The 2026 Guide to Coding CLI Tools: 15 AI Agents Compared

The terminal is back. After a decade of IDEs getting heavier and browser-based editors trying to replace local development, the command line has re-emerged as the center of gravity for AI-assisted coding. A new generation of CLI tools lets you describe what you want in plain English and watch an agent edit files, run tests, commit code, and debug failures—all without leaving your terminal.

But with over a dozen serious contenders now shipping, choosing the right one is genuinely difficult. Each tool makes different tradeoffs around autonomy, model flexibility, ecosystem integration, and pricing. Some are opinionated about which AI model you use. Others let you bring any provider. Some run entirely in the terminal. Others blur the line between CLI and IDE.

We compared 15 of the most notable coding CLI tools available today. This is not a benchmark post—it is a practical guide to what each tool does, how it works, and who it is best suited for.

The Landscape at a Glance

Before diving into each tool, here is the field organized by category:

Big-Lab Native Tools — Built by the companies that train the models:

• Claude Code (Anthropic)
• Codex (OpenAI)
• Gemini CLI (Google)
• GitHub Copilot CLI (GitHub/Microsoft)

Independent / Startup Tools — Purpose-built agents from focused teams:

• Amp (Sourcegraph)
• Aider (open source)
• Warp (Warp)
• Augment CLI (Augment Code)
• Droid (Factory)
• Kiro (AWS)

Open Source / Community-Driven — Extensible, model-agnostic, community-maintained:

• OpenCode (anomalyco)
• Goose (Block)
• Crush (Charmbracelet)
• Cline (Cline Bot Inc.)
• Kilo (formerly Kilocode)

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Big-Lab Native Tools

These tools come from the organizations that build the underlying foundation models. Their advantage is deep integration with their own model's capabilities. Their limitation is that you are often locked into (or strongly nudged toward) a single provider.

Claude Code — Anthropic

Claude Code is Anthropic's agentic coding tool. It runs in your terminal, understands your full codebase, and executes multi-step tasks through natural language. You can install it with a single curl command or via Homebrew, then run claude inside any project directory.

What sets it apart: Claude Code is designed for full autonomy. It does not just suggest code—it reads your files, writes changes, runs shell commands, manages git workflows, and iterates until the task is done. It also integrates with GitHub (via @claude mentions on PRs and issues) and supports a plugin system for extending its capabilities.

Model support: Tied to Anthropic's Claude models (Sonnet, Opus).

Pricing: Requires a Claude API key or Anthropic plan. Usage is metered by tokens.

Best for: Developers who want an opinionated, high-autonomy agent and are already committed to the Claude ecosystem. Strong at complex refactors, multi-file changes, and git workflows.

Codex — OpenAI

Codex is OpenAI's lightweight terminal agent. It runs locally on your machine and authenticates through your existing ChatGPT subscription (Plus, Pro, Team, or Enterprise).

What sets it apart: Codex is intentionally lightweight. Rather than building an entire IDE-like experience, it focuses on being a fast, local agent that executes tasks in your terminal. It also offers IDE extensions for VS Code, Cursor, and Windsurf, making it a bridge between terminal and editor workflows.

Model support: OpenAI models via ChatGPT subscription. API key access also available.

Pricing: Included with ChatGPT Plus/Pro/Team/Enterprise subscriptions. API usage billed separately.

Best for: Teams already paying for ChatGPT who want terminal-based agent capabilities without a separate billing relationship. The local-first design appeals to developers concerned about latency and privacy.

Gemini CLI — Google

Gemini CLI is Google's open-source terminal agent. It stands out with a genuinely generous free tier: 60 requests per minute and 1,000 requests per day with just a Google account login.

What sets it apart: The free tier is the most accessible entry point of any tool on this list. Gemini CLI also ships with built-in Google Search grounding (the agent can search the web to verify its answers), a 1M token context window for working with large codebases, and three authentication tiers ranging from free personal use to enterprise Vertex AI integration. It also supports conversation checkpointing—save and resume complex sessions exactly where you left off.

Model support: Google's Gemini models (Flash and Pro). Model selection depends on authentication method.

Pricing: Free tier with Google account. Usage-based billing available via API key. Enterprise pricing through Vertex AI.

Best for: Developers who want to experiment without upfront cost, teams already on Google Cloud, and anyone working with very large codebases that benefit from the 1M token context.

