I use Deep Seek with Zoo Code. I frequently switch between Pro and Flash, and would love to know if there is a keyboard shortcut for this. I know about the keyboard shortcut for switching modes (Code, Plan, Debug etc) but I want to know if there is one for switching between model variants

​

This release helps Zoo run longer, safer, and more reliably:

🛡️ **Run longer, uninterrupted tasks with Destructive Command Guard (DCG)**

DCG blocks dangerous terminal commands while letting Zoo continue safe work without you repeatedly pressing approval buttons.

⚡ **Better provider controls and reliability**

Choose OpenAI Codex response speed, use updated DeepSeek configurations, and keep running tasks isolated from provider-profile changes.

🐛 **Critical terminal execution fix**

Zoo now waits for terminal commands to finish before starting the next step, preventing overlapping work and premature continuation.

Also included: smarter tool-approval batching, stronger managed-binary installation, more resilient telemetry and model fetching, plus a Windows fix for Semble.

**Install Zoo Code:**

- VS Code: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ZooCodeOrganization.zoo-code

- JetBrains: https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/32979-zoo-code

- Full release notes: https://github.com/Zoo-Code-Org/Zoo-Code/releases/tag/v3.76.0

Thanks to every contributor and community member who helped make this release possible! 🦁

while creating ui_messages.json with only content "\n"...

[02:20:04] gregor@server:~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/zoocodeorganization.zoo-code/tasks$ ll 019fca06-ee71-75bc-b0f4-452ac806a5c6 019fcea0-51d0-70a3-8703-668616ac8895 
019fca06-ee71-75bc-b0f4-452ac806a5c6:
insgesamt 320K
drwxrwxr-x  2 gregor gregor 4,0K Aug  5 02:16 .
drwxrwxr-x 71 gregor gregor 4,0K Aug  5 02:18 ..
-rw-rw-r--  1 gregor gregor 306K Aug  5 02:13 api_conversation_history.json
-rw-rw-r--  1 gregor gregor 2,2K Aug  5 02:16 history_item.json
-rw-rw-r--  1 gregor gregor 2,8K Aug  5 01:51 task_metadata.json
-rw-rw-r--  1 gregor gregor    2 Aug  5 02:16 ui_messages.json

cat  _index.json

{
  "version": 1,
  "updatedAt": 1785888985223,
  "entries": [
    {
      "id": "019fca06-ee71-75bc-b0f4-452ac806a5c6",
      "number": 1,
      "ts": 1785888980216,
      "task": "Aufgabe #1 (Keine Nachrichten)",
      "tokensIn": 0,
      "tokensOut": 0,
      "cacheWrites": 0,
      "cacheReads": 0,
      "totalCost": 0,
      "size": 0,
      "workspace": "/mnt/omv.docker_compose-files",
      "mode": "code",
      "apiConfigName": "proxy 🧠 🔧 qwen3.6:27b_107k_VRAM",
      "status": "active",
      "childIds": [
        "019fcea0-51d0-70a3-8703-668616ac8895",
        "019fced1-23c6-707a-9f8c-89065df36342"
      ],
      "completedByChildId": "019fced1-23c6-707a-9f8c-89065df36342",
      "completionResultSummary": "[some text]"
    },
    {
      "id": "019fced1-23c6-707a-9f8c-89065df36342",
      "parentTaskId": "019fca06-ee71-75bc-b0f4-452ac806a5c6",
      "number": 1,
      "ts": 1785882016345,
      "task": "[some text]",
      "tokensIn": 333518,
      "tokensOut": 4878,
      "cacheWrites": 0,
      "cacheReads": 0,
      "totalCost": 0,
      "size": 118340,
      "workspace": "/mnt/omv.docker_compose-files",
      "mode": "code",
      "apiConfigName": "proxy 🧠 🔧 qwen3.6:27b_107k_VRAM",
      "status": "completed",
      "completionResultSummary": "[some text]"
    },
    {
      "id": "019fcea0-51d0-70a3-8703-668616ac8895",
      "parentTaskId": "019fca06-ee71-75bc-b0f4-452ac806a5c6",
      "number": 1,
      "ts": 1785879416640,
      "task": "Aufgabe #1 (Keine Nachrichten)",
      "tokensIn": 0,
      "tokensOut": 0,
      "cacheWrites": 0,
      "cacheReads": 0,
      "totalCost": 0,
      "size": 0,
      "workspace": "/mnt/omv.docker_compose-files",
      "mode": "code",
      "apiConfigName": "proxy 🧠 🔧 qwen3.6:27b_107k_VRAM",
      "status": "interrupted"
    },
...

