# TrueForge
TrueForge is an open-source (MIT), vendor-neutral [[AI Agent Harness]] from TrueFoundry, launched 19 August 2026 as a direct alternative to [[Claude Managed Agents]]. Same job — build, run, debug, and govern production agents — but self-hostable, model-agnostic, and pitched on cost: 30% to 75% cheaper per completed task in TrueFoundry's own benchmark.
TrueFoundry is a San Francisco enterprise AI infrastructure startup (founded 2021, ex-Meta engineers). TrueForge ships on GitHub and PyPI.
## What's in the box
- 40+ built-in tools, plus any [[Model Context Protocol (MCP)|MCP]] server
- Sandboxed execution
- Human-in-the-loop approvals
- Automatic context compaction
- Generative UI streaming
- Web search via Tavily
- Works with any model, not just Claude
## The cost claim
On a 14-task DevRev Enterprise-Bench run (TrueFoundry's numbers — treat accordingly):
| Setup | Avg cost per run |
|---|---|
| Claude Managed Agents (Opus 4.8) | $11.80 |
| TrueForge (Opus 4.8) | $8.50 (~30% less) |
| TrueForge (GLM-5.2) | $2.90 (~75% less), similar completion rate |
The 75% figure comes from swapping the model, not from the harness itself. The honest comparison is the 30% line; the rest is the freedom to run cheaper models, which is the actual point of vendor neutrality.
## Naming gotcha
trueforge.com is an unrelated industrial machinery broker. The project lives on GitHub and truefoundry.com.
## References
- [TrueForge announcement](https://www.truefoundry.com/blog/engineering/trueforge-open-source-agent-harness/)
- [Benchmark vs Claude Managed Agents](https://www.truefoundry.com/blog/engineering/trueforge-vs-claude-managed-agents-benchmark/)
- [The New Stack coverage](https://thenewstack.io/truefoundry-trueforge-claude-managed-agents/)
- [InfoWorld coverage](https://www.infoworld.com/article/4211969/truefoundry-debuts-open-source-ai-agent-harness-claiming-up-to-75-lower-costs.html)
- [VentureBeat coverage](https://venturebeat.com/orchestration/truefoundrys-open-source-ai-agent-harness-trueforge-boasts-30-75-cheaper-task-completion-than-claude-managed-agents)
## Related
- [[Claude Managed Agents]] — the hosted service it competes with
- [[AI Agent Harness]] — the category
- [[Model Context Protocol (MCP)]]
- [[AI Agents]]
- [[Anthropic]]