I Tried a Local, Free Alternative to Claude Code with Goose

• Key Takeaways:
• Block's Goose agent can be paired with Ollama and the open-source Qwen3-coder model to create a local, free alternative to Claude Code.
• The setup is hands-on: install Ollama, pull Qwen3-coder, then connect Goose as the orchestrator; it favors users comfortable with local tooling.
• Benefits include data privacy and zero per-request fees; trade-offs are hardware needs, setup complexity, and fewer managed features.
• This stack is best for developers who prioritize control and cost over turnkey UX and enterprise support.

Why I tried a Claude Code alternative

I wanted to see whether an all-local, open-source stack could replace Claude Code for coding tasks. The experiment paired Block's Goose agent with Ollama as the local runtime and the Qwen3-coder model as the LLM — a combination aimed at keeping code generation and iteration off the cloud.

What the components do

Goose (by Block) acts as an agent: it sequences steps, calls tools, and manages higher-level workflows. Ollama provides a local model host and runtime with an easy way to download and serve models. Qwen3-coder is an open-source coder-focused model suitable for code generation and reasoning.

How I got started

Setup is straightforward for experienced users: install Ollama on your machine, use it to pull the Qwen3-coder model, and run a Goose instance configured to send prompts to Ollama. Because everything runs locally, your code and prompts stay on your hardware rather than being sent to a hosted API.

Usage and early impressions

In practice, Goose orchestrates iterative coding tasks — generating functions, running simple tests, and proposing fixes. Qwen3-coder handled many typical developer prompts well, producing usable snippets for common languages and tasks.

Latency felt competitive on a capable machine, but performance depends heavily on your CPU/GPU. Users without a modern GPU should expect slower responses compared with cloud-hosted Claude Code.

Trade-offs and limitations

The local stack wins on privacy and ongoing cost: there are no per-call fees. But you give up some conveniences: managed updates, integrated tools, safety guardrails, and SLA-backed reliability that commercial services offer.

You may also need to tune prompts and the agent configuration to match developer workflows that Claude Code handles out of the box.

Who should try this

This setup is ideal for developers and teams that prioritize privacy, control, and zero-dollar running costs, and who accept manual setup and hardware demands. For teams that need polished UX, enterprise support, or the latest guardrails, managed services like Claude Code remain attractive.

Next steps

If you want to try it yourself: install Ollama, pull Qwen3-coder, and experiment with Goose agent configurations. Expect an exploration process: tune prompts, adjust timeouts, and iterate on orchestration to get the best results.

This combination shows that open-source, local stacks are now a viable alternative for many coding tasks — but they still require trade-offs in convenience and performance compared with hosted offerings.