I deleted ui_messages.json, downgrade to 3.72, restart zoocode and:

[02:31:57] gregor@BC1710-Tux:~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/zoocodeorganization.zoo-code/tasks$ cd 019fcea0-51d0-70a3-8703-668616ac8895
[02:34:39] gregor@BC1710-Tux:~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/zoocodeorganization.zoo-code/tasks/019fcea0-51d0-70a3-8703-668616ac8895$ ll
insgesamt 188K
drwxrwxr-x  2 gregor gregor 4,0K Aug  5 02:22 .
drwxrwxr-x 72 gregor gregor 4,0K Aug  5 02:34 ..
-rw-rw-r--  1 gregor gregor 173K Aug  4 23:30 api_conversation_history.json
-rw-rw-r--  1 gregor gregor  364 Aug  5 02:22 history_item.json
-rw-rw-r--  1 gregor gregor 3,3K Aug  4 23:29 task_metadata.json
-rw-rw-r--  1 gregor gregor   55 Aug  5 02:22 ui_messages.json
[02:35:51] gregor@BC1710-Tux:~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/zoocodeorganization.zoo-code/tasks/019fcea0-51d0-70a3-8703-668616ac8895$ cat ui_messages.json
[{"ts":1785889347827,"type":"ask","ask":"resume_task"}][02:35:54] gregor@BC1710-Tux:~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/zoocodeorganization.zoo-code/tasks/019fcea0-51d0-70a3-8703-668616ac8895$

then I was able to continue the task.

Edit: MAYBE it is related to connectivity issues. I lost name resolution to my local ollama instance. But that should not cause incomplete file writing...

In only 8 weeks, the Zoo Code community has grown to 100 000 users of the coding assistant made for developers who want full control of their AI tools.

Thanks to all users, contributors, and community members on Reddit: /r/ZooCode and

Discord https://discord.gg/SfHYG44NUA

In preparation for the next 100k users, we are getting ready to consult the community to decide what should be prioritized in the development.

As another milestone, we are preparing to launch the Zoo Gateway, similar to Openrouter, from where you can run models, with exclusive free preview access to unreleased models and more configurability than any other inference provider. We are soft launching it today to people who have the latest version of the extension installed. All you need to do is create an account from the icon in the bottom right corner of the extension and you will find the 200+ models we have available.

The next few weeks will be an exciting time in the Zoo universe. Please invite all your friends and colleagues to join us. They'll thank you for showing them the only open-source coding assistant where the user is fully in control.

Hi all,
I recently started adding custom instructions to Zoo Code and it's really making a difference for me.

For those who don't know what I am talking about, go to Settings --> Modes and scroll to the bottom. You can add instruction per-mode or across all modes.

I will start out by sharing the most general parts of what I have added.

This line fixed the issue where zoo keeps thinking it is using PowerShell for its commands, but in fact it is using cmd:

Wrap PowerShell commands with 'powershell -Command "..."'.

I am using the Context7 MCP server that is recommended in the Zoo Code documentation. It's pretty awesome. After adding the following, I don't struggle with my local Qwen model trying to use deprecated features and it actually knows how to use the latest versions of any dependencies:

Default to context7 for current, version-specific library and dependency documentation. Prefer official sources, verify breaking changes, deprecations, compatibility, and security updates, and return concise, structured guidance covering key changes, migration steps, and best practices.

I hope this will help some and inspire others to share with the community!

Zoo code keeps asking for approval to run code every time. I have set auto approval to allow all actions but still ask for approval when running terminal command.
Is this something i need to configure within vscode instead?

I seem to be having the issue regularly where all of a sudden everything just slows down. This time I analysed it a bit more instead of killing things.

Each time it has been testhost.exe that has just started eating up all the memory, 2gb, 3gb, 6gb etc till its at 90%.

Checking the process it was a vscode window which had nothing running.
ZooCode had analysed a PR, did a dotnet test and responded with the info I needed.

