Use a local and open source code assistant

Summary

Closed or cloud-based coding assistants can expose work to external services, so the article presents a local, open-source alternative built around OpenCode. OpenCode is an AI coding agent—not an LLM—that runs as a terminal interface, desktop application, or IDE extension and connects to models through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). The setup installs OpenCode, selects a local model runtime such as Ollama for AMD/NVIDIA GPUs or OpenVINO Model Server with INT4 Qwen3-8B for Intel integrated graphics, then configures opencode.jsonc and an editor plug-in. Examples cover Qwen3:14b with Ollama, Podman-based OpenVINO serving, and NetBeans integration; the resulting assistant can answer queries and edit files after permission is granted, although local inference may be slow and generated advice can be unreliable.

Takeaways

1. 1

   OpenCode is an interface and coding agent rather than an LLM, allowing users to select a model that may be local, organization-private, or subscription-based.

2. 2

   Ollama is presented for AMD and NVIDIA GPUs, while OpenVINO Model Server with INT4-compressed Qwen3-8B targets Intel integrated graphics.

3. 3

   The assistant can suggest code and edit files after permission is granted, but local inference on integrated graphics can be slow and generated responses can be unfounded.