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Last Updated: April 2, 2026

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Introduction

Goose is an open-source, extensible AI agent by Block (the company behind Square and Cash App). It goes beyond code suggestions - Goose can install packages, execute commands, edit files, run tests, and interact with external services via MCP. It is available as both a CLI and a desktop app, and supports fully custom OpenAI-compatible providers via a JSON config file. Goose pairs well with SaladCloud because:
  • Custom provider support - define any OpenAI-compatible endpoint as a named provider, including custom headers for Salad-Api-Key authentication
  • MCP integration - connect to GitHub, databases, browsers, and more
  • CLI + desktop - works in your terminal or as a standalone app
  • Per-hour pricing - no per-token cost during long agentic sessions

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Prerequisites

Before getting started, make sure you have:

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Step-by-Step Setup

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Step 1: Deploy an LLM Recipe on SaladCloud

First, deploy an OpenAI-compatible LLM server on SaladCloud.
  • Go to the SaladCloud portal and create an account if you do not already have one.
  • Create an organization or choose an existing one, then click “Deploy a container group”.
  • Select an LLM recipe. The Qwen3.5-35B-A3B (llama.cpp) recipe is a strong choice for general-purpose agentic tasks. On the recipe page, provide a name and deploy - the rest is preconfigured with recommended settings.
  • Once deployed, your endpoint will be live and serving an OpenAI-compatible API.
Available recipes: Ready-to-deploy recipes (best for less technical users): Recipes for custom deployments (best for advanced users):
  • llama.cpp - Supports GGUF models
  • sglang - High-performance inference
  • vllm - Popular LLM serving framework
  • ollama - Simple model management
  • tgi - Hugging Face Text Generation Inference server
After deployment, note your:
  • API endpoint URL (e.g., https://your-endpoint.salad.cloud)
  • API key (from your SaladCloud organization settings, if you enabled authentication)

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Step 2: Install Goose

For Desktop App instructions scroll to the bottom of this page. Linux / macOS / WSL2: 
curl -fsSL https://github.com/block/goose/releases/download/stable/download_cli.sh | bash
Or install via Homebrew on macOS: 
brew install block-goose-cli
Verify the installation: 
goose --version

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Step 3: Configure a Custom Provider

The first time you run Goose it launches an onboarding wizard. When asked “What would you like to configure?”, follow these steps:
  1. Select Custom Provider → Add a custom provider → OpenAI Compatible
  2. Enter a name for the provider (e.g., saladcloud)
  3. Enter the API URL: https://your-endpoint.salad.cloud/v1/chat/completions
  4. When prompted for an API key, enter any non-empty string (e.g., dummy), or indicate that authentication is not required (if it is, you will add the real key in the custom headers step)
  5. Enter the available models separated by commas (e.g., qwen3.5-35b-a3b)
  6. Set your streaming and other preferences
  7. When asked “Does this provider require custom headers?”, select Yes if your deployment requires authentication and add:
    • Header name: Salad-Api-Key
    • Header value: your SaladCloud API key
If your deployment does not require authentication, skip the custom headers step. After adding the provider, run goose configure and under Configure Providers select your new custom provider. Alternatively, you can create or edit the provider config file directly at ~/.config/goose/custom_providers/saladcloud.json: 
{
  "name": "custom_saladcloud",
  "engine": "openai",
  "display_name": "SaladCloud",
  "description": "Custom SaladCloud provider",
  "api_key_env": "CUSTOM_SALADCLOUD_API_KEY",
  "base_url": "https://your-endpoint.salad.cloud/v1",
  "models": [
    {
      "name": "qwen3.5-35b-a3b",
      "context_limit": 128000
    }
  ],
  "headers": {
    "Salad-Api-Key": "your-salad-api-key"
  },
  "supports_streaming": true,
  "requires_auth": false
}

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Step 4: Start Goose and Test the Connection

Start a Goose session: 
goose
Test with a simple task:
“Create a hello world Python script and run it.”
If Goose creates and executes the file, your setup is complete.

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Goose Desktop App

Goose also has a desktop app with the same capabilities as the CLI. See the Quick Start instructions for download links for your OS. Download and run the app, then on the startup page:
  1. Click Connect to a Provider
  2. Click Add Custom Provider
  3. Click Configure Manually and fill in:
    • Provider Type: OpenAI Compatible
    • Display Name: a name for the provider (e.g., SaladCloud)
    • API URL: https://your-endpoint.salad.cloud/v1/
    • API Base Path: leave blank
    • Available Models: your model name (e.g., qwen3.5-35b-a3b)
    • Custom Headers: add Salad-Api-Key with your SaladCloud API key as the value (only if your deployment has authentication enabled)
  4. Click Create Provider and start using Goose with your SaladCloud deployment

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Model Recommendations

  • Qwen 3.5-35B-A3B: Best for complex agentic tasks - install, execute, edit, and test workflows
  • Qwen 3.5-9B: Suitable for lighter tasks and faster response times