# Firstmate — AI Coding Tool Review & Pricing

> Firstmate is an agent distro that functions as a command layer to coordinate multiple autonomous coding agents across parallel tasks. It allows a single user, acting as captain, to delegate work to a crew of agents operating in isolated git worktrees and session backends, providing outcomes like completed PRs or investigation reports.

Source: https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/firstmate · Updated Nov 1, 2026 · Category: Autonomous & Async Agents · Published by dosa.dev

## At a glance

- **Tool**: Firstmate
- **Company**: Kun Chen
- **Category**: [Autonomous & Async Agents](https://ai.dosa.dev/category/async-agents)
- **Pricing model**: Open Source
- **Official website**: https://github.com/kunchenguid/firstmate

## Key features

- Unified liaison for multiple agent sessions
- Event-driven, zero-token supervision
- Disposable git worktrees for isolated parallel task execution
- Support for persistent secondary agents (secondmates)
- Durable, restart-proof state management

## Pricing

**Model**: Open Source

Firstmate is free and open-source under the MIT license, though users are responsible for the API costs and subscription fees associated with their chosen agent harnesses.

## Who it is for

- **Best for**: Developers who need to manage multiple complex, parallel coding tasks or project audits without manual session juggling.
- **Not ideal for**: Users seeking a simple one-click GUI application, model-agnostic tools, or those who do not use verified terminal-based coding harnesses.

## Verdict

A robust, highly disciplined orchestration layer that transforms general-purpose coding agents into a coordinated, supervised crew, ideal for power users who prioritize structural isolation and automated project management.

## Recent updates

On 2026-10-23, the project announced full support for the Rex runtime backend.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Firstmate free?

Yes - Firstmate is Open Source. Firstmate is free and open-source under the MIT license, though users are responsible for the API costs and subscription fees associated with their chosen agent harnesses.

### Is Firstmate open source?

Yes - Firstmate is open source. Firstmate is free and open-source under the MIT license, though users are responsible for the API costs and subscription fees associated with their chosen agent harnesses.

### Who is Firstmate best for?

Developers who need to manage multiple complex, parallel coding tasks or project audits without manual session juggling.

### Who is Firstmate not ideal for?

Users seeking a simple one-click GUI application, model-agnostic tools, or those who do not use verified terminal-based coding harnesses.

### What are the best Firstmate alternatives?

The closest Firstmate alternatives on ai.dosa.dev are Jules by Google, OpenHands, SWE-agent - all listed under Autonomous & Async Agents.

### Who makes Firstmate?

Firstmate is developed by Kun Chen. It is listed in the Autonomous & Async Agents category on ai.dosa.dev.

## Top alternatives

- [Jules by Google](https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/jules) (Freemium) — Developers who want to offload repetitive, non-urgent tasks like dependency version bumps, lint fixes, test scaffolding, and resolving CI failures in GitHub-hosted projects.
- [OpenHands](https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/openhands) (Freemium) — Individual developers and software teams looking to automate repetitive coding tasks, repository maintenance, and issue resolution through autonomous agents.
- [SWE-agent](https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/swe-agent) (Open Source) — Autonomous resolution of software engineering issues in real GitHub repositories and performing custom developer tasks using language models.
- [mini-swe-agent](https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/mini-swe-agent) (Open Source) — Researchers and engineers who want a small, transparent coding agent baseline for benchmarks, fine-tuning or sandboxed batch runs, and developers who want a simple bash-only agent in the terminal.
- [Sweep](https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/sweep) (Freemium) — Individual developers and teams working primarily in JetBrains IDEs who want a native-feeling assistant for routine coding tasks, bug fixes, and autocompletions.
- [Ellipsis](https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/ellipsis) (Freemium) — Teams looking to centralize and govern AI coding agents across repositories with secure, non-personal credentials and persistent cloud-based execution.
- Full alternatives guide: https://ai.dosa.dev/tools/firstmate/alternatives