How much does FORGE cost?

FORGE has a free Community tier (1 repo, 1 project, 5 GB storage, 100k tokens/month shared, 1 concurrent agent, 30-day retention) — perfect to learn it on real code with no card required. A paid Pro subscription unlocks higher limits, multiple projects, team seats and longer retention; pricing is being finalized and will be announced before public launch, with locked-in early-adopter rates for the waitlist. Anthropic token usage is billed separately, directly by Anthropic via your own API Key.

Can I use my Claude Pro or Max subscription with FORGE?

No. Anthropic's terms of service explicitly forbid using consumer subscription credentials with third-party tools. You must use an Anthropic API Key instead. This is enforced by Anthropic's backend, and FORGE is designed to be compliant from day one.

Will FORGE be more expensive than my Claude Max plan?

FORGE has two cost components: a FORGE subscription (pricing announced soon) and your Anthropic token usage, billed pay-as-you-go directly by Anthropic via your API Key. Total cost vs. a Max plan depends on your usage — light workflows are often cheaper, intensive 24/7 agent loops can be more expensive. We'll publish FORGE tiers and a cost-comparison guide before public launch.

Can I share an API Key with my team?

You can, but we recommend creating separate API Keys per person or team for better cost tracking and security. Anthropic makes this easy in their Console. FORGE team plans (with seats and shared workspaces) are part of the upcoming pricing announcement.

Is FORGE officially endorsed by Anthropic?

FORGE is a community-built CLI tool that uses Anthropic's official Agent SDK. We follow Anthropic's terms of service strictly. While not officially part of Anthropic, we're built on official APIs and fully compliant.

v1 · alpha · powered by Claude Agent SDK

Build software.
Not prompts.

Teams ship inconsistent code when AI runs without context. FORGE is a CLI that gives your Claude session what it's missing: a Knowledge Base, six specialist agents, and validation gates between phases. Run `forge plan`, `forge spec`, `forge implement`. Ship code your reviewers don't have to babysit.

See the workflow

Free Community tier · Requires an Anthropic API Key for tokens

~/checkout$

The shift

From vibe coding to context engineering.

Prompts don't scale across a codebase. Agents don't either, on their own. What scales is structure — the team designs the information architecture, the AI executes within it.

beforevibe coding

× Prompt → paste → pray
× Context starts fresh every chat
× AI invents conventions you don't use
× Reviews catch issues the agent never saw
× Output quality drifts run-to-run

aftercontext engineering

✓ A Knowledge Base every agent reads
✓ Roles and scope, not catch-all prompts
✓ Conventions enforced by the structure
✓ Validation Loop L1–L4 before merge
✓ Confidence score ≥ 7 or auto-retry

The 5 pillars

F.O.R.G.E.

Five principles that turn an AI into a teammate. Each pillar is a programmatic contract — not a prose checklist.

F01

Foundation

A KNOWLEDGE_BASE.md every agent reads. Conventions, services, ADRs — one source of truth.

KNOWLEDGE_BASE.md

O02

Orchestrate

The Forge Lead decomposes features into tasks and coordinates six specialist subagents.

forge-lead → BA · SA · DBA · BE · FE · QA

R03

Refine

Quality gates with severity levels. TDD on every implementation. Code review before merge.

severity ∈ {blocker, major, minor}

G04

Generate

Reusable workflows that compose: forge plan → forge spec → forge implement.

$ forge {plan,spec,implement}

E05

Evaluate

Four validation levels — L1 syntax/compile, L2 unit tests, L3 integration, L4 full build — plus a confidence score from 1 to 10. Features don't merge below 7.

L1–L4 gates · exit 2 if score < 7

Workflow

Three commands. One thread.

The Forge Lead is present in all three phases — the connective tissue that holds the team together as agents come and go.

$ forge plan

output → Plan

User stories, acceptance criteria, technical decisions, task list.

BASAFL

$ forge spec

output → PRP

Complete implementation blueprint: schema, contracts, test strategy.

