Amp by Sourcegraph — Full Review of the Autonomous AI Coding Agent Replacing Cody

Feature	Details
Core Function	Autonomous AI agent for coding
Replaces	Cody (deprecated for individuals & teams)
Interface	Web UI (now), CLI & VS Code plugin (coming soon)
Agent Workflow	Thread-based, interactive planning + execution
Model Support	Claude 3, GPT-4, Mixtral, Gemini (via model selector)
Free Plan	Yes — includes Claude 3 Haiku with usage caps
Paid Plans	Credits for GPT-4, Claude 3 Opus, usage-based pricing
Best Use Cases	Refactoring, test writing, debugging, large project edits
Release Date	July 2025 (public beta)

Introduction

AI code assistants have rapidly evolved — from basic autocomplete to agents that understand entire projects and collaborate like a teammate. Amp by Sourcegraph is the newest and most advanced entry in that evolution. It’s not just an assistant. It’s an agent — able to plan, reason, and execute tasks across your codebase.

Launched in July 2025 as the official successor to Cody, Amp is a fully autonomous coding agent that works directly in the browser or CLI. It can read your repo, generate test files, refactor large modules, document code, and even spin up new components — all while reasoning step-by-step like a junior developer might.

Unlike GitHub Copilot, which passively suggests code completions, Amp actively collaborates with you. It uses thread-based interactions to confirm, explain, and revise actions before applying them. You stay in control — but Amp does the heavy lifting.

In this review, we’ll explore how Amp works, who it’s for, what makes it different, and how it compares to top competitors like Copilot, Cursor, and Replit Ghostwriter.

Quick Recap

Autonomous AI coding agent built by Sourcegraph
Replaces Cody for individual and team users
Understands and interacts with entire codebases
Writes, refactors, compiles, tests, and explains code
Runs threads with step-by-step agent reasoning
Works in browser, CLI, and IDE (VS Code support coming)
Supports Claude, GPT-4, Mixtral, and more

💻 Best For: Devs who want a proactive AI coding teammate that acts like a junior engineer

🚫 Avoid If: You prefer simple autocomplete or don’t want AI making large changes to your codebase

How Amp Works

Amp is built as a web-based, agentic coding environment that deeply understands your codebase. Once you connect your GitHub repo (public or private), Amp performs a structural analysis of your files — creating a code graph and vector embeddings of key functions, classes, and docs.

From there, you interact via a thread-style interface:

You describe a task, like “Add unit tests for all service files.”
Amp proposes a multi-step plan to complete the task.
It asks for approval before executing, giving you full transparency.
Amp runs the edits, generating code, writing test files, or modifying existing logic.
You can ask questions, view diffs, or undo changes at any time.

Amp isn’t just guessing — it builds an internal model of your project and navigates it intelligently. You can also switch between models (e.g., Claude 3 Haiku for free, Claude 3 Opus or GPT-4 with credits).

Amp supports natural language input, multi-step workflows, and model selection — making it flexible for many kinds of devs.

💡 Fun Fact: Amp uses Sourcegraph’s precise code indexing tools to “understand” large monorepos — making it usable even in enterprise-scale projects.

Key Features

🧠 Agentic Reasoning

Amp doesn’t just autocomplete — it makes plans, breaks them into subtasks, and executes intelligently. It shows you exactly what it’s doing and why.

💬 Threaded Collaboration

Each interaction lives in a thread. You can view Amp’s thought process, step back, or re-run previous requests without losing context.

⚡ Code-Aware Execution

Unlike generic LLMs, Amp is deeply code-aware. It understands file dependencies, import trees, test structures, and more.

🛠️ Multi-Model Support

Pick your preferred model: Claude 3 (Haiku/Opus), GPT-4, or open models via credits. Haiku is free by default.

🔄 Live Editing

Amp makes diffs visible before changes go live. You can review, approve, and rollback at any time.

🌐 IDE & CLI Integration (Coming Soon)

Currently web-first, but CLI and VS Code support is expected to launch shortly — expanding power for local workflows.