GitHub Copilot CLI — GitHub/Microsoft

GitHub Copilot CLI brings GitHub's AI capabilities directly into the terminal. Currently in public preview, it offers native integration with GitHub's ecosystem—repositories, issues, pull requests, and workflows are all accessible through natural language.

What sets it apart: No other tool has this level of native GitHub integration. You can reference issues, browse PRs, and manage repositories through conversational commands. It supports MCP for extensibility and offers model selection between Claude Sonnet 4.5, Claude Sonnet 4, and GPT-5.

Model support: Claude Sonnet 4.5 (default), Claude Sonnet 4, GPT-5.

Pricing: Requires an active GitHub Copilot subscription. Each prompt counts against monthly premium request quota.

Best for: Teams whose workflow is deeply centered on GitHub. The native repo/issue/PR integration makes it uniquely powerful for GitHub-centric organizations.

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Independent / Startup Tools

These tools are built by companies laser-focused on the developer experience. They tend to be more opinionated about workflow and often combine CLI access with IDE or desktop interfaces.

Amp — Sourcegraph

Amp is Sourcegraph's coding agent. It supports both CLI and IDE interfaces, and its standout feature is "Deep mode"—an autonomous research and problem-solving mode that uses extended reasoning to tackle complex tasks.

What sets it apart: Amp's composable tool system goes beyond standard file editing. It includes a code review agent, an image generation tool (Painter), and a walkthrough skill for creating annotated diagrams. The Oracle and Librarian sub-agents analyze your code and external libraries respectively. Deep mode uses GPT-5.2-Codex for extended autonomous work sessions.

Model support: Claude Opus, Claude Sonnet, GPT-5 series. Deep mode specifically uses GPT-5.2-Codex.

Pricing: Free tier (ad-supported, up to $10/day usage). Pay-as-you-go with no markup for individuals.

Best for: Developers who need deep codebase analysis and extended autonomous sessions. The Sourcegraph heritage gives it strong code intelligence foundations.

Aider — Open Source Pioneer

Aider is the oldest tool in this category and arguably the one that proved the concept of terminal-based AI pair programming. It maps your entire codebase, supports 100+ programming languages, and automatically creates git commits with sensible messages.

What sets it apart: Aider's maturity is its biggest advantage. With 39K+ GitHub stars, 4.1M+ installations, and 15 billion tokens processed per week, it has the largest deployed user base of any open-source coding CLI. It supports nearly every LLM—Claude, GPT, DeepSeek, local models via Ollama—and integrates with IDEs through a watch mode. It even supports voice-to-code for hands-free operation.

Model support: Virtually every LLM. Claude 3.7 Sonnet, DeepSeek R1, GPT-4o, o1, o3-mini, local models, and more.

Pricing: Free and open source. You pay your model provider directly.

Best for: Developers who want maximum model flexibility, a battle-tested tool with deep community knowledge, and automatic git integration. Particularly strong for multi-language projects.

Warp — The Terminal Reimagined

Warp is not just a coding agent—it is an entire terminal replacement with agent capabilities built in. Written in Rust and GPU-accelerated, it combines a modern terminal, file editor, code review panel, and multi-agent orchestration in a single application.

What sets it apart: Warp is the only tool on this list that replaces your terminal entirely. It runs multiple agents simultaneously—its own SOTA agent plus Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini CLI—all within the same interface. It includes a built-in file editor with syntax highlighting and vim keybindings, a code review panel for inspecting agent changes, and WARP.md project configuration files. Warp claims its agent ships 50%+ of Warp's own PRs.

Model support: Latest models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. Uses a mixed-model approach.

Pricing: Free tier available. Details vary by plan.

Best for: Developers who want a fully integrated environment that combines terminal, editor, and agent in one app. Particularly appealing to DevOps engineers and developers who live in the terminal.

Augment CLI — Enterprise Context Engine

Augment Code is built for enterprises that need AI agents with deep understanding of large, complex codebases. Its "Context Engine" indexes your entire stack—code, dependencies, architecture, and git history—to provide more relevant agent responses.

What sets it apart: Augment's differentiation is context depth. While most tools understand the files you point them at, Augment maintains a live index of your entire codebase and its relationships. Their "Auggie" agent claims first place on SWE-Bench Pro benchmarks. The tool spans IDE, CLI, and code review workflows with customers including MongoDB, Spotify, and Webflow.

