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Coding agents · AI agent

Twinny: review, pricing, security and alternatives

Twinny is an open-source AI agent published by twinnydotdev, in the coding agents family. Twinny brings a coding agent, completion, chat, edits and reviews to VS Code using local or hosted language models. Its repository has 3,678 stars and its last commit is from October 16, 2026.

Score
69/100
Adoption (stars) 19/40
Activity (commits, releases) 25/30
Framework (licence, control, models) 25/30
Open sourceSelf-hostableActively maintainedLow risk

What Twinny does

Twinny belongs to the coding agents family: they read a repository, edit files, run the tests and fix things until everything passes, in a terminal or an editor. On our grid it ranks #26 of the 74 projects of this family listed in the directory.

You use it from: code editor (IDE). Usable models: local models (Ollama, llama.cpp, vLLM…). It can run on your own machine or server.

Who is Twinny for?

It is aimed at developers and technical teams who want to hand off part of the work on their codebase while keeping the final review. Typical tasks people give it:

  • fix a bug from an issue or an error message
  • write or extend tests
  • migrate code to a new library version
  • explain an unfamiliar codebase

It is a good candidate if you want the AI right inside your code editor, your data must stay on your machines, and you want the option of a local model, with no API fees.

Access and human control

According to its documentation, Twinny can:

  • read and edit files

We could not establish whether it asks for human approval before sensitive actions: test it first on an unimportant account or folder.

Run commands in a terminalRun commands in a terminal : 59 %59 %Read and edit filesRead and edit files : 73 %73 %Drive a web browserDrive a web browser : 12 %12 %Call online services and APIsCall online services and APIs : 34 %34 %Read and send messagesRead and send messages : 1 %1 %Control the screen, keyboard and mControl the screen, keyboard and m : 3 %3 %
Share of the 74 agents in the family that have each access, according to their documentation. In orange, Twinny's access.

Twinny pricing

The code is free, under the MIT licence.

Getting started with Twinny

  1. Install it: the project ships as a Node.js package (install with npm, or run directly with npx). The exact command is in the repository README.
  2. Pick the model: an API key from a provider, or a local model if your machine has enough graphics memory (the VRAM calculator tells you).
  3. Give it a first playground with nothing at stake: a test folder, a secondary account or a throwaway project. Only open your real accounts once you have seen how it behaves.
  4. Give it a short, checkable task, review the result and its action log, then raise the difficulty step by step.

Security: risk level

A coding agent runs commands on your machine: work on a Git branch, review the changes and isolate it in a container for long tasks.

Three habits: least privilege (minimal rights, dedicated keys), human approval for irreversible actions, a sandbox for code execution. The AI agent security check reviews your setup in a few minutes.

Project activity and releases

Created on August 21, 2023, the twinnydotdev/twinny repository has 3,678 stars, 237 forks and 54 open issues, with 1,525 commits in total. It received changes this month.

Over the last 52 weeks: 117 commits, an average of 2.3 per week.

Nov 2, : 0 · Nov 2, 2025Nov 2,Nov 9, : 0 · Nov 9, 2025Nov 16, : 0 · Nov 16, 2025Nov 23, : 0 · Nov 23, 2025Nov 30, : 0 · Nov 30, 2025Dec 7, : 0 · Dec 7, 2025Dec 14, : 0 · Dec 14, 2025Dec 21, : 0 · Dec 21, 2025Dec 28, : 0 · Dec 28, 2025Dec 28,Jan 4, : 0 · Jan 4, 2026Jan 11, : 0 · Jan 11, 2026Jan 18, : 0 · Jan 18, 2026Jan 25, : 0 · Jan 25, 2026Feb 1, : 0 · Feb 1, 2026Feb 8, : 0 · Feb 8, 2026Feb 15, : 0 · Feb 15, 2026Feb 22, : 0 · Feb 22, 2026Feb 22,Mar 1, : 0 · Mar 1, 2026Mar 8, : 0 · Mar 8, 2026Mar 15, : 0 · Mar 15, 2026Mar 22, : 0 · Mar 22, 2026Mar 29, : 0 · Mar 29, 2026Apr 5, : 0 · Apr 5, 2026Apr 12, : 0 · Apr 12, 2026Apr 19, : 0 · Apr 19, 2026Apr 19,Apr 26, : 0 · Apr 26, 2026May 3, : 0 · May 3, 2026May 10, : 0 · May 10, 2026May 17, : 0 · May 17, 2026May 24, : 0 · May 24, 2026May 31, : 0 · May 31, 2026Jun 7, : 0 · Jun 7, 2026Jun 14, : 0 · Jun 14, 2026Jun 14,Jun 21, : 0 · Jun 21, 2026Jun 28, : 0 · Jun 28, 2026Jul 5, : 0 · Jul 5, 2026Jul 12, : 0 · Jul 12, 2026Jul 19, : 0 · Jul 19, 2026Jul 26, : 0 · Jul 26, 2026Aug 2, : 0 · Aug 2, 2026Aug 9, : 0 · Aug 9, 2026Aug 9,Aug 16, : 0 · Aug 16, 2026Aug 23, : 0 · Aug 23, 2026Aug 30, : 0 · Aug 30, 2026Sep 6, : 1 · Sep 6, 2026Sep 13, : 37 · Sep 13, 2026Sep 20, : 21 · Sep 20, 2026Sep 27, : 35 · Sep 27, 2026Oct 4, : 11 · Oct 4, 2026Oct 4,Oct 11, : 2 · Oct 11, 2026Oct 18, : 10 · Oct 18, 2026Oct 25, : 0 · Oct 25, 2026Oct 25,
Commits per week on the main repository, last 52 weeks (GitHub API, checked October 25, 2026).

