I built Gokin after hitting Claude Code's usage limits and realizing I didn't want to trust third-party CLIs (especially from Chinese AI companies) with direct access to my codebase. It's a Go-based CLI assistant designed to handle the heavy lifting of initial development while keeping sensitive code local.
Key differentiators:
• Cost: GLM-4 backend runs ~$3/month vs Claude Code's ~$100/month. Gemini Flash has a generous free tier.
• Security-first: All code stays local. Automatic secret redaction, sandboxed bash execution, and no telemetry.
• Hybrid workflow: Use Gokin for scaffolding/bulk operations → Claude Code for polish/architectural refinement.
• Rich tooling: Semantic code search (embeddings), multi-agent planning (Beam/MCTS/A*), MCP server integration, Git workflow, and undo/redo for file operations.
• Provider-agnostic: Works with Gemini 3 Flash/Pro (free tier) or GLM-4.7 (~$3/mo).
Tradeoffs: Chinese models (GLM) still lag behind frontier models for complex reasoning—but for scaffolding, refactoring, and repetitive tasks, they're surprisingly capable. Gemini Flash closes much of the gap with a free tier.
Built entirely in Go with a TUI (Bubble Tea). MIT licensed.
Key differentiators: • Cost: GLM-4 backend runs ~$3/month vs Claude Code's ~$100/month. Gemini Flash has a generous free tier. • Security-first: All code stays local. Automatic secret redaction, sandboxed bash execution, and no telemetry. • Hybrid workflow: Use Gokin for scaffolding/bulk operations → Claude Code for polish/architectural refinement. • Rich tooling: Semantic code search (embeddings), multi-agent planning (Beam/MCTS/A*), MCP server integration, Git workflow, and undo/redo for file operations. • Provider-agnostic: Works with Gemini 3 Flash/Pro (free tier) or GLM-4.7 (~$3/mo).
Tradeoffs: Chinese models (GLM) still lag behind frontier models for complex reasoning—but for scaffolding, refactoring, and repetitive tasks, they're surprisingly capable. Gemini Flash closes much of the gap with a free tier. Built entirely in Go with a TUI (Bubble Tea). MIT licensed.
GitHub: https://github.com/ginkida/gokin
Docs include honest cost comparisons and security rationale.
Would love feedback from fellow developers who've wrestled with AI assistant costs or security concerns.