Model support: Claude Opus 4.5 and other frontier models.

Pricing: Enterprise pricing. Details on request.

Best for: Large engineering teams working on complex codebases where context quality is the bottleneck. The enterprise features (SSO, audit trails, compliance) matter for regulated industries.

Droid — Factory AI

Droid by Factory is an enterprise-grade terminal agent with specialized sub-agents for different tasks. It holds the top score on Terminal-Bench at 58.75%.

What sets it apart: Droid is not one agent—it is a system of specialized "Droids." Code Droid handles implementation. Knowledge Droid does research and documentation. Reliability Droid triages production incidents. Product Droid manages backlogs and writes specs from Slack threads. This specialization means each sub-agent is optimized for its domain rather than being a generalist. Droid is also model-agnostic, and its agent design reportedly enables cheaper models to outperform more expensive ones on competitors.

Model support: BYOK (Bring Your Own Key). Works with any frontier model including Opus, Sonnet, GPT-5.

Pricing: Enterprise pricing. BYOK model—you pay your model provider.

Best for: Enterprise teams that want specialized agents for different parts of the SDLC. The incident response and product management Droids go beyond pure coding.

Kiro — AWS

Kiro is AWS's entry into the space. It functions as both a CLI and an IDE (based on Code OSS), and its core philosophy is "spec-driven development"—converting natural language prompts into structured requirements before writing any code.

What sets it apart: Kiro's spec-driven approach is unique. Instead of jumping straight to code generation, it first produces requirements in EARS notation, designs the architecture, and breaks down implementation tasks. Agent hooks automate follow-up actions (like running tests when files are saved). This makes it particularly suited for complex projects where getting the requirements right matters more than generating code quickly.

Model support: Claude Sonnet 4.5, with an "Auto" mode that blends frontier models with intent detection and caching.

Pricing: Per-prompt credit system with real-time usage visibility.

Best for: Teams building complex systems where specification quality drives outcomes. The spec-driven approach reduces iteration cycles on large features.

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Open Source / Community-Driven

These tools prioritize extensibility, model flexibility, and community contribution. They are typically free to use (you pay your own model costs) and offer the most customization options.

OpenCode — anomalyco

OpenCode is a rapidly growing open-source coding agent with 95K+ GitHub stars and 2.5 million monthly developers. It supports 75+ LLM providers and runs across terminal, IDE, and desktop.

What sets it apart: OpenCode's breadth is remarkable. It includes LSP integration (automatically configuring language servers for the LLM), multi-session support (run multiple parallel agents on the same project), and session sharing via links. The privacy-first design stores no code or context data. It also supports authentication via GitHub Copilot or ChatGPT Plus accounts, letting you use existing subscriptions.

Model support: 75+ providers via Models.dev. Claude, GPT, Gemini, local models, and free models included by default.

Pricing: Free and open source. Desktop beta available.

Best for: Developers who want maximum provider flexibility and a privacy-first approach. The multi-session support is unique for running parallel agent tasks.

Goose — Block

Goose is Block's (formerly Square) fully open-source agent, licensed under Apache 2.0. It runs as both a desktop app and CLI, with native MCP integration for extensibility.

What sets it apart: Goose goes beyond code suggestions to execute full development workflows—building projects from scratch, running code, debugging failures, and orchestrating complex multi-step tasks. It is genuinely model-agnostic and supports multiple model configurations simultaneously. The Block backing gives it enterprise credibility while the Apache 2.0 license keeps it fully open.

Model support: Any LLM. Supports multiple model configs simultaneously.

Pricing: Free and open source (Apache 2.0). You pay your model provider.

Best for: Teams that want a fully open-source agent with no vendor lock-in. The MCP integration makes it highly extensible for custom workflows.

Crush — Charmbracelet

Crush brings Charmbracelet's signature terminal aesthetics to AI coding. Built on the Charm ecosystem (which powers 25K+ applications), it is an LSP-enhanced, MCP-extensible agent that runs on every platform—including Android.

What sets it apart: Crush's cross-platform support is the broadest of any tool here: macOS, Linux, Windows, Android, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD. It supports mid-session model switching (change LLMs while preserving conversation context), granular tool permissions, and customizable commit attribution. The session-based architecture maintains separate contexts per project. Install via Homebrew, npm, Go, or direct binary download.

Model support: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Groq, Vercel AI Gateway, OpenRouter, Hugging Face, and custom APIs.

