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DorkOS vs Amp

Amp vs DorkOS, in plain words: what each one is for, and how to pick.

The short answer

Amp sells an unusual bargain: you stop choosing. It picks between the frontier models for you, decides how hard to think about a problem, and adds no mark-up to what those models cost. On privacy it is more careful than most, saying plainly that it does not train on your data unless you switch that on. Two things separate it from DorkOS. It runs its own agent only, so Claude Code and Codex stay outside. And it is built around its own servers, where you sign in and your history lives.

Made by
Amp Frontier
What it is
Coding agent that picks the model for you
Price
No free plan. Megawatt is $20 a month and Gigawatt $200, and each includes that much agent use before you pay what the model makers charge. Students and teachers pay $10.
Source code
Amp itself is closed. The pieces around it are open: its Neovim plugin, its Homebrew tap, and the shared collections of skills and tools published beside it.
See Amp for yourself

Which one is for you

Use DorkOS if

  • you want every coding agent you run on one screen, not one company’s
  • you want to keep paying your own Claude or ChatGPT plan, with nothing added on top
  • you want agents that can book repeating work, but only with your say-so
  • you want agents that can hand work to each other instead of working alone
  • you want a limit that stops your agents answering each other all night
  • you want your projects and history to stay on your own computer
  • you want to read the code, run it yourself, and never make an account
  • you want to say yes or no from your phone or your chat app, not just your desk
  • you want one list of everything waiting on you, instead of hunting through tabs
  • you want a tool that costs nothing, so you only pay for the model plan you already have

Use Amp if

  • you would rather not choose a model, because Amp picks between the frontier ones and adds no mark-up
  • you care where your code goes: Amp says it does not train on your data unless you turn that on
  • you want long jobs off your own laptop, on machines they run, with hours included in the price
  • you want to hand a colleague the whole transcript of a piece of work as a link

Side by side

Many agent tools, one placeCan you run more than one company’s coding agent from the same screen?DorkOSYesClaude Code, Codex, and OpenCode, all on one screenEvery Agent, One PlaceSession DurabilityMore on thisAmpNoAmp runs its own agent and picks between several companies’ models for you. It does not start Claude Code, Codex or OpenCode.
Runs on the plans you already pay forDoes it work through the plans you already pay for, or sell you the model use again?DorkOSYesYour own Claude, ChatGPT and OpenCode sign-ins do the work, so DorkOS adds nothing to your bill. You can send one agent, or one chat, to a different Claude account.Every Agent, One PlaceClaude AccountsAmpPartlyAmp sells you the agent use, and there is no free plan. You can link your own ChatGPT subscription, or bring an Anthropic key, instead of spending its credits.Where this comes from
Work that runs on a scheduleCan you hand over a job that runs at a set time without you sitting there?DorkOSYesSchedule agents to run on their own, so they work while you don'tTasks SchedulerNotificationsMore on thisAmpYesYes, in an unusual shape: the agent sets its own schedule and wakes itself up later, carrying on with the context it already had.Where this comes from
Agents that book their own workCan an agent set up a repeating job, with you approving it first?DorkOSYesAn agent has to ask before it books itself a repeating jobSchedule ApprovalsTasks SchedulerControl CenterMore on thisAmpNoIts agent arranges to wake itself up later, and does not ask you first.
Agents that work togetherCan several agents find each other and pass work along?DorkOSYesYour agents can message you, and each other, wherever you already chatRelay MessagingRoomsAgent DiscoveryMore on thisAmpPartlyIt starts its own helper agents inside a piece of work, and can ask a stronger model for a second opinion. Sharing a thread is for people, not agents: nothing hands work from one agent to another.Where this comes from
Limits on agents talking to agentsWhen your agents talk to each other, can you stop the bill running away?DorkOSYesAgents talk to each other without running up a billReply LimitsControl CenterRoomsMore on thisAmpNoIts helper agents run inside one piece of work. We found no setting capping what they may spend between them.
Runs on your machineDoes the tool run on your own computer, with your work staying there?DorkOSYesDorkOS runs on your own machine: your projects, your sessions and your history stay there, under your own accounts.CLIWorkspacesRemote TunnelAmpPartlyThe command-line tool runs on your machine, but you sign in to Amp, your threads are kept on their servers, and its remote machines run work somewhere else entirely.Where this comes from
Open, and yours to runCan you read the source, run it yourself, and skip making an account?DorkOSYesFree and open source under the MIT licence. It runs on your own machine, and there is no DorkOS account to make.CLIRemote TunnelWorkspacesAmpNoAmp itself is closed, and you sign in to use it.
Where you can use itCan you open your agents and watch them work from any screen you are near?DorkOSYesReal work from your phone, not just a screen to watchDorkOS on Your PhoneChat InterfaceNotificationsAmpYesYes: the terminal, the web, the web on your phone, Slack, and a voice mode you can hold a conversation with. There is no separate phone app to install.Where this comes from
Saying yes from anywhereWhen an agent stops to ask permission, can you answer from wherever you are?DorkOSYesAn agent asks before it does something you cannot take backAction ApprovalsTool ApprovalDorkOS on Your PhoneTelegram AdapterMore on thisAmpPartlyIt reaches you in Slack and in a browser on your phone, so a question need not wait for your desk.Where this comes from
One list of what needs youIs there one place holding everything waiting on your answer?DorkOSYesOne list of everything waiting on you, and everything that happenedInboxNotificationsAlerts That Reach YouMore on thisAmpNoIts threads list what you have worked on. There is no inbox of things waiting on your answer.
Adding your own toolsCan you add your own tools and share the setup with other people?DorkOSYesInstall a working agent, plugin, or skill in one commandMarketplaceMCP ServerConnectionsMore on thisAmpYesYes. Outside tools connect both on your machine and over the web, there is a plugin system for adding tools, commands and skills, and a kit for building Amp into your own programs.Where this comes from
Price and opennessWhat does the tool itself cost, and can you read its source code?DorkOSYesFree and open source. You pay only for the model plan your agents already use.CLIAmpNoThere is no free plan on their pricing page: the cheapest is $20 a month, students and teachers pay $10, and the code is closed.

