Codebuff is an open-source, terminal-based multi-agent coding CLI that coordinates specialized sub-agents (file picker, planner, editor, reviewer) in a continuous review loop. It claims 61% vs 53% on coding evals vs Claude Code across 175+ real-world tasks, and a 2.5× speed improvement from parallelism.
Why It's in Trial
Codebuff's multi-agent review loop is architecturally distinct from most CLI agents that use a single model in a sequential tool-call loop:
- Four-agent pipeline: File Picker (identifies which files need changes) → Planner (sequences edits to handle dependencies) → Editor (executes precise changes) → Reviewer (validates output and reprompts the editor if needed). The loop continues until the reviewer is satisfied
- Self-improving: Stores knowledge of your coding preferences in local markdown files and refines them across sessions — builds a project-specific model of patterns over time
- Model flexibility: Supports any model available on OpenRouter — not locked to Anthropic like Claude Code
- TypeScript SDK: Generator-based SDK for composing custom multi-agent workflows, spawning subagents, and integrating into CI/CD pipelines
- Codebase-aware: Deep repository understanding — structure, dependencies, hidden patterns — enabling style-consistent edits across large codebases
- Freebuff: Ad-supported free variant with built-in web research and browser use — no subscription or API key required
Benchmark Claims
Codebuff reports 61% vs Claude Code's 53% across 175+ coding tasks on real-world open-source repositories. These figures are self-reported and not yet independently audited — treat as indicative rather than definitive. The 2.5× speed claim is based on parallel multi-agent execution vs. sequential single-agent.
Key Characteristics
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Interface | CLI, SDK |
| License | Open source |
| Underlying model | Any OpenRouter model (Claude, GPT, Qwen, DeepSeek, etc.) |
| Pricing | Free (Freebuff, ad-supported) / Paid (BYOK via OpenRouter) |
| Sandbox | Host terminal (no built-in isolation) |
| Provider | Codebuff |
| Website | codebuff.com |
| GitHub | CodebuffAI/codebuff |