BASADBABEFEQAFL

$ forge implement

output → Code

Production code with TDD. L1–L4 validation. Confidence score ≥ 7.

BEFEQAFL

The team

Seven agents, one orchestrator.

Real engineering roles with clear scope. The Forge Lead coordinates delivery; specialists execute their craft. Each command activates only the agents that phase needs.

plan · BA + SA + Forge Leadspec · all 7 agentsimplement · BE + FE + QA + Forge Lead

Terminal experience

The IDE becomes optional.

An interactive cli renders agents, tool calls, and validation gates in real time. Three output modes: dashboard for humans, text for logs, JSON for piping.

forge specfeat/checkout-redesign · session 4f2aDASHBOARD

phase SPECelapsed 00:42tokens 27.4k

confidence8/10

┌─ AGENTS ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐

⠋forge-lead · orchestrator▰▱▱▱▱ Coordinating 6 subagents

✓ business-analyst · BAcomplete

✓ software-arch. · SAcomplete

⠋ database-arch. · DBA▰▱▱▱▱ Write(schema/orders.sql)

⠋ backend-engineer · BE▰▱▱▱▱ Read(src/payments/*.ts)

⠋ frontend-engineer · FE▰▱▱▱▱ Grep('useCheckout')

· quality-analyst · QAqueued

└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─ VALIDATION ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐

○L1compile○L2unit○L3integration○L4build

? help · m mode · q quit

Token efficiency

Reference, don't duplicate.

The Knowledge Base is the single source of truth. Lean agents reference it instead of repeating it — context spent on signal, not noise.

wrong~84k tokens

# Each agent prompt
You are a backend engineer.
Conventions:
  - Use tsoa for routes
  - Use kysely for SQL
  - Use vitest for tests
  - …92 more lines of context
Service map:
  - orders, billing, identity
  - …repeated for every agent
Style guide:
  - …pasted into every prompt

forge~9k tokens

# Backend Engineer
role: implement server-side
read: KNOWLEDGE_BASE.md
read: PRP.md (for this task)
output:
  - code with TDD
  - L1-L4 validation
  - confidence score ≥ 7

# That's the whole prompt.

Built on the Agent SDK.
Authenticated by your API key.

FORGE agents are real subagents spawned via the Claude Agent SDK — not prompts pasted into a chat. The CLI authenticates against the Anthropic API using your own API Key.

→ Requires an Anthropic API Key
→ Pay-as-you-go — only pay for tokens you use
→ Built on Anthropic's official Agent SDK

# Install
$ npm install -g @forge/cli

# Authenticate with your Anthropic API Key
$ forge login --api-key sk-ant-...
  ✓ api key validated · model: claude-opus-4-7

# Bootstrap your knowledge base
$ forge init
  ✓ KNOWLEDGE_BASE.md created
  ✓ 7 agents registered

Authentication

Getting Started with FORGE

FORGE requires an Anthropic API Key to operate. This is the only supported authentication method.

Why API Keys?

Compliance

Anthropic's terms of service require third-party tools to use API authentication, not consumer subscription credentials.

Sustainability

Pay-as-you-go pricing ensures transparent, predictable costs for your workflows.

Reliability

API authentication is the officially supported method, guaranteed to work long-term.

Step 1

Create an Anthropic API Key

Go to console.anthropic.com
Click API Keys in the left sidebar
Click Create Key
Copy your key (starts with sk-ant-…)
Keep it secure — never commit it to version control

Create your API Key →

Step 2

Set Up FORGE

# Install FORGE
$ npm install -g @forge/cli

# Login with your API Key
$ forge login --api-key <your-api-key>

# Or set as an environment variable
$ export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."
$ forge init

How billing works

→ Start free on the Community tier — no card required
→ Upgrade to Pro when you outgrow the free quotas (pricing announced soon)
→ Anthropic token usage is billed separately, directly by Anthropic via your API Key
→ FORGE never proxies your traffic — your API Key, your account, your invoice

Two clean line items in your bookkeeping: your FORGE plan + your Anthropic token spend.

