Why Robota?
A multi-provider AI coding CLI that lets you bring your own key for any provider, run fully offline with a local model, and embed the same engine into your own app. Source-available and self-hostable, with both an open-source (AGPL-3.0) and a commercial license.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Robota | Claude Code | Cursor | Aider | Cline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-provider (one config) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| BYOK — no subscription required | ✓ | ✓ | subscription | ✓ | ✓ |
| Local model support (Ollama/LM Studio) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Embeddable SDK | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Source-available | ✓ | proprietary | proprietary | ✓ | ✓ |
| TypeScript-first, strict types | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Python | ✓ |
| Terminal CLI | ✓ | ✓ | IDE only | ✓ | ✓ |
| Session persistence & resume | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Background agents | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Self-hostable | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
What Makes Robota Different
1. Any Provider — One Config
Switch between Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek, Gemini, or Ollama by changing one line in ~/.robota/settings.json. No code changes, no new subscriptions.
2. Embeddable SDK
Ship the same agent runtime to your users via @robota-sdk/agent-framework. Few AI coding assistants ship their runtime as an embeddable library — most (Claude Code, Cursor, Cline) are delivered only as end-user products.
3. Open & Self-Hostable
Every line is publicly auditable — fork it, modify it, and self-host with no vendor lock-in. Open-source use is AGPL-3.0; a commercial license is available for proprietary or SaaS use.
4. Local Model First-Class
Point any Ollama or LM Studio model as your provider. When you use a local model, your code and prompts stay on your machine.
When to Choose Something Else
- Choose Claude Code if you want the tightest Claude integration and are happy with Anthropic-only.
- Choose Cursor if you want an IDE-first experience with inline diff editing and tab completion.
- Choose Aider if you prefer a Python ecosystem and work primarily with git-based batch commits.
- Choose Cline if you want a VSCode sidebar agent and don't need embedding or SDK usage.