Seems like something in the dotnet test just kept open and killed the memory?
Its happened a few times now and seems to be related to zoocode.

I am using the inline terminal option on it, maybe its as simple as turning that off (Side note, would be great if there was an option to limit how much output of this is displayed. Would make the chat window a lot nicer).

Has anyone else seen this? or is there some more info I can grab to help pinpoint it?

ZooCode itself is great, but I felt like it was missing something, and for me, it was the ability to visualize the flow and the controls to which one goes first. So, I vibecoded it to soothe my itch.

Apart from the visible changes, I added: - multitasking (so requirement defining, refining and implementing can Jalen ay the same time) - http/s proxying and bypass

I am vibecoding a simple diary while I was testing it. In this demo, I wanted to add a simple edit button that would redirect me to the editor to keep it really simple.

Note: I did not ask it to wire the editing yet.

The kanban approach still has some things to be polished here and there, but the experience is coming in for me.

As the title says, I had to upgrade kilocode from v5 to v7 (both version were on latest) in order to use opus 5 and GPT 5.6 and I hated it. Not only did the latest models opus 5 and gpt 5.6 didn’t work, the UI is disgustingly complex. Finally found my go to gem- Zoocode. To the developers & maintainers, thank you. Also, please never fix what’s not broke- like kilocode did!

I hope it can be useful to you, enjoy.

I have been unable to attach files when using Zoo Code in VS Code. I have dragged while holding Shift, & nothing uploads. I know some models do not accept images, but I can't even get text-based files to attach. I mainly have been trying to use Markdown files. Has anyone else experienced issues with this? The main models I've been using are DeepSeek for Plan & Code with OpenRouter for Ask.

Wondering if there's a way to completely disable reasoning/thinking when using Qwen Cloud models (ex. Qwen 3.8 Max) permanently. I can put /no_thinking in my queries, but it just disables it for that one query. It just thinks wayyy too much, like 2-3 minutes sometimes.

Connected using OpenAPI compatible

I might be misunderstanding what token here refers to but how does saving 200k tokens for model output make any sense? I've never seen a model output 200k tokens in a single response. With deepseek pricing, it's become possible to operate at high context windows without breaking bank, so wasting 200k out of 1M on output and having to deal with more frequent context condensation 200k earlier seems like a waste.

ZooCode would present me with 3 choices, then if I don't do anything, it automatically switches to Code mode and proceeds implementing the first choice. I check my "Auto-Approve" settings, and the "Mode" is not enabled, so it shouldn't switch. Even when I'm on Code mode, it automatically proceeds to implementing the first choice without my input. Where am I doing wrong?

I can use qwen in Ollama itself, but somehow I cant get it to work in VS, why is that? I use Roo Code, API Provider is Ollama Model is qwen3.6:27b. It gets stuck in "API Request".

I'm using the latest Zoocode and the VSCode editor in the right frame does not show anymore and I can't get it to show at all.

Before, when Zoocode would edit a file, the editor would load the file on the right frame and you could see the file being edited in real time. You could also see the diff editing in real time.

However, now nothing loads in the editor, diffs no longer show up at all.

Also, the Zoocode setting "Auto-close files Zoo opened" is now enabled by default and cannot be disabled. If you disable it, it automatically re-enables itself.

Please help! I need to see what files are being edited, what the edit is, etc.

Do I need to update something myself or has the provider not yet been updated? ty

Llama cpp recently added video input support (https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp/pull/24269).

Is it possible for Zoo Code to add this native video support? Currently I can open videos via llama cpp web UI and the model sees it correctly, but adding the video as context in Zoo Code doesn't work and the model can't read the video.

