Zero is a terminal coding agent written in Go. It reads a repository, edits files, runs shell commands, fetches public web pages, and drives local browser and terminal helpers, while you pick the model provider and the permission level it works under.
It runs two ways. The interactive terminal UI has model and provider pickers, image input, slash commands, live rendering of plans and tool calls, themes, and session resume, rewind, and fork. The headless exec mode is scriptable for CI: it accepts text, JSON, or stream-JSON input and output, can run in an isolated git worktree or draft a spec before building, and returns meaningful exit codes.
Zero works with more than 25 providers, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Groq, OpenRouter, DeepSeek, Mistral, xAI, Qwen, Kimi, and GitHub Models, plus local models through Ollama, LM Studio, or Atomic Chat and any OpenAI- or Anthropic-compatible endpoint. A setup wizard and detection commands configure providers.
Side effects go through a permission and sandbox policy. Workspace reads are allowed, file writes stay inside the workspace unless you grant extra directories, and shell commands, network access, destructive commands, and elevated actions require permission. Autonomous modes are explicit opt-ins, and secrets are redacted from tool output and logs. Sessions are stored on disk, searchable, and not uploaded as telemetry.
Zero picks up project instructions from AGENTS.md or ZERO.md files and extends through MCP servers, markdown skills, plugins that declare custom tools and lifecycle hooks, and specialist subagents. It can also expose its own tools over MCP.
Features
- Model choice: 25+ providers, local runtimes such as Ollama and LM Studio, and any OpenAI- or Anthropic-compatible endpoint
- Terminal UI: provider pickers, image input, slash commands, live plan and tool rendering, themes, and session resume or fork
- Headless exec: scriptable runs with text, JSON, or stream-JSON I/O, isolated worktrees, spec-first runs, and CI exit codes
- Permission and sandbox policy: writes limited to the workspace, gated shell and network access, and explicit opt-in for autonomous modes
- Local sessions: sessions stored on disk, searchable, resumable, and rewindable, with no telemetry upload
- Spec and plan modes: draft and review a plan before building
- Side questions: ask in an isolated fork without adding the conversation to the main session
- Scheduled prompts: repeat a prompt or command on an interval, and run scheduled agent jobs
- Extensions: MCP servers, markdown skills, plugins with custom tools and hooks, and specialist subagents
- MCP server mode: expose Zero's own tools to other clients over MCP
- Git helpers: repository maps, verification checks, worktree preparation, and change inspection and commits
- Usage reporting: token usage, estimated cost, and context-budget reports
