The Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) launches a family of open-source coding agents in January 2026. The main agent, SERA, works fully local and costs nothing.
It challenges paid tools like Claude Code and GitHub Copilot. Developers now get strong AI help without monthly fees.
SERA Coding Agent: How SERA Works and Key Features
SERA acts like a junior developer. It reads code, edits files, runs tests, and fixes bugs. All work happens on your own computer. No data goes to the cloud. The agent uses Ollama and Qwen3-coder model. It needs good hardware to run fast.
Key features:
- Fully local – no cloud or fees
- Plans, edits, tests, and verifies code
- Runs on high-spec machines (e.g., M4 Max Mac with 128GB RAM)
- Apache 2.0 license – free and open-source
- Nearly 29,600 GitHub stars
SERA offers two models. The 8B version solves 29.4% of SWE-Bench problems. The 32B version solves 54.2% at 64K context length. It matches top paid models in speed.
Also read about: Claude’s Memory Upgrade Made Smarter by Anthropic
Performance, Privacy, and Benefits
Tests show good results on strong computers. Response times compete with cloud tools. A simple WordPress plugin took five tries to work perfectly. Users give detailed prompts for better accuracy. Corrections improve over rounds.
Benefits:
- Zero cost – no $100–$200 monthly fees
- Full privacy – code stays on your device
- No usage limits
- Great for sensitive or private codebases
SERA targets businesses and developers who need secure AI. It beats paid tools in cost and privacy. The release grows fast. More users test and improve it daily.
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