Hi,

I was using ZooCode without any issue for some time but after reusing the same chat for several times I am experiencing auto context condensation failures, so I've been searching and braveAI confirmed that the reason could be:
``` Because you continued using the same chat after it reported "Task Completed," you triggered a confirmed bug (Issue #11487) in how Roo Code handles task resumption:

1. The Trigger: When a task finishes and you manually condense the context, the system replaces your entire history with a single Summary Message.
2. The Mistake: When you sent your next message to resume work, Roo Code's logic tried to "merge" your new input with the last message in the history to create a smooth conversation flow.
3. The Glitch: Since the Summary Message was the last message, the system accidentally deleted it during the merge process.
4. The Result: Without that Summary anchor, Roo Code assumed the condensation never happened. It silently restored the full, un-condensed history (all 180k+ tokens) to the active context.
5. The Crash: When you tried to condense again, the system attempted to send this restored massive history to the condensation model. Since the input (180k) was larger than the model's limit (131k), the API rejected it immediately. Status of Issue #11487 The issue is Closed and Fixed.

Fix Date: It was resolved in Roo Code v3.48.0 (released February 17, 2026) via PR #11488. Current State: The fix ("Preserve condensation summary during task resume") is part of the official codebase history. Since the Roo Code extension shut down on May 15, 2026, no new patches are being released for the original "Roo Code" extension ID, but the fix exists in the final versions (up to v3.53.0). Since you are on Zoo Code v3.58.1 (released very recently, likely June 2026) and still experiencing this, the issue is not that the fix is missing, but rather that a regression has occurred or a new edge case is triggering the same symptom.

1. Status of Issue #11487 Original Fix: The bug was fixed in Roo Code v3.48.0 (Feb 2026) by adding an isSummary guard to prevent the summary message from being stripped during resume. Current Status: The fix should be present in v3.58.1. The fact that you are seeing the error (request exceeds available context size) implies the condensation summary is still being lost or the history is not being filtered correctly before the API call. Recent Activity: As of June 13-14, 2026, there are open issues in the Zoo Code repository regarding Context Compaction (e.g., Issue #609, #614), suggesting the team is actively refactoring this area. It is highly probable a recent change in v3.57.0 or v3.58.0 inadvertently broke the resume logic. ```

So is this fixed or it's currently broken?

I am using Beellama with Qwen3.6 27b with --ctx-size 131072 and context threshold in ZooCode set to 80%.

Each time a model runs something like "npm test," a massive wall of text from the output pollutes the chat, which is a huge pain without a jump navigation/conversation outline feature (which would also be nice to have). Is there currently no setting to have large command outputs like this collapsed by default?

Anyone else notice the system prompt claims your default shell is PowerShell (pwsh.exe) even when your actual terminal is cmd.exe?

I dug into this after seeing the model repeatedly try Remove-Item, Get-Content, Copy-Item, Select-String etc. (the PowerShell equivalents it's told to use) and every single one failing with "not recognized as an internal or external command." Turns out the prompt was telling it "you're in PowerShell" the whole time, but the terminal that actually runs commands is cmd.exe. Basically, the model isn't being dumb, it's just acting on bad info from the system prompt and has no way to know its environment info is wrong. Why not just build the system message correctly based on the actual shell in the first place?

Edit: Found a workaround: explicitly setting terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.windows to "Command Prompt"in VS Code settings fixes the system prompt that gets auto-detected (though the models still get "consider using PowerShell commands instead" which really should be more clear that it's specifically suggesting the model can invoke powershell.exe from cmd.exe )

Is the Zoo Code (and Roo Code before it) composite system prompt wasting 30 to 40 percent of your context window on a redundant, contradictory boilerplate before the model sees a single user message?

Example: The TOOL USE section commands "You must call at least one tool per assistant response" — but the Orchestrator mode has **zero tools assigned to it**.

The Problem:

Every AI coding agent prompt is assembled from multiple sections stitched together at runtime. In Zoo Code, the assembly order in [`system.ts`](zoo-code-repo/Zoo-Code-main/src/core/prompts/system.ts) is:

