shell commands, network access, and out-of-workspace writes** require explicit permission or confirmation.
- **Autonomous/unsafe modes** are opt-in, not the default.
- Secrets are redacted from tool output and logs where Zero controls the surface.
- OS-level sandboxing is available on Linux via a companion `zero-linux-sandbox` binary.

## Model Flexibility

Zero supports over 25 providers and lets you switch mid-session with `/model`. Supported providers include OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Groq, OpenRouter, DeepSeek, Mistral, xAI, Qwen, Kimi, GitHub Models, NVIDIA NIM, Bedrock, Vertex AI, Venice AI, MiniMax, Together AI, Hugging Face, Ollama, LM Studio, and any OpenAI- or Anthropic-compatible endpoint. The GitLawb OpenGateway is also listed as a first-party provider option.

## Extensibility and CI Integration

Zero is designed to extend beyond interactive use:

- **`zero exec`** enables one-shot or scripted headless runs with text, JSON, and stream-JSON I/O and meaningful exit codes for CI pipelines.
- **MCP support** lets Zero consume MCP servers over stdio, HTTP, or SSE, and expose itself as an MCP server via `zero serve --mcp`.
- **Specialist subagents** fan work out to focused sub-sessions visible from the sidebar.
- **Skills, plugins, and lifecycle hooks** let teams encode conventions in markdown and extend behavior without forking the binary.
- **A ready-made GitHub Action** runs the same agent for PR review and CI jobs.
- **`zero cron`** schedules recurring agent jobs (nightly triage, dependency sweeps, report generation) on your own machine.
- **Isolated git worktrees** (`--worktree`) let you try risky changes in a disposable branch.

## Update: v0.7.0

The latest release is v0.7.0, published on August 10, 2026. The repository was created in May 2026 and has been actively pushed to as recently as August 14, 2026, indicating rapid early development. The project's GitHub topics include `ai-agent`, `coding-agent`, `mcp`, `ollama`, `cli`, and `terminal`, reflecting its positioning as a developer-owned, model-agnostic coding agent. The README documents a stream-JSON protocol, agent evals, performance benchmarks, and a structured community via Discord and GitHub Discussions, signaling an intent to build an ecosystem around the core binary.

## Features
- Interactive TUI with model/provider pickers, slash commands, and live plan rendering
- Headless zero exec mode with text, JSON, and stream-JSON I/O
- 25+ model providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Ollama, LM Studio, and more
- Permission-gated side effects with OS-level sandboxing
- Durable local sessions — searchable, resumable, and forkable
- MCP support: consume MCP servers or expose Zero as one via zero serve --mcp
- Specialist subagents for parallel focused sub-sessions
- Spec-first runs: draft and review a plan before any file changes
- Isolated git worktrees for safe experimentation
- Skills, plugins, and lifecycle hooks for extensibility
- GitHub Action for CI/PR review
- Scheduled agent jobs via zero cron
- 12 WCAG-AA contrast-audited themes
- No telemetry — API keys stored in encrypted local store
- Single Go binary for Linux, macOS, and Windows (x64 and arm64)

## Integrations
OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Groq, OpenRouter, DeepSeek, Mistral, xAI, Qwen, Kimi, GitHub Models, NVIDIA NIM, Amazon Bedrock, Google Vertex AI, Venice AI, MiniMax, Together AI, Hugging Face, Ollama, LM Studio, GitLawb OpenGateway, MCP servers, GitHub Actions

## Platforms
WINDOWS, MACOS, LINUX, API, CLI

## Pricing
Open Source

## Version
v0.7.0

## Links
- Website: https://zero.gitlawb.com
- Documentation: https://github.com/Gitlawb/zero/tree/main/docs
- Repository: https://github.com/gitlawb/zero
- EveryDev.ai: https://www.everydev.ai/tools/zero-terminal-coding-agent