Pricing: Free to use. You pay your model provider. Licensed under the Charm License (proprietary, not open source).

Best for: Developers who care about terminal UX, need cross-platform support (especially mobile/BSD), or want fine-grained control over model switching and commit attribution.

Cline — VS Code Native

Cline is an autonomous coding agent that lives inside VS Code. While it is primarily a VS Code extension rather than a standalone CLI, it earns its place here because of its deep terminal integration and human-in-the-loop approach.

What sets it apart: Cline's philosophy is "approve everything." Every file change and terminal command requires explicit approval, giving developers maximum control over what the agent does. It includes browser automation (launching browsers, clicking elements, capturing screenshots for testing), workspace checkpoints for experimenting and reverting, and MCP support for creating custom tools. It supports virtually every model provider.

Model support: OpenRouter, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, AWS Bedrock, Azure, GCP Vertex, local models via Ollama.

Pricing: Free extension. You pay your chosen API provider. Enterprise self-hosted option available.

Best for: Developers who want agent capabilities but are not comfortable with full autonomy. The human-in-the-loop approval model is the most conservative on this list—ideal for sensitive codebases.

Kilo — Feature-Rich Fork

Kilo (formerly Kilocode) is a coding agent available across VS Code, JetBrains, CLI, and Slack. It supports 500+ models across 60+ providers and adds unique features like Memory Bank for storing architectural decisions and an Orchestrator mode for coordinating multiple tasks.

What sets it apart: Kilo's transparency is a deliberate differentiator—no silent context compression, visible context window sizes, and full prompt visibility. It offers specialized modes (Ask, Architect, Code, Debug, Orchestrator, Custom), cloud agents for resource-intensive operations, managed code indexing, tab autocomplete, and voice prompting. The pricing model is pure pay-as-you-go with no markup.

Model support: 500+ models across 60+ providers. Free access to GLM-4.7 and MiniMax M2.1 included.

Pricing: Pay-as-you-go at provider list price. No subscriptions, no markup, no hidden fees.

Best for: Developers who want the widest model selection and full pricing transparency. The Memory Bank and Orchestrator mode make it strong for complex, long-running projects.

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How to Choose

With 15 tools to pick from, here are the questions that matter most:

Are you committed to a single AI provider?

If you are all-in on one model provider, the native tools offer the tightest integration:

• Anthropic → Claude Code
• OpenAI → Codex
• Google → Gemini CLI
• GitHub → Copilot CLI

Do you need model flexibility?

If you want to switch between providers or use local models, look at the model-agnostic tools:

• Widest selection: Kilo (500+ models), OpenCode (75+ providers), Aider (virtually all LLMs)
• Strong multi-model: Goose, Crush, Cline

What is your autonomy comfort level?

Tools range from fully autonomous to human-approved:

• High autonomy: Claude Code, Droid, Amp (Deep mode), Warp
• Balanced: Aider, Codex, Gemini CLI, Goose
• Human-in-the-loop: Cline, Kiro (spec-driven)

What is your budget?

• Free to start: Gemini CLI (most generous free tier), Amp (ad-supported), OpenCode, Aider, Goose, Crush
• Subscription-based: Codex (via ChatGPT), Copilot CLI (via GitHub Copilot)
• Pay-as-you-go: Kilo, Claude Code, Amp
• Enterprise pricing: Augment, Droid

Do you need more than just coding?

• Incident response: Droid (Reliability Droid)
• Product management: Droid (Product Droid)
• Code review: Augment, Warp, Amp
• Browser automation: Cline
• Spec-driven development: Kiro

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The Bigger Picture

The explosion of coding CLI tools in 2025-2026 reflects a deeper shift in how software gets built. The terminal is no longer just where you run commands—it is where you delegate work to AI agents that understand your codebase, your git history, and your intent.

What is most striking about the current landscape is how quickly it is diversifying. A year ago, the conversation was "Copilot vs. Cursor." Today, there are 15+ serious tools, each making different bets about what developers actually need. Some bet on autonomy. Others bet on control. Some bet on one model being enough. Others bet on model flexibility being essential.

The tools that will win long-term are likely the ones that solve the hardest problem in this space: not generating code, but understanding context. Every tool can write a function. The question is which tool understands your codebase well enough to write the right function, in the right place, following your conventions.

That is the real competition—and it is just getting started.