Codebuff

Codebuff is a terminal coding agent from Codebuff AI (Y Combinator). Rechecked 2026-08-25: codebuff.com still installs with npm install -g codebuff. codebuff.com/pricing sells $100 / month (1× usage), $200 / month (2.5×), $500 / month (7×), plus pay-as-you-go at 1¢ per credit with no subscription. The GitHub org now points at CodebuffAI/freebuff (10,722 stars, Apache-2.0, homepage freebuff.com). Treat hosted Codebuff seats and the freebuff repo as related but not the same SKU. Do not paste a leftover $20 or $50 Cursor-class row.

Compare Claude Code if you wanted Anthropic's CLI, Cursor if you wanted an IDE seat, and Cline if you wanted a $0 individual agent plus BYOK.

Key Features

• Terminal agent: indexes the repo, then makes multi-file edits from one prompt. Homepage claims a 2-second index. Treat that as marketing, not an audited benchmark.
• BuffBench: first-party eval page on GitHub under evals. Do not freeze "100+ seconds faster than Claude Code" as a contract.
• Simple install: Node plus npm install -g codebuff. No special IDE required.
• Credits: usage-based. Simple queries cost less than large refactors. The pricing page says you see credits per task.

Limitation: we did not log into a billing portal, so included-credit counts inside the $100 / $200 / $500 rows are only the multipliers printed on the public page. The freebuff Apache repo is not a promise that hosted Codebuff is free.

Use Cases

• People who want a paid terminal agent and will budget $100+ or 1¢ credits.
• People comparing CLI agents to Cursor who will stay in the terminal.
• People who saw freebuff and need to know that is the open repo, not the $100 seat.

Pricing

Public table on 2026-08-25 from codebuff.com/pricing.

If a leftover blog still prints $20 or $50, treat this table as the source.

Getting Started

1. Install Node, then npm install -g codebuff.
2. Run codebuff in a repo and complete login.
3. Start with a small edit so you can see the credit burn before a large refactor.
4. Recheck codebuff.com/pricing before you budget.

First-party start: codebuff.com and codebuff.com/pricing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a $20 seat?

Not on the public page we opened. The cheapest printed subscription is $100 / month, or 1¢ credits.

Same as Cursor?

No. Cursor is an IDE. This page is the Codebuff terminal agent.

Is freebuff the same product?

It is the open GitHub repo the org now points at. Hosted Codebuff still sells $100 / $200 / $500.

Alternatives

• Claude Code: Anthropic CLI / IDE / desktop agent.
• Cursor: local IDE seat.
• Cline: $0 individual agent plus BYOK.

Tips

1. Quote $100 / $200 / $500 and 1¢/credit from the pricing page.
2. Do not treat BuffBench marketing numbers as a contract.
3. Watch credits on the first large refactor.

Conclusion

Codebuff is a YC terminal agent with a public $100 / $200 / $500 plus 1¢ table, not a leftover $20 Cursor twin. Start at codebuff.com, then decide whether Claude Code already covers the seat you need.