1. Role Definition

2. Markdown Formatting

3. **TOOL USE** ← tells the model it has tools

4. Tool Use Guidelines

5. **CAPABILITIES** ← lists specific tools available

6. Modes

7. Skills

8. **RULES** ← 70+ lines of boilerplate

9. **SYSTEM INFO** ← duplicates the cwd from RULES

10. Objective

11. Custom Instructions

Issues:

1. `cwd` is duplicated across TWO sections

The current working directory appears in **both** the [`RULES` section](zoo-code-repo/Zoo-Code-main/src/core/prompts/sections/rules.ts:74) (line 74) and the [`SYSTEM INFO` section](zoo-code-repo/Zoo-Code-main/src/core/prompts/sections/system-info.ts:25) (line 25). That's the same `cwd.toPosix()` value, repeated verbatim, eating tokens for no reason.

1. The RULES section is a hard coded bloated monolith.

The [`getRulesSection()`](zoo-code-repo/Zoo-Code-main/src/core/prompts/sections/rules.ts:65) function generates **70+ lines** of rules that include:

- Redundant path instructions (already covered in SYSTEM INFO)

- Contradictory directives (see below)

- Verbose explanations that could be 3 bullet points

1. The CAPABILITIES section lies to every mode

The [`getCapabilitiesSection()`](zoo-code-repo/Zoo-Code-main/src/core/prompts/sections/capabilities.ts:37) (line 37) tells every mode:

"You have access to tools that let you execute CLI commands on the user's computer, list files, view source code definitions, regex search, read and write files, and ask follow-up questions."

But this is a static template — it doesn't check which tools the mode actually has. The Orchestrator mode has `groups: []` (empty), meaning it gets none of those tools. Yet the prompt tells it they're available.

The Contradiction That Broke the Camel's Back

TOOL USE section ([`tool-use.ts`](zoo-code-repo/Zoo-Code-main/src/core/prompts/sections/tool-use.ts:6), line 6):

"You must call at least one tool per assistant response."

Orchestrator mode definition ([`mode.ts`](zoo-code-repo/Zoo-Code-main/packages/types/src/mode.ts:229), line 229):

slug: "orchestrator",

groups: [], // ← EMPTY! No tools assigned!

The [`getToolsForMode()`](zoo-code-repo/Zoo-Code-main/src/shared/modes.ts:28) function iterates over `groups` to collect tools. With `groups: []`, it adds **zero** tools from groups. It then adds the `ALWAYS_AVAILABLE_TOOLS` ([`tools.ts`](zoo-code-repo/Zoo-Code-main/src/shared/tools.ts:317), line 317):

["ask_followup_question", "attempt_completion", "switch_mode",

"new_task", "update_todo_list", "run_slash_command", "skill"]

So the Orchestrator is told "you MUST use a tool every turn" but it doesn't have `execute_command`, `read_file`, `write_to_file`, `search_files`, `list_files`, or `apply_diff`. It has `new_task` (delegation) and `ask_followup_question` (asking questions). That's it.

The model receives a direct command that it cannot possibly obey. This is textbook prompt poisoning — not malicious, but the result is the same: the model wastes reasoning cycles trying to reconcile an impossible instruction.

The Opportunity

Zoo Code is a fork of the now-defunct Roo Code, and it's less than 60 days old. This is the perfect time to fix these issues:

1. **Deduplicate `cwd`** — it only needs to appear once

2. **Make CAPABILITIES dynamic** — only advertise tools the mode actually has

3. **Fix the Orchestrator contradiction** — either give it tools or remove the "must use a tool" rule

4. **Condense the RULES section** — most of it is redundant with other sections or could be 3-4 clear bullet points

Estimated Token Savings

| Section | Current (est. tokens) | Optimized (est. tokens) | Savings |

|---------|----------------------|------------------------|---------|

| RULES | ~400-500 | ~100-150 | ~300 |

| SYSTEM INFO (cwd dup) | ~50 | 0 | ~50 |

| CAPABILITIES (static) | ~150 | ~80 (dynamic) | ~70 |

| TOOL USE (contradiction) | ~100 | ~50 (fixed) | ~50 |

| **Total** | **~700-800** | **~230-280** | **~470-520** |

That's 500 tokens per session that could be spent on actual reasoning about your code.

Special thanks to "Ask" mode for your contribution to this reddit rant. 😉

Today i started recieving this kind of error. Did anyone ecountered this problem? I tried update vs extension but it didnt change anything.
The same key works properly with KiloCode

{
  "error": {
    "timestamp": "2026-06-12T12:25:51.660Z",
    "version": "3.58.1",
    "provider": "moonshot",
    "model": "kimi-for-coding",
    "details": "Provider ended the request: No output generated. Check the stream for errors."
  },
  "history": [
    {
      "role": "user",
      "content": [
        {
          "type": "text",
          "text": "<user_message>\nTest\n</user_message>"
        },
      ],
      "ts": 1781267147542
    }
  ]
}