The best Devin alternatives: autonomous coding agents you run yourself

Devin, from Cognition, is in its maker's words an autonomous AI software engineer that can write, run and test code. This guide is for developers who want an autonomous coding agent they run themselves, on their own computer and in their own project: what to look for, why we put DCode first, and the other agents worth a look, each described from its maker's pages. We build DCode, so read our pick as our view.

What should you look for in a Devin alternative?

• Your machine and your project. The agent works in the repository you open and runs your own compilers, linters and tests.
• A whole task, carried through. One prompt in; a plan, the edits, a test run and a report of what was verified out.
• Help on big jobs. A task with independent parts finishes sooner when several agents take them side by side.
• Your say over each step. You decide how much the agent does on its own and what waits for your yes.
• Reach past the code. A browser for web apps and the screen for desktop apps.
• Published results on agent work. Tests of autonomous task completion and of long, multi-step reasoning say the most.

Why do we put DCode first?

Because DCode is an autonomous agent that works where your code already is. The desktop app runs on Windows x64 and ARM64 and on macOS with Apple silicon or Intel, and the CLI runs on Windows, macOS and Linux; both share one account and the same Raven models. Give DCode one prompt and it reads your codebase, plans the change, edits files, runs your tests and reports what was verified.

Before it touches a file, DCode indexes the repository tree, type definitions and dependency graph, so each change is made in its full context. Your compilers, linters and test suites run in your local terminal, and when one fails, DCode reads the error and repairs what it broke.

How does a DCode crew work on your computer?

When a task has parts that do not depend on each other, DCode can hand them to a crew of up to 24 agents working in parallel, in the project you opened. The Crew dock under the chat header shows every agent side by side, with live counts and the Plan, Work and Review stages, and in the CLI a live Crew panel does the same. A crew is counted in tokens only, from the same allowance as any other DCode work, with no separate charge for agents working in parallel. The crew arrived with DCode 2.0.

How much does DCode do without asking?

As much as you choose. The permission mode you pick decides which steps DCode takes on its own and which wait for your yes, so you can keep a close watch on one task and give another more room. On websites, DCode asks before it posts, sends, buys or deletes, with a per-site option to stop asking, and its password manager keeps passwords on your computer and fills them in itself, never showing them to the model.

What can DCode reach beyond your code?

• Browser Use. DCode opens pages in its own built-in browser, reads them, clicks and types, to look something up or to try the web app it just changed. Sites you sign in to can stay signed in for 30 days.
• Computer Use. When a task leaves the terminal, DCode sees the screen and works desktop apps, on Windows and macOS, as our story on Computer Use shows. Browser Use and Computer Use are both on from a fresh install.
• MCP and the catalog. DCode speaks the Model Context Protocol natively, so it can query a database, fetch an issue or call an internal developer tool, and its Official Marketplace syncs skills, MCP servers and plugins from our public catalog.

Which model runs the agent?

DCode runs on the Raven models, Raven Flash for fast agentic work and Raven Max for deep architectural refactors, at the thinking level you set: Off, Low, Standard or High. In our published results, company-reported and evaluated with maximum reasoning effort, Raven Flash placed first among the models it is compared with on AutomationBench, which measures end-to-end autonomous task completion, at 49.2, 8.2 points ahead of Claude Opus 4.8.

Raven Max placed first on Agent's Last Exam, long-horizon reasoning over many dependent steps, at 39.5, 7.9 points ahead of Fable 5. Not every result is a lead: on AutomationBench, Raven Max placed second among the models it is compared with, at 48.3, behind Fable 5 at 48.6. The full tables are in our report on Raven Flash and our report on Raven Max.

What does DCode cost?

DCode is a free download. It draws on your plan, a Raven plan or the DCode Coding Plan, or on prepaid API credits, and the switch is in Settings; with credits, we set up the API key for DCode on your account, so there is nothing to paste. The DCode Coding Plan, at $29 a month, is our highest-capacity plan, built for continuous, heavy coding. Plans are on the pricing page.

Which other autonomous agents are worth a look?

Each is described here only as its maker describes it, on the page linked.

• Devin, from Cognition, has been generally available since December 10, 2024 at app.devin.ai, with a Slack integration and an API. Since April 27, 2026, the Devin CLI runs it in your own shell, with the option to hand a session to a cloud agent. Cognition also makes Devin Desktop, the new name it gave Windsurf on June 2, 2026.
• Claude Code, from Anthropic, describes itself on its overview page as an agentic coding tool that reads your codebase, edits files, runs commands and works with your development tools, in the terminal, an IDE, a desktop app and the browser.
• OpenAI Codex: in OpenAI's words, the Codex CLI is a coding agent that runs locally on your computer, and you sign in to it with a ChatGPT account or use it with an API key.
• Cursor, from Anysphere, is a coding agent with a desktop app, and since August 7, 2025 its agent has also run from the terminal, or headless in any environment, through the Cursor CLI.

If an editor is part of your choice, our guide to Cursor alternatives and our guide to OpenAI Codex alternatives look at it from there.

How do I switch?

1. Download DCode for Windows or macOS from the download page, or install the CLI with one line or from npm.
2. Sign in with Google or Apple in the app, or with your account or an API key in the CLI; your Raven plan works in DCode from the start.
3. Open a repository you know well and give DCode a task with a clear end state, such as a suite of tests that should pass.
4. Choose how much DCode does on its own, pick Raven Flash or Raven Max, and follow the crew in the dock.

Everything DCode does is on the DCode page. The install guide, the Crew guide and the Computer Use guide go further.

Product names are trademarks of their owners and are used here only to identify the products.