# coop — AI Coding Tool Review & Pricing

> coop is a Rust CLI tool that manages isolated, disposable virtual machines for running AI coding agents such as Claude Code, Codex, and Grok Build. It allows these agents to have full access to tools like Docker and git within an isolated guest environment, protecting the host machine from potential risks.

Source: https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/coop · Updated Nov 1, 2026 · Category: Developer Productivity & Workflow · Published by dosa.dev

## At a glance

- **Tool**: coop
- **Company**: Trail of Bits
- **Category**: [Developer Productivity & Workflow](https://ai.dosa.dev/category/productivity)
- **Pricing model**: Open Source
- **Official website**: https://github.com/trailofbits/coop

## Key features

- Disposable, isolated VM environments using Firecracker (Linux) or Lima (macOS)
- Host-side credential proxying to keep API keys out of the untrusted guest
- Support for workspace synchronization via copy or mount transport
- CLI-driven VM lifecycle management including setup, start, stop, and destroy
- Configurable guest dotfiles and post-creation commands

## Pricing

**Model**: Open Source

Distributed as open-source software under the Apache License 2.0.

## Who it is for

- **Best for**: Running autonomous AI coding agents that require broad system access while maintaining a strong security boundary for the host machine.
- **Not ideal for**: Use cases requiring a permanent, long-running persistent development environment, as coop focuses on disposable, short-lived VMs.

## Verdict

An essential security utility for power users of AI coding agents who need to balance agent autonomy with host-level isolation.

## Recent updates

Recent releases (v0.5.4) added support for Codex plugin marketplaces and reinforced the claude-review workflow against prompt injection. Previous updates introduced a secure credential-injecting proxy to prevent guest agents from accessing host API keys.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is coop free?

Yes - coop is Open Source. Distributed as open-source software under the Apache License 2.0.

### Is coop open source?

Yes - coop is open source. Distributed as open-source software under the Apache License 2.0.

### Who is coop best for?

Running autonomous AI coding agents that require broad system access while maintaining a strong security boundary for the host machine.

### Who is coop not ideal for?

Use cases requiring a permanent, long-running persistent development environment, as coop focuses on disposable, short-lived VMs.

### What are the best coop alternatives?

The closest coop alternatives on ai.dosa.dev are Pieces for Developers, agenttrace, Vibe Kanban - all listed under Developer Productivity & Workflow.

### Who makes coop?

coop is developed by Trail of Bits. It is listed in the Developer Productivity & Workflow category on ai.dosa.dev.

## Top alternatives

- [Pieces for Developers](https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/pieces-for-developers) (Paid) — Developers who work across multiple tools, IDEs, and environments and need to maintain a persistent, searchable history of code snippets, research, and workflow context.
- [agenttrace](https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/agenttrace) (Open Source) — Developers and teams needing to monitor and debug the efficiency, cost, and health of AI coding agents across multiple workflows.
- [Vibe Kanban](https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/vibe-kanban) (Open Source) — Software engineers who use multiple AI coding agents and need a structured environment to manage, plan, and review their output in parallel.
- [ai-memory](https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/ai-memory) (Open Source) — Developers or teams using multiple AI coding agents who need consistent context and project history persistence across different tools, machines, and sessions.
- [smolvm](https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/smolvm) (Open Source) — Running isolated coding agent sandboxes, untrusted code, and persistent local development environments that require a real Linux kernel boundary.
- [SPACE](https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/space) (Open Source) — Teams needing to self-host a robust, secure, and isolated sandbox environment for long-running autonomous AI agents on their own infrastructure.
- Full alternatives guide: https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/coop/alternatives