{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "agent-zero", "name": "Agent Zero", "vendor": "Agent Zero, s.r.o.", "vendorUrl": "https://www.agent-zero.ai", "kind": "harness", "category": "agent-harnesses", "summary": "Agent Zero is an open-source agent framework that runs in a Docker container with a Linux desktop, a browser, a task scheduler and memory. Its owner reaches it through a web interface, Telegram, WhatsApp or email.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/agent-zero", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/agent-zero.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/agent-zero.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/agent-zero.json", "repo": "https://github.com/agent0ai/agent-zero", "license": "MIT", "transports": [], "packages": [ { "registry": "oci", "name": "agent0ai/agent-zero" } ], "auth": "none", "authNotes": "No account. The web interface has no login until the owner sets a username and password in Settings or as `AUTH_LOGIN` and `AUTH_PASSWORD`, which are stored in `/a0/usr/.env` (https://github.com/agent0ai/agent-zero/blob/main/docs/setup/vps-deployment.md). The external API takes an `X-API-KEY` header, and the optional MCP server and A2A endpoint carry the same token in the URL path. The token is derived from the instance id and the login, so it changes when either changes (https://github.com/agent0ai/agent-zero/blob/main/docs/guides/a2a-setup.md). Model access uses provider API keys or OAuth sign-in to ChatGPT (Codex), GitHub Copilot, Google Cloud Gemini or xAI (https://github.com/agent0ai/agent-zero/blob/main/plugins/_oauth/README.md).", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free under MIT, with nothing to buy for the software. The owner pays the model provider they configure, or nothing with a local model. A beta LLM API on the vendor's site gives a daily quota to people who stake its A0T token and is separate from the software (checked 2026-10-12).", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs or the source (checked 2026-10-12).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 19429, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-12" }, "docsUrl": "https://github.com/agent0ai/agent-zero/tree/main/docs", "llmsTxt": "https://www.agent-zero.ai/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "agent.harness", "agent.mcp-client" ], "tags": [ "open-source", "self-hosted", "local", "free", "python", "mit", "llms-txt", "docker" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-23", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 54.2, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 709, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 986, "categoryRank": 19, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 62, "maintenance": 75, "payments": 60, "reliability": 57, "schema": 64, "security": 54, "transparency": 55 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-12" }, "negative": -6, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-03-17. CVE-2026-4307 (path traversal in `get_abs_path`, CVSS 4.3) and CVE-2026-4308 (server-side request forgery in document queries, CVSS 6.3), both against 0.9.7, with public exploits. The NVD entries say the vendor was contacted and did not respond. The v2.9 notes of 12 August 2026 list a fix for an SSRF regression under CVE-2026-4308. Whether CVE-2026-4307 is fixed was not established. -2. https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?cveId=CVE-2026-4308", "2026-05-27. CVE-2026-47119, stored cross-site scripting through SVG files served by the `image_get` endpoint, CVSS 6.1, in versions before 1.15. The report (#1609) was closed as completed on 12 May 2026. Fixed, and no GitHub advisory was published. -1. https://github.com/agent0ai/agent-zero/issues/1609", "2026-09-30. CVE-2026-51852 and CVE-2026-51853, directory traversal in the file browser of versions 1.7 to 1.10, CVSS 7.5 each. Reported as issues #1539 and #1540 on 20 April 2026 and closed as completed on 24 July 2026. The file browser still starts at the container root by design. -1. https://github.com/agent0ai/agent-zero/issues/1540", "2026-09-09. Two flaws recorded in the project's own security-review ledger and fixed in v2.12 the same day. An unauthenticated Telegram webhook accepted forged updates, and WhatsApp document names could overwrite files outside the media cache before the sender check ran. The ledger rates both high. Named in the release notes, with no advisory. -2. https://github.com/agent0ai/agent-zero/blob/main/security-review/LEDGER.md" ], "verdict": "Self-hosted under the MIT licence, with nine releases in the 90 days to 12 October 2026 and breaking changes listed in the release notes. The agent runs shell commands in its container with no approval step, the web interface has no login by default, and five CVEs from the past year have no published GitHub advisory.", "bestFor": "A technical owner who wants an agent with its own Linux machine, reachable from Telegram, WhatsApp or email, with scheduled tasks and editable memory.", "strengths": [ "MIT licence, with prompts, tools, plugins and settings readable and editable in one public repository", "Nine tagged releases between 17 July and 23 September 2026, and Breaking Changes sections in the v2.11, v2.12 and v2.13 notes", "Memory dashboard to search, edit, delete and bulk-delete entries, with memory kept apart for each project by default", "No usage telemetry found in the source. The one call home is an update check that a setting turns off", "Tool Access policy can allow or block each built-in and MCP tool for a project or an agent profile" ], "weaknesses": [ "No approval step before shell commands, file changes or outgoing messages. Tool