💡 Fun Fact: Amp’s internal testing agents can simulate coding behavior across 1,000s of lines and identify regressions faster than a junior engineer.

Real-World Use Cases

✅ Refactoring at Scale

Ask Amp to refactor your entire routing layer, rename deprecated classes, or simplify service logic across files. It creates a clear plan, previews diffs, and executes safely.

🧪 Test Writing

Amp can generate comprehensive unit and integration tests — including mocks, test runners, and stubs based on your code’s context.

📖 Documentation & Code Understanding

Ask it “What does this function do?” and it will generate human-readable explanations using inline code understanding.

🐛 Bug Discovery & Debugging

Prompt Amp to “Find and fix issues with pagination” — it’ll read the source, locate logic errors, and suggest or apply changes.

Pricing & Plans

🎁 Free Plan

Access to Claude 3 Haiku
Public repo access
Limited daily requests (~10–20 tasks)
Community Discord & updates

💳 Credit-Based Paid Plan

Pay-as-you-go credit packs
Unlock Claude 3 Opus, GPT-4, and other premium models
Prioritized support
Larger file/task handling

🏢 Enterprise (Private Beta)

For large teams with private repos
Self-hosted and SOC2 options
Dedicated onboarding and scaling support

Perplexity vs ChatGPT vs Bard

Feature	Amp	GitHub Copilot	Cursor
Core Approach	Agentic code execution	Autocomplete	LLM-injected code editor
Interface	Web (CLI/IDE soon)	IDE-native (VS Code, etc)	VS Code fork
Real-Time Planning	✅ Yes	❌ No	⚠️ Limited
Codebase Understanding	✅ Full repo graph/embedding	⚠️ File-limited context	✅ Strong, file-by-file
Diff/Approval Workflow	✅ Claude, GPT-4, etc.	❌ OpenAI only	✅ Claude, GPT-4, Mixtral
Ideal For	🧠 Code automation	✍️ Code suggestions	👨‍💻 Local devs, tinkerers

Pros & Cons

✅ Pros

True agent-based planning and reasoning
Model flexibility with Claude 3, GPT-4, Mixtral
Transparent, diff-based workflows
Free tier with no sign-up
Fast execution and task replay

❌ Cons

No full IDE integration yet (coming soon)
Requires GitHub repo connection
Task limits on free plan
Early-stage bugs in long threads

⭐ Ratings

Category	Score
Ease of Use	★★★★☆ (4.5)
Codebase Awareness	★★★★★ (5.0)
Execution Power	★★★★★ (5.0)
Transparency & Diffing	★★★★★ (5.0)
Value for Money	★★★★☆ (4.7)

Overall Rating: ★★★★★ (4.8/5)

Final Verdict: Should You Use Amp?

If you’re a developer tired of LLMs that only suggest snippets and can’t scale to project-wide edits, Amp is for you. It brings true intelligence, transparency, and control to automated code generation.

While early-stage in its UI, it already outperforms most “code assistants” with its autonomous planning and ability to think across files. It’s not here to replace you — it’s built to work with you.

For serious devs and engineers working across real projects — Amp is easily one of the most powerful free tools you can use today.

💡 More Fun Facts About Amp

Built by the same team behind Sourcegraph’s search engine
Uses their own embeddings + code graph models (not just LLM prompts)
Amp threads will soon support team collaboration
Claude 3 Haiku is included 100% free (no API key needed)

Try Amp for Free👉

FAQ

Is Amp free to use?

Yes! It includes free access to Claude 3 Haiku and core features.

What happened to Cody?

Cody was deprecated in July 2025. Amp is its official successor with more powerful agentic features.

Can I use Amp in VS Code?

Not yet, but a plugin is in active development. You can use the web version or CLI today.

Does it work with private repos?

Yes — connect via GitHub, or use the enterprise plan for self-hosting.

Can it really run tasks by itself?

Yes — with your approval. Amp creates a plan, shows diffs, and executes once approved.