What is Kilo CLI?
If you spend a significant portion of your day living in the terminal, Kilo CLI might be the most important tool you add to your workflow this year. It is an open-source, terminal-based agentic coding platform built on OpenCode (MIT-licensed), designed specifically for developers who want AI assistance without leaving their shell.
Unlike browser-based tools or IDE plugins, Kilo CLI is built for the moments when you're deep in a production incident, SSHed into a remote server, or just prefer the precision and speed of the terminal. It brings the full power of 500+ AI models directly to your command line — with no credit card required to get started.
Key Features
500+ AI Models, One Tool
One of Kilo CLI's biggest differentiators is its model-agnostic approach. Instead of being locked into a single provider, you can switch between over 500 models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Mistral, and open-source alternatives — all from the same interface. You control the tradeoffs between latency, cost, context size, and reasoning quality per task.
Multiple Agent Modes
Kilo CLI supports distinct operational modes tailored to different developer workflows:
- Code Mode — High-speed generation and multi-file refactors
- Architect Mode — High-level planning and technical strategy
- Debug Mode — Systematic problem diagnosis and resolution
- Orchestrator Mode — Coordinating multiple agents for complex workflows
- Ask Mode — Quick questions without code changes
Switch between modes instantly using Shift+Tab.
Memory Bank — No More AI Amnesia
One of the most frustrating aspects of AI coding tools is losing context between sessions. Kilo's Memory Bank feature solves this by storing session context in structured Markdown files inside your repository. This means the agent working in your terminal has the same understanding of your codebase as it did in the last session — or even across different tools like VS Code or Slack.
Free Models Included
You don't need to pay to start. Kilo CLI ships with access to free hosted models. As of June 2026, Poolside: Laguna M.1 is the top-ranked free model on Kilo's live leaderboard, based on real usage by over 3 million developers. Other strong free options include DeepSeek V3 and Qwen 3.5 via OpenRouter.
Image Support & Custom Commands
Paste images from clipboard or attach files with the --attach flag. Custom commands are fully supported, along with Emacs-style keybindings for efficient navigation. A colorblind-friendly high-contrast theme is also available.
Setting Up Kilo CLI on Ubuntu
Step 1 — Install Node.js via nvm:
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.7/install.sh | bash source ~/.bashrc nvm install --lts
Step 2 — Install Kilo CLI globally:
npm install -g @kilocode/cli
Step 3 — Run it in your project directory:
cd ~/your-project kilo
Step 4 — Connect your AI provider using /connect inside Kilo, or set up a config.json with your API key.
Best Free Models to Use with Kilo CLI
Poolside: Laguna M.1 — Best for agentic coding, built into Kilo for free DeepSeek V3 — Best for complex coding and debugging, free via OpenRouter Qwen 3.5 — Best all-rounder for general and coding tasks, free via OpenRouter Gemini Flash — Best for long context and speed, free via Google AI Studio Llama 4 Scout — Best for local/self-hosted use, open weights
Note: Models like Nemotron 3 Super have daily rate limits on the free tier. If you hit the "Rate limit exceeded: free-models-per-day" error, switch to DeepSeek V3 or Poolside Laguna M.1 to keep working without interruption.
The "Agentic Anywhere" Vision
What makes Kilo interesting beyond the CLI itself is the broader platform strategy. The company calls it "Agentic Anywhere" — the idea that your AI coding agent should work seamlessly across whatever environment you're in. That means the same agent context available in your terminal, your editor (VS Code / JetBrains), your team chat (Kilo for Slack), and enterprise deployments with SSO and audit logs. The Memory Bank is the glue that makes this cross-environment continuity possible.
Open Source at Its Core
Kilo CLI is built on OpenCode, and the team is openly committed to contributing improvements back upstream. With over 15,000+ community members and the codebase available on GitHub, this isn't a closed black box — it's a tool the developer community is actively shaping.
My Take
If you're already comfortable in the terminal and want to add AI-powered agentic coding to your workflow without switching to a new IDE or paying for another subscription right away, Kilo CLI is the most compelling option available right now. The free model access, the Memory Bank, the multi-mode agent system, and the open-source foundation make it a serious tool — not just a novelty.
Install it, connect DeepSeek V3 or Poolside Laguna M.1, and run it inside a real project. You'll see the value quickly.
Next up: A hands-on walkthrough of using Kilo CLI's Architect Mode to scaffold a full-stack project from scratch.