Access defaults to allow", "The web interface has no login until the owner sets a username, and the README command publishes port 80", "Five CVEs published between 17 March and 30 September 2026, none as a GitHub advisory, and no SECURITY.md or security.txt", "Infection Check, the prompt-injection audit before tool calls, ships turned off", "Empty allow-lists in the Telegram, WhatsApp and email integrations accept messages from anyone", "No public CI runs the 191 test files. The only workflows publish Docker images and close inactive issues" ], "agentNotes": [ "Set a UI login and password in Settings before publishing the port or opening a tunnel. The default has none", "Fill `allowed_users`, `allowed_numbers` or `sender_whitelist` before enabling a channel. An empty list accepts every sender", "Enable the Infection Check plugin when the agent reads mail, web pages or MCP results. It ships disabled", "Run v2.12 or later. It fixes a Telegram webhook authentication bypass and a WhatsApp media path traversal", "Call `POST /api_message` with the `X-API-KEY` header. The token changes when the UI login or password changes" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 54.2 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 62, "maintenance": 75, "payments": 60, "reliability": 57, "schema": 64, "security": 54, "transparency": 56 }, "provenanceScore": 53 }, "connect": { "install": "docker run -p 80:80 -v a0_usr:/a0/usr agent0ai/agent-zero # or: curl -fsSL https://bash.agent-zero.ai | bash" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/agent.harness", "tool": "https://letme.dev/agent-zero" }, "area": "frameworks", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Agent Zero, s.r.o.", "domain": "agent-zero.ai", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/agent0ai/agent-zero/releases", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-12", "notes": [ "The site footer names Agent Zero, s.r.o., ID no. 231 46 508, Nové sady 988/2, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic, and the `LICENSE` file carries the same company's copyright.", "No terms or privacy policy for the software was found. The site's terms page covers its community platform and its cookie page covers the website, so neither is linked here and the MIT licence stands in.", "`/.well-known/security.txt` on www.agent-zero.ai answered 404 on 12 October 2026, and the repository has no SECURITY.md.", "robots.txt on www.agent-zero.ai answered 404, read as no rules. agent-zero.ai redirects to www.agent-zero.ai.", "There is no hosted endpoint. An instance answers on its owner's own host.", "The domain's registration date was not looked up." ], "score": 53 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/agent-zero.json" }, "answer": "Cline scores 60.4 (C) on agent readiness against Agent Zero's 54.2 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Agent Zero leads on payments \u0026 pricing.", "b": { "slug": "cline", "name": "Cline", "vendor": "Cline Bot Inc.", "vendorUrl": "https://cline.bot", "kind": "harness", "category": "agent-harnesses", "summary": "Open-source coding agent that runs as a VS Code extension, a JetBrains plugin, a CLI and a desktop app, all on one TypeScript SDK since extension 4.0.0 (26 June 2026).", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cline", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cline.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cline.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cline.json", "repo": "https://github.com/cline/cline", "license": "Apache-2.0", "transports": [], "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "cline" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "Your own provider keys (kept in ~/.cline/data/settings/providers.json for the CLI), a local model, or a Cline account (Google, GitHub or email sign-in) for the Cline provider and ClinePass. The CLI's default provider is Cline's own, so it needs `-P` and a key, or `cline auth`, to use anything else.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "The extension, CLI and SDK are free and Apache-2.0. You pay your model provider, or buy Cline credits for pay-as-you-go access to 100+ models through the Cline provider, or ClinePass at $9.99 a month for higher limits on selected open models. Free models rotate for signed-in users. Enterprise (SSO, role-based access, audit logs, SLA) is priced by sales. We found no public per-token price list for Cline credits.", "priceSummary": "$9.99 / mo", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, the pricing page or the source (checked 2026-10-01).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 67600, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-01" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.cline.bot", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.cline.bot/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "agent.harness", "agent.mcp-client", "agent.multi-agent" ], "tags": [ "open-source", "local", "freemium", "typescript", "llms-txt", "telemetry-default-on", "enterprise", "no-card" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-01", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 60.4, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 526, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 986, "categoryRank": 11, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 67, "maintenance": 85, "payments": 50, "reliability": 80, "schema": 77, "security": 57, "transparency": 61 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": -8, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-02-17. GHSA-9ppg-jx86-fqw7. An attacker used a compromised npm publish token to release cline@2.3.0 with a