Roo Code

Roo Code, the popular VS Code agent with Code, Architect, Ask and Debug modes, was shut down on 15 May 2026, and its repository is archived. The community fork Zoo Code (Apache-2.0) continues it, and Cline, the project Roo came from, is still releasing. Roo Code, Inc. now builds Roomote. Checked 31 October 2026.

At a glance

What happened

The README of the archived repository says it plainly: "The Roo Code Extension was shut down on May 15th." It points to two options for people who want an alternative, Zoo Code and Cline, and gives a billing address for paying users with questions. The website roocode.com now redirects to roomote.dev, and the last commit in the repository removed the roocode.com web app.

The Zoo Code README adds the context. It says Zoo Code "continues development of this project after the Roo team wound down active Roo Code work to focus on Roomote." The core team of Zoo Code is "a group of developers who contributed to Roo previously."

So the sequence, from those two sources: the Roo team stopped work on the extension to focus on a new product, shut the extension down on 15 May 2026, and a group of former contributors forked the code to keep it going. We did not find a Roo Code announcement explaining the reasons beyond that focus shift.

What Roo Code was

Roo Code began as a fork of Cline and grew a following for its modes. The README describes:

• Code mode for everyday coding, edits and file operations
• Architect mode to plan systems, specs and migrations
• Ask mode for fast answers and explanations
• Debug mode to trace issues, add logs and isolate root causes
• Custom modes for specialised team workflows
• MCP server support, documentation writing, refactoring and codebase questions

The README's tagline was "Your AI-Powered Dev Team, Right in Your Editor." If you used it, you will recognise the same feature set in the forks.

Why people still search for it

Roo Code was one of the most recommended extensions for developers who wanted modes and bring-your-own-model flexibility, so guides, videos and forum answers about it are still everywhere. Many of them read as if the product is live. If you find an install instruction for Roo Code, check the date and the repository status before following it. The archived repository still builds from source, but there are no fixes or new model support from Roo Code, Inc.

Your options now

Zoo Code

The nearest replacement. Its README lists what it added since Roo Code:

• Semble codebase intelligence, described as fast, on-demand semantic code search with no separate indexing workflow
• stronger Orchestrator workflows, with safer delegation, parallel task coordination and recovery of parent and child tasks
• a Destructive Command Guard that blocks dangerous commands so trusted work continues without repeated approval prompts
• ongoing support for new Claude, GPT, Gemini, Kimi, GLM, Grok and MiniMax model families
• more providers, including Zoo Gateway, Moonshot and Kimi Code
• terminal and editing fixes, plus rules management, per-mode MCP restrictions and multi-root path controls

Its latest release was v3.92.0 on 24 October 2026, with model switching from the chat composer and an expanded MCP marketplace. The community links are on Discord and Reddit.

The risk is the usual one for a young fork. It has about 2,000 stars against Roo's 24,000, a smaller team, and no track record yet. It is active, which matters more than size, but your plan should not assume it will outlast a single maintainer group.

Cline

Roo Code started from Cline, and Cline's README mentions Plan and Act modes, .clinerules, MCP, a CLI, a desktop app and an SDK. It has the larger team and an active release cadence. The cost of choosing Cline over Zoo is that it has no Architect or Debug modes by name, and its feature set has grown away from Roo's. See Cline vs Roo Code for the comparison.

Roomote

The Roomote site calls it "The cloud coding agent you actually own": source-available, self-hosted or cloud, model-agnostic with bring-your-own-key, and returning pull requests with live previews. It works with GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, Gitea and Bitbucket, and with tools like Slack, Jira and Sentry. The page lists pricing: Cloud has a free 7-day trial with no card, then up to 10 users $49 a month, 11 to 50 users $249, 51 to 100 users $499 and above 100 custom; self-hosted is free for up to 10 users and paid tiers match Cloud. It is "by the creators of" Roo Code.

Roomote is a different kind of tool: a cloud agent for teams that returns pull requests, not an editor extension you sit with. It competes more with Devin and OpenHands than with Roo Code itself.

