I tried a Claude Code alternative that's local, open source, and completely free - how it works (www.zdnet.com)

A new wave of open-source AI tools, particularly Goose and Qwen3-coder, is emerging as a free alternative to Claude Code for developers. Goose, created by Block, serves as an agent framework, while Qwen3-coder is a large language model tailored for coding, boasting around 30 billion parameters. This combination aims to provide a locally run coding assistant that does not rely on cloud infrastructure, addressing concerns about privacy and data transmission. The significance of this development lies in the growing capability of local AI tools that can compete with commercially available services like Claude Code and OpenAI Codex, with the potential for robust performance without the hefty subscription costs. Initial tests showed that while Goose partnered with Qwen3-coder can have hiccups—such as needing multiple tries to complete coding tasks—the overall performance has been promising. The article promises future analyses as the author tests the limits of this setup with larger projects, exploring whether these free tools can effectively replace their expensive counterparts.