59 releases in total; 2 in the last twelve months. Latest release: v4.0.20, on September 22, 2026.

v3.8.0 · Mar 19, 2024v3.8.0Mar 19, 2024v3.10.0 · Mar 28, 2024v3.10.8 · Apr 1, 2024v3.11.0 · Apr 8, 2024v3.11.9 · Apr 17, 2024v3.12.0 · Aug 2, 2024v3.13.3 · Aug 8, 2024v3.14.0 · Aug 10, 2024v3.15.0 · Aug 15, 2024v3.16.0 · Sep 6, 2024v3.17.0 · Sep 18, 2024v3.17.6 · Sep 19, 2024v3.18.1 · Nov 1, 2024v3.19.0 · Nov 12, 2024v3.20.0 · Dec 16, 2024v3.21.0 · Jan 14, 2025v3.22.0 · Jan 29, 2025v3.23.0 · Apr 15, 2025v4.0.3 · Sep 8, 2026v4.0.20 · Sep 22, 2026v4.0.20Sep 22, 2026
The latest 20 releases published on GitHub (hover a point for details).

Twinny vs other coding agents

GitHub stars of the best-rated open-source projects in the coding agents family. Stars measure attention, not quality: a heavily promoted project collects them fast, a specialised tool will have few.

OpenCodeOpenCode : 221K221KClineCline : 70.8K70.8KOpenHandsOpenHands : 91.7K91.7KCodexCodex : 130.8K130.8KOpen InterpreterOpen Interpreter : 68.7K68.7KQwen CodeQwen Code : 28.7K28.7KKilo CodeKilo Code : 27.7K27.7KGemini CLIGemini CLI : 107.8K107.8KTwinnyTwinny : 3.7K3.7K
Log scale; Twinny in orange. Checked October 25, 2026.

Twinny and other coding agents at a glance

The 7 best-ranked agents in the same family, 7 of them open source. The score out of 100 only applies to open-source projects; for proprietary services we show the published entry price. A dash marks information the documentation does not state.

Quick comparison: coding agents
AgentModelScoreStars or entry priceSelf-hostableHuman approval
Twinnyopen source693.7K ★yes–
OpenCodeopen source95221K ★yes–
Clineopen source9470.8K ★yesyes
OpenHandsopen source9191.7K ★yes–
Codexopen source89130.8K ★yesyes
Open Interpreteropen source8968.7K ★yes–
Qwen Codeopen source8928.7K ★yesyes
Kilo Codeopen source8927.7K ★yesyes

How we rated it

Score: 69/100, computed only from public, verifiable data, with no subjective testing or partnership:

  • Adoption 19/40: 3,678 stars on a log scale (40 points from about 200,000).
  • Activity 25/30: last commit less than a month ago, 2 releases in six months, 117 commits in a year.
  • Framework 25/30: licence, default human approval, self-hosting, model choice and documentation site.

The score does not say whether the agent will succeed at your tasks: it measures how solid the project is. The full grid is on the method page.

Verdict

Twinny is a serious option; check the limitations below before granting it access.

Strengths

  • Very active development
  • Can run on your side: data under control
  • Free choice of model
  • Permissive licence (MIT)

Limitations

  • Tied to a single model provider (local models (Ollama, llama.cpp, vLLM…))

Frequently asked questions

Is Twinny free?

The software is free (MIT licence). You still pay for the model calls, unless you use a local model.

Is Twinny safe?

Our risk level: low. Give it minimum rights and approve irreversible actions.

Which models does Twinny use?

According to its documentation: local models (Ollama, llama.cpp, vLLM…).

Can Twinny be installed on your own server?

Yes, from the twinnydotdev/twinny repository. Data then stays with you, but security and updates are your job.

What are the alternatives to Twinny?

In the same family: OpenCode, Cline, OpenHands, and Codex.

Twinny or OpenCode: what is the difference?

Both belong to the coding agents family. Twinny has 3.7K stars against 221K for OpenCode. The right choice mostly depends on the access you are willing to give it.

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Neutrality. No affiliate links. No vendor pays to be reviewed, rated or ranked. Reviews are directed by François Chollet, neutral and factual, and every data point is dated and sourced. How we score