Many agent tools, one place

DorkOSYes

Each chat picks its own agent tool. Start a job on Claude Code, run the next on Codex, keep a third on OpenCode, without leaving the tab or changing any setup. All three land in one list, and they keep running for as long as DorkOS does.

AmpNo

The choice on offer is which model thinks, not whose agent works, and Amp would rather make that choice than hand it to you. You can point your own ChatGPT subscription at it for extra allowance, which is about billing rather than one agent running another. If your week already mixes Claude Code and Codex, those stay separate programs with separate histories.

Back to the table

Work that runs on a schedule

DorkOSYes

You write the job once and say when it runs: every night, every Monday, every hour. DorkOS starts the agent at that time on your own machine, then messages you when it finishes or needs a decision. Remembering is not your job.

AmpYes

Most schedulers start a job from nothing at a set time. Amp’s agent instead arranges to be woken, and comes back knowing what it was in the middle of, which suits keeping an eye on something more than running a nightly chore. Because its remote machines do the work, none of it needs your laptop open. What we did not find is a plain place to write "every night at two" yourself.

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Agents that book their own work

DorkOSYes

An agent can propose a repeating job. It never starts one on its own. You get a card naming the agent, quoting its reason, and showing the next three run times and the exact instructions. One button runs it once, supervised, before you agree to it forever.

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Agents that work together

DorkOSYes

Your agents share rooms the way people share a group chat. They see each other, answer each other, and hand a job along. You set how often they may reply, per room, so a busy channel never turns into a runaway bill.

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Limits on agents talking to agents

DorkOSYes

Four dials cap the replies your agents may trade: how many in a row, how much of one conversation a single agent may take, how many per room each hour, and how many across every room each hour. Set them once, or room by room. No room can skip the dial that covers everything.

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Saying yes from anywhere

DorkOSYes

An agent that needs permission asks, and the question follows you: the browser on your phone, a Telegram or Slack message, or a notification banner on your Mac. Only the person you name gets asked, so it is never broadcast to every chat you have connected.

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One list of what needs you

DorkOSYes

One bell holds every question, approval and finished run, with the things waiting on you above the things that merely happened. What you have read stays read on your other devices. A question left unanswered for the few minutes you chose rings your phone.

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Adding your own tools

DorkOSYes

DorkOS does not replace a marketplace of editor add-ons built up over years. It adds the other half: package a working agent, with its instructions and its tools, and hand the whole thing to someone else in one command. Signing those tools in to outside services is the part still finding its feet.

Back to the table

Questions people ask

Is Amp free?
Not today. Their pricing page has no free plan. Megawatt is $20 a month, Gigawatt is $200, and students and teachers pay $10. There was a free allowance in the past and it has been cut back since.
Is Amp still part of Sourcegraph?
No. Amp spun out of Sourcegraph into its own company at the end of 2025. Write-ups calling it Sourcegraph’s agent are out of date.
Can I use the plan I already pay for?
Partly. Amp sells you its own agent use, and there is no free plan. You can link your own ChatGPT subscription, or bring an Anthropic key, instead of spending Amp credits.
Why would I use DorkOS instead?
Because you want the agents you already have, on the machine in front of you. DorkOS starts the Claude Code, Codex or OpenCode already signed in, keeps the work local, and costs nothing.

Dig into the DorkOS side

How we checked

We last checked these facts on August 24, 2026. Tools in this space change fast. If something is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.

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Get started.

Terminal

~ $ curl -fsSL https://dorkos.ai/install | bash

Run in your terminal

Checks Node.js, installs via npm, offers setup wizard.

Desktop app for macOS
Other ways to install
  • Windows download the alpha installer, or use the terminal today.
  • Linux — install with the one-liner or npm; the web app runs the same everywhere.
  • Server — running DorkOS somewhere other than your own machine? Run it in Docker.
Open SourceMIT LicensedRuns on Your Machine

One person. Ten agents. Ship around the clock.