See Anthropic's token pricing →

Already a Claude Pro or Max subscriber?

You'll still need an Anthropic API Key to use FORGE. Subscription credentials cannot be routed through third-party tools — Anthropic enforces this server-side. Create an API Key, set up a payment method in the Console, and you're ready to go. This is the only compliant way to run FORGE, and we take Anthropic's terms seriously to protect both you and the integrity of this project.

“FORGE is built with compliance and longevity in mind. We use Anthropic's official API authentication because it's the right, sustainable way to build. This ensures FORGE works reliably for years to come — not just until Anthropic closes the next loophole.”

Commitment

FORGE's commitment to compliance

FORGE uses Anthropic's official API authentication methods exclusively. We do not support or encourage:

× Using consumer subscription credentials (Free, Pro, Max plans)
× Workarounds to avoid API costs
× Reverse-engineered authentication flows

We believe sustainable AI tools are built on transparent, compliant practices. This benefits users, Anthropic, and the broader developer ecosystem.

Last updated: April 2026

Plans

Start free. Upgrade when you outgrow it.

Two ways in: a free Community tier to test FORGE on real code, and a Pro subscription for serious projects. Anthropic token usage is billed separately, directly by Anthropic via your own API Key.

CommunityBest to start

Freeforever

Perfect to test and learn FORGE on real code. Upgrade to Pro when you hit the limits.

1 repository
1 project
5 GB storage
100,000 tokens / month (shared quota)
1 concurrent agent
30-day data retention

No card required. You bring your own Anthropic API Key for token usage.

ProWaitlist

Coming soonsubscription

For teams and individuals shipping production code. Higher limits, multiple projects, longer retention.

Multiple repositories and projects
Higher storage and token quotas
Multiple concurrent agents
Extended data retention
Team plans with seats and shared workspaces
Locked-in early-adopter pricing for waitlist

Pricing announced before public launch. Early access subscribers get first look.

Both plans require an Anthropic API Key. You pay Anthropic directly for token consumption — FORGE never proxies your traffic.

FAQ

Common questions

Straight answers about authentication, costs, and how FORGE stays compliant.

FORGE has a free Community tier (1 repo, 1 project, 5 GB storage, 100k tokens/month shared, 1 concurrent agent, 30-day retention) — perfect to learn it on real code with no card required. A paid Pro subscription unlocks higher limits, multiple projects, team seats and longer retention; pricing is being finalized and will be announced before public launch, with locked-in early-adopter rates for the waitlist. Anthropic token usage is billed separately, directly by Anthropic via your own API Key.
No. Anthropic's terms of service explicitly forbid using consumer subscription credentials with third-party tools. You must use an Anthropic API Key instead. This is enforced by Anthropic's backend, and FORGE is designed to be compliant from day one.
FORGE has two cost components: a FORGE subscription (pricing announced soon) and your Anthropic token usage, billed pay-as-you-go directly by Anthropic via your API Key. Total cost vs. a Max plan depends on your usage — light workflows are often cheaper, intensive 24/7 agent loops can be more expensive. We'll publish FORGE tiers and a cost-comparison guide before public launch.
You can, but we recommend creating separate API Keys per person or team for better cost tracking and security. Anthropic makes this easy in their Console. FORGE team plans (with seats and shared workspaces) are part of the upcoming pricing announcement.
FORGE is a community-built CLI tool that uses Anthropic's official Agent SDK. We follow Anthropic's terms of service strictly. While not officially part of Anthropic, we're built on official APIs and fully compliant.

at a glance

specialist agents

L1–L4

validation gates

≥ 7

min. confidence to merge

commands · plan · spec · implement

field reports · coming soon

We're onboarding alpha teams now. If you ship production code with Claude, get on the list.

Early access

Stop pasting prompts.
Start engineering context.

Get notified when FORGE is open for early access. We'll send the install instructions and onboarding guide.

Free Community tier + your Anthropic API Key · Pro subscription pricing soon · v1 alpha

Build software.Not prompts.