Goose vs Roo Code | agentconfig.ing

Goose vs Roo CodeComparisonUpdated 2026-03-16

SUMMARY

Goose (CLI) uses text configuration while Roo Code (IDE) uses markdown. They differ on 4 of 11 compared features. Both tools provide AI-assisted development but take different approaches to project configuration.

FEATURE COMPARISON

Feature	Goose	Roo Code	Notes
Config format	text	markdown
Hierarchy support	✓	✗	Whether config files can be placed at multiple directory levels
Global config	✓	✗	User-wide configuration outside any project
Project config	✓	✓
Subdirectory scoping	✗	✗	Config files in subdirectories that apply only to that subtree
File inclusion / imports	✗	✗	Ability to include or reference other files from config
Ignore file	✗	✗
IDE integration	CLI	✓
Schema / structure	Free-form (Markdown)	Free-form (Markdown)	Whether config uses structured schema or free-form content
Git committed	✓	✓	Whether primary config files are intended to be version-controlled
Encoding	UTF-8	UTF-8

FILE MAPPING

Purpose	Goose	Roo Code
Settings / configuration	config.yaml	.roomodes

SIDE-BY-SIDE CODE SAMPLES

Goose

.goosehints

text

This is a Ruby on Rails 7.2 application with Hotwire/Turbo.

Database: PostgreSQL 16
Ruby version: 3.3.x
Node: 22.x (for asset pipeline)

Key commands:
- bin/rails server — start dev server
- bin/rails test — run test suite
- bin/rails db:migrate — run migrations

Conventions:
- Use ViewComponents for reusable UI
- Stimulus controllers for JS behavior
- System tests with Capybara + Playwright
- RuboCop for linting (run: bundle exec rubocop)

Roo Code

.roo/rules/*.md

markdown

# Code Standards

## TypeScript
- Enable strict mode in all tsconfig files
- No `any` types — use `unknown` and narrow
- Prefer interfaces over type aliases for object shapes

## React
- Functional components only
- Use custom hooks for shared stateful logic
- Colocate component, styles, and tests

## Git
- Conventional commits (feat:, fix:, chore:, etc.)
- Keep commits atomic and focused
- Squash merge feature branches

KEY DIFFERENCES

1. Config format

Goose: text. Roo Code: markdown.

2. Hierarchy support

Goose: Supported. Roo Code: Not supported.

3. Global config

Goose: Supported. Roo Code: Not supported.

4. IDE integration

Goose: CLI. Roo Code: Supported.

WHICH SHOULD I USE?

Recommendation

Choose based on your IDE/CLI preference. If you use Goose, configure config.yaml. If you use Roo Code, configure .roo/rules/*.md. Many projects include config files for multiple tools so each team member can use their preferred editor.

PORTABILITY TIP

sync-instructions.sh

bash

# Maintain a single source of truth:
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md CLAUDE.md
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md .cursorrules
cp AI-INSTRUCTIONS.md AGENTS.md