postinstall script that ran `npm install -g openclaw@latest`. It was live for about eight hours before 2.4.0 and a deprecation, the token was revoked and publishing moved to OIDC. A supply-chain incident that reached users, fixed and documented and seven months old, -4. https://github.com/cline/cline/security/advisories/GHSA-9ppg-jx86-fqw7", "2026-05-08. GHSA-5c57-rqjx-35g2 (CVE-2026-44211, 9.6). The kanban server the CLI uses accepted WebSocket connections on 127.0.0.1:3484 without checking Origin, so any website could read workspace data and inject commands. Affects kanban before 2.13.0. Inside six months, -2. https://github.com/cline/cline/security/advisories/GHSA-5c57-rqjx-35g2", "2026-06-23. GHSA-3cj3-hqcr-g934 (CVE-2026-59723, 8.8). The Cline Hub dashboard's `/browser` WebSocket accepted cross-origin connections when ROOM_SECRET was unset, the local default, letting a website add MCP servers to the settings file and run commands. NVD lists versions before 3.0.30 as affected. Inside six months, -2. https://github.com/cline/cline/security/advisories/GHSA-3cj3-hqcr-g934" ], "verdict": "Approval before edits and commands in the IDE, with command auto-approval off by default since 4.0.0. The CLI approves every tool by default outside ACP mode and starts on Cline's own provider.", "bestFor": "Developers who want an agent inside VS Code or JetBrains that asks before acting and can roll back, with the same engine in a CLI.", "strengths": [ "Approval before edits and commands in the IDE, with command auto-approval off by default since 4.0.0", "Checkpoints that restore files and task state, and sessions that resume by ID", "`CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS` allow and deny globs for shell commands, with deny taking precedence and redirects blocked", "Your own key for about 200 providers, or a local model, with no Cline account", "29 extension and 34 CLI releases since 3 July 2026, with tests passing on main" ], "weaknesses": [ "The CLI approves every tool by default outside ACP mode and starts on Cline's own provider", "Extension telemetry on by default, and the CLI's telemetry undocumented", "A compromised npm token shipped cline@2.3.0 with an unwanted global install in February 2026", "Two cross-origin WebSocket flaws in its local servers in May and June 2026", "About 700 open issues and 525 open pull requests" ], "agentNotes": [ "Set `CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS` with allow and deny globs before a headless run. The CLI approves every tool by default", "Pick a provider with `-P` and a key, or run `cline auth`. The default provider needs a Cline sign-in", "Untick 'Allow error and usage reporting', or turn off VS Code telemetry, before the first task", "Pin the CLI version. 2.3.0 was a malicious publish", "Keep the hub on 127.0.0.1 or set ROOM_SECRET, and run 3.0.30 or later" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 2, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 60.4 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 67, "maintenance": 85, "payments": 50, "reliability": 80, "schema": 77, "security": 57, "transparency": 60 }, "provenanceScore": 61 }, "connect": { "install": "npm i -g cline # Node 22+; or the VS Code extension saoudrizwan.claude-dev", "headless": { "command": "cline --json -P anthropic -k \"$ANTHROPIC_API_KEY\" \"$TASK\"", "env": { "CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS": "{\"allow\": [\"npm test\", \"git diff *\"], \"deny\": [\"rm *\", \"sudo *\"]}" } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/agent.harness", "tool": "https://letme.dev/cline" }, "area": "frameworks", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "ClinePass", "unit": "month", "usd": 9.99, "note": "higher limits on selected open coding models" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Cline Bot Inc.", "domain": "cline.bot", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "https://cline.bot/tos", "privacy": "https://cline.bot/privacy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/cline/cline/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-10-01", "notes": [ "The pricing page and the CLI's package.json name Cline Bot Inc.", "cline.bot/.well-known/security.txt lists security@cline.bot and the Bugcrowd programme, and expires on 2027-12-31.", "The privacy and terms pages render only with JavaScript, so we couldn't read them." ], "score": 61 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cline.json", "live": { "slug": "cline", "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "cline/cline", "version": "desktop-v0.0.45", "released": "2026-10-08", "seenAt": "2026-10-11T19:23:23.510205532Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "cline", "version": "3.0.70", "seenAt": "2026-10-11T19:23:23.457735057Z" } ], "githubStars": 70173, "npmWeekly": 69355, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://cline.bot/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "expires": "2027-12-31T23:59:00z", "checkedAt": "2026-10-12T15:43:44.501058238Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://docs.cline.bot/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-12T14:08:38.102037926Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "cline.bot", "registered": "2024-09-30", "source": "https://rdap.nominet.uk/bot/domain/cline.bot", "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T13:15:16.00554513Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cline/cline/main/CHANGELOG.md", "kind": "deprecations", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T19:33:29.360043459Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-07T18:09:02.66614484Z", "fingerprint": "afe1a35c4bbd" }, { "url": "https://cline.bot/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T19:22:27.202367935Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:11.11005196Z", "fingerprint": "7c5e50c585e0" }, { "url": "https://cline.bot/tos", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-11T19:22:29.253912365Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-08T18:16:13.372700135Z", "fingerprint": "9f6fe5247cb8" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-12T15:43:44.501058238Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "Agent