Moving from Roo Code to Zoo Code

Zoo Code's migration guide is short:

1. In Roo Code settings, click Export and save the file.
2. In Zoo Code, click Import Settings and choose that file.

Zoo Code merges the imported settings into your current setup. The exported file can contain API keys, so store it securely and delete it afterwards. The guide does not say whether modes, rules and MCP configuration carry over, nor give an extension ID. Check these by hand after importing.

A sensible order:

• Export your settings before uninstalling anything.
• Keep your custom modes and rules in your repository, not only in the extension.
• Import into Zoo Code on a spare project and test one task.
• Check each MCP server still connects.
• Remove Roo Code only after the new setup works.

Alternatives beyond the forks

For the field, see open source AI agents and Cursor alternatives.

Choosing between Zoo Code and Cline in practice

The two forks answer different worries.

There is also a third path: skip the editor extension. A terminal agent such as OpenCode or a plugin such as GitHub Copilot does not depend on any one extension team, though each has its own risks.

Try the two on the same three tasks from your real backlog and compare the diffs. Because both read project rules from files, a 30-minute trial costs little. If you use several model providers, check each tool's provider list; Zoo Code names Zoo Gateway, Moonshot, Kimi Code and others, and Cline lists a long table including OpenRouter, Bedrock, Azure, Vertex, Groq, Cerebras, Ollama and LM Studio.

For teams: an audit after a shutdown

If a team standardised on Roo Code, the shutdown is a small incident worth handling properly.

1. Inventory. Which repositories have Roo configuration files, custom modes or rules? Search for the files and list them.
2. Keys. Settings exports contain API keys. Rotate any key that was stored in a shared export or a chat message.
3. Billing. Roo Code, Inc. gave a billing contact for paying users in the README. Check whether any subscription or credit balance needs closing out.
4. Versions. Extensions installed from the marketplace may stop receiving updates. Plan the removal rather than leaving unmaintained software with access to your files.
5. Replacement. Pick one tool, write down why, and put the rules in the repository.
6. Documentation. Update your onboarding notes so a new developer does not install a dead extension.

The same checklist works for any developer tool that disappears, and it is a good reason to keep a short list of every agent your team uses, with an owner for each.

Related reading

• Cline for the project Roo came from
• OpenHands and Devin for cloud agents that return pull requests
• Choose an AI coding agent for a fair trial method
• Write a good AGENTS.md to keep your rules portable

What the shutdown teaches

Roo Code was widely used and open source, and it still stopped. Three lessons carry to any agent you adopt.

1. Open licence kept the project alive. The code is Apache-2.0, so a fork was legal and quick. Closed tools that stop leave you nothing.
2. Keep your configuration portable. Modes, rules and prompts that live in your repository move with you. Settings that exist only in an extension do not.
3. Check the maintainer's business. A company can shift focus to a newer product, as Roo's team did. Look at who pays for the work.

If you stay on the archived version

Some people will keep using the last Roo Code build. If you do, treat it as unmaintained software. It will not get fixes for new model names or provider changes, and its security patches stop. Do not give it production credentials, keep your API keys capped, and set a date to move. Because the code is Apache-2.0, a team with the skills can also fork it, but that is a maintenance commitment, and Zoo Code already exists for that purpose.

Whatever you pick, record the date you decided and why. When a tool changes hands or disappears, a short decision note saves the next person a week of rediscovery, and it helps you explain the move to a team or a client.

Our take

This is an editorial reading of the repositories and Roomote's site, not a test.

If you are a Roo Code user, your project did not vanish: the code is archived under Apache-2.0 and a community fork continues it. The decision is between staying close to what you know (Zoo Code) and moving to the larger, better-funded project that Roo started from (Cline). For a solo developer on a side project, Zoo Code is a reasonable default. For a team standard, we would choose Cline, or an agent backed by a large vendor, and keep Zoo Code as a fallback.

Whichever you choose, move your modes and rules into the repository first. That is the portable part, and it will make the next change, whenever it comes, a short job.

Checklist

• Export your Roo Code settings and store the file securely
• Decide between Zoo Code and Cline
• Keep custom modes and rules in your repository
• Import into the new tool on a spare project first
• Re-test each MCP server
• Check the new tool's last release before standardising