Local-First Architecture

Goose runs entirely on your machine. Unlike cloud-based agents that send your code to remote servers, Goose processes everything locally. Your code, your data, and your API keys never leave your system. This lesson covers the privacy model, offline capabilities, and the tradeoffs of local-first architecture.

What you'll learn

• Goose runs locally: your code and data never leave your machine
• API calls go directly from your machine to the model provider, not through Goose servers
• Offline mode works for tasks that don't require API calls (file operations, local commands)

Build it

Goose's local-first design means:

• The binary runs on your machine
• Configuration and API keys are stored locally
• MCP servers run as local processes or connect to your own infrastructure
• No telemetry or data collection to remote servers

What goes wrong

Mistake	How you notice it	The fix
API key stored insecurely	Keys in plain text on disk	Use environment variables or a secret manager. Goose reads from standard env vars
Local processing uses significant resources	High CPU/memory during complex tasks	Goose is Rust-based and efficient, but large MCP server ecosystems can consume resources

Next: Custom Extensions & Automation