If you've ever tried to roll out AI coding agents across a team, you've probably run into the same set of headaches I did.
THE PROBLEM
AI coding agents — Claude Code, Codex, Qwen Code, Gemini CLI, and others — are genuinely useful. But when multiple developers start using them, things get messy fast:
• API keys scattered everywhere — each developer manages their own, rotated on different schedules, stored in who-knows-what .env file
• Token costs spiral out of control — no one knows who's spending what until the bill arrives
• Enterprise source code exposure — without a proxy or policy layer, sensitive code can end up in places it shouldn't
• Team collaboration breaks down — everyone is in their own silo, no shared context or reproducible setups
• Zero visibility — no usage stats, no audit trail, no way to answer "what did the AI change last week?"
• Remote environments are a pain — managing agents on remote dev boxes or CI runners is manual and fragile
These aren't hypothetical problems. They're the daily reality of trying to adopt AI coding tools at scale.
WHAT WE BUILT
Open-ACE is an AI Coding Workspace that provides a unified platform for both individual developers and engineering teams.
The key idea: don't replace your favorite AI coding tools — manage them in one place.
Open-ACE sits between your developers and the AI agents they use, adding a control layer without getting in the way.
CORE FEATURES
For Developers (Work Mode):
• Unified access to multiple AI coding agents — switch between Claude Code, Codex, Qwen Code, Gemini CLI, and others from a single interface
• Remote agent management — run and manage agents on remote development environments without SSH gymnastics
• Team collaboration — share context, prompts, and session history with teammates
For Administrators (Manage Mode):
• API Key Proxy — centralize and rotate keys securely, developers never touch raw credentials
• Permission & policy management — define who can use which agent, on which repos, with what scope
• Usage statistics — real-time dashboards showing token consumption per user, per project, per agent
• Cost control — set budgets, rate limits, and alerts before the bill shocks you
• Audit capability — full traceability of what AI changed, when, and by whom
ARCHITECTURE AT A GLANCE
Open-ACE Workspace
+----------+ +------------------+
| Work Mode| | Manage Mode |
| (Dev) | | (Admin) |
+-----+----+ +---------+--------+
| |
+----------+-----------+
|
+---------+---------+
| API Key Proxy |
| Policy Engine |
| Audit Log |
+---------+---------+
|
+-------------+-------------+
| | |
Claude Code Codex Qwen Code
Gemini CLI ... ...
WHO IS THIS FOR?
• Solo developers who want a cleaner way to manage multiple AI agents and track usage
• Engineering teams (10–100+ devs) who need governance, cost control, and audit trails
• Platform teams who are tasked with "making AI coding tools safe for the enterprise"
GETTING STARTED
The fastest way to try it:
# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/open-ace/open-ace.git
cd open-ace
# Follow the quickstart guide
# https://www.open-ace.com/#quickstart
Or check the live quickstart: https://www.open-ace.com/#quickstart
CURRENT STATUS
Open-ACE is early. The core proxy and policy engine are solid, but we're actively building out integrations and polishing the developer experience. If you try it and hit rough edges, we'd genuinely love to know — that's how we prioritize what to fix next.
FEEDBACK & CONTRIBUTIONS
Issues: https://github.com/open-ace/open-ace/issues
Discussions: https://github.com/open-ace/open-ace/discussions
Repo: https://github.com/open-ace/open-ace
If the project direction resonates with you, a star on GitHub helps us reach more developers facing the same problems.
What infrastructure problems have you hit when rolling out AI coding agents across a team? Curious to hear real-world stories in the comments.
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