harness", "b": "Agent harness", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Agent Zero, s.r.o.", "b": "Cline Bot Inc.", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "None", "b": "OAuth or key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Free", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT", "b": "Apache-2.0", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-09-23", "b": "2026-10-01", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "2025-09-25", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "2025-09-24", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "", "b": "yes", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "19k stars", "b": "68k stars", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "none", "b": "2/5 (2)", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Cline scores 60.4 (C) on agent readiness against Agent Zero's 54.2 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Agent Zero leads on payments \u0026 pricing.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Agent Zero or Cline?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Agent Zero is open source (MIT). Cline is open source (Apache-2.0).", "question": "Are Agent Zero and Cline open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 50" ], "also": [ "No key needed to call it" ], "goodFor": "A technical owner who wants an agent with its own Linux machine, reachable from Telegram, WhatsApp or email, with scheduled tasks and editable memory.", "slug": "agent-zero", "watchFor": "No approval step before shell commands, file changes or outgoing messages. Tool Access defaults to allow" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 80 against 57", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 77 against 64", "Agent ergonomics, 67 against 62", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 85 against 75", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 61 against 55" ], "also": [ "Free to start without a card" ], "goodFor": "Developers who want an agent inside VS Code or JetBrains that asks before acting and can roll back, with the same engine in a CLI.", "slug": "cline", "watchFor": "The CLI approves every tool by default outside ACP mode and starts on Cline's own provider" } ], "job": { "capability": "agent.harness", "name": "Agent harnesses" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-aider.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs Aider", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-aider" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-amp.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs Amp", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-amp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-antigravity-cli.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs Antigravity CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-antigravity-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-claude-code.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs Claude Code", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-claude-code" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-cursor-cli.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs Cursor CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-cursor-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-devin.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs Devin", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-devin" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-droid-cli.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs Droid CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-droid-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-earendil-pi.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs Pi", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-earendil-pi" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-gemini-cli.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs Gemini CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-gemini-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-github-copilot-cli.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs GitHub Copilot CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-github-copilot-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-goose.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs goose", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-goose" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-openai-codex.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-openai-codex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-opencode.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs OpenCode", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-opencode" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-openhands.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs OpenHands", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-openhands" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-prime-agent.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs Prime Agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-prime-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-qwen-code.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs Qwen Code", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-qwen-code" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-cline.json", "title": "Aider vs Cline", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-cline" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-cline.json", "title": "Amp vs Cline", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-cline" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-cline.json", "title": "Antigravity CLI vs Cline", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-cline" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-cline.json", "title": "Claude Code vs Cline", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-cline" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-cursor-cli.json", "title": "Cline vs Cursor CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-cursor-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-devin.json", "title": "Cline vs Devin", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-devin" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-droid-cli.json", "title": "Cline vs Droid CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-droid-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-earendil-pi.json", "title": "Cline vs Pi", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-earendil-pi" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-gemini-cli.json", "title": "Cline vs Gemini CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-gemini-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-github-copilot-cli.json", "title": "Cline vs GitHub Copilot CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-github-copilot-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-goose.json", "title": "Cline vs goose", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-goose" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "Cline vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Cline vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openai-codex.json", "title": "Cline vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openai-codex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-opencode.json", "title": "Cline vs OpenCode", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-opencode" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openhands.json", "title": "Cline vs OpenHands", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openhands" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-prime-agent.json", "title": "Cline vs Prime Agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-prime-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-qwen-code.json", "title": "Cline vs Qwen Code", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-qwen-code" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-paperclip.json", "title": "Cline vs Paperclip", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-paperclip" } ], "scores": [ { "agent-zero": 57, "by": 23, "cline": 80, "edge": "cline", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "agent-zero": 64, "by": 13, "cline": 77, "edge": "cline", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "agent-zero": 62, "by": 5, "cline": 67, "edge": "cline", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "agent-zero": 54, "by": 3, "cline": 57, "edge": "cline", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "agent-zero": 60, "by": 10, "cline": 50, "edge": "agent-zero", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "agent-zero": 75, "by": 10, "cline": 85, "edge": "cline", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "agent-zero": 55, "by": 6, "cline": 61, "edge": "cline", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Cline scores 60.4 (C) on agent readiness against Agent Zero's 54.2 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Agent Zero leads on payments \u0026 pricing. Both do agent harnesses.", "verdicts": { "agent-zero": "Self-hosted under the MIT licence, with nine releases in the 90 days to 12 October 2026 and breaking changes listed in the release notes. The agent runs shell commands in its container with no approval step, the web interface has no login by default, and five CVEs from the past year have no published GitHub advisory.", "cline": "Approval before edits and commands in the IDE, with command auto-approval off by default since 4.0.0. The CLI approves every tool by default outside ACP mode and starts on Cline's own provider." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-cline", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-cline.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-cline.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-cline.min.md" }, "markdown": "Cline scores 60.4 (C) on agent readiness against Agent Zero's 54.2 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Agent Zero leads on payments \u0026 pricing. Both do agent harnesses.\n\n- Agent Zero: grade C, 54.2/100, rank #709 of 986. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/agent-zero.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/agent-zero.json\n- Cline: grade C, 60.4/100, rank #526 of 986. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cline.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cline.json\n- Best agent harnesses and coding agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/agent-harnesses/index.md\n- All 205 harnesses comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-harnesses/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Agent Zero (C)\n\nGood for: A technical owner who wants an agent with its own Linux machine, reachable from Telegram, WhatsApp or email, with scheduled tasks and editable memory.\n\nAhead on:\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 50\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No key needed to call it\n\nWatch for: No approval step before shell commands, file changes or outgoing messages. Tool Access defaults to allow\n\n### Cline (C)\n\nGood for: Developers who want an agent inside VS Code or JetBrains that asks before acting and can roll back, with the same engine in a CLI.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 80 against 57\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 77 against 64\n- Agent ergonomics, 67 against 62\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 85 against 75\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 61 against 55\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Free to start without a card\n\nWatch for: The CLI approves every tool by default outside ACP mode and starts on Cline's own provider\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Agent Zero | Cline | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 57 | 80 | Cline +23 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 64 | 77 | Cline +13 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 62 | 67 | Cline +5 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 54 | 57 | Cline +3 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 50 | Agent Zero +10 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 75 | 85 | Cline +10 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 55 | 61 | Cline +6 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -6 | -8 | |\n| **Total** | | **54.2 · C** | **60.4 · C** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Agent Zero | Cline |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |\n| Vendor | Agent Zero, s.r.o. | Cline Bot Inc. |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | | |\n| Auth | None | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Free | Freemium |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MIT | Apache-2.0 |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-09-23 | 2026-10-01 |\n| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2025-09-25 |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2025-09-24 |\n| Customer content may train models | | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | | yes |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | | yes |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | | yes |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | | yes |\n| Popularity | 19k stars | 68k stars |\n| Agent reviews | none | 2/5 (2) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Agent Zero.** Self-hosted under the MIT licence, with nine releases in the 90 days to 12 October 2026 and breaking changes listed in the release notes. The agent runs shell commands in its container with no approval step, the web interface has no login by default, and five CVEs from the past year have no published GitHub advisory.\n\n**Cline.** Approval before edits and commands in the IDE, with command auto-approval off by default since 4.0.0. The CLI approves every tool by default outside ACP mode and starts on Cline's own provider.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Agent Zero\n\n1. Set a UI login and password in Settings before publishing the port or opening a tunnel. The default has none\n2. Fill `allowed_users`, `allowed_numbers` or `sender_whitelist` before enabling a channel. An empty list accepts every sender\n3. Enable the Infection Check plugin when the agent reads mail, web pages or MCP results. It ships disabled\n4. Run v2.12 or later. It fixes a Telegram webhook authentication bypass and a WhatsApp media path traversal\n5. Call `POST /api_message` with the `X-API-KEY` header. The token changes when the UI login or password changes\n\n### Cline\n\n1. Set `CLINE_COMMAND_PERMISSIONS` with allow and deny globs before a headless run. The CLI approves every tool by default\n2. Pick a provider with `-P` and a key, or run `cline auth`. The default provider needs a Cline sign-in\n3. Untick 'Allow error and usage reporting', or turn off VS Code telemetry, before the first task\n4. Pin the CLI version. 2.3.0 was a malicious publish\n5. Keep the hub on 127.0.0.1 or set ROOM_SECRET, and run 3.0.30 or later\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Agent Zero or Cline?\n\nCline scores 60.4 (C) on agent readiness against Agent Zero's 54.2 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Agent Zero leads on payments \u0026 pricing.\n\n### Are Agent Zero and Cline open source?\n\nYes. Agent Zero is open source (MIT). Cline is open source (Apache-2.0).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-cline.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-cline.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"agent-zero\", \"b\": \"cline\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare agent-zero cline`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/agent-zero.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cline.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Agent Zero or Cline\n\n- [Agent Zero vs Aider](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-aider.md)\n- [Agent Zero vs Amp](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-amp.md)\n- [Agent Zero vs Antigravity CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-antigravity-cli.md)\n- [Agent Zero vs Claude Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-claude-code.md)\n- [Agent Zero vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-cursor-cli.md)\n- [Agent Zero vs Devin](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-devin.md)\n- [Agent Zero vs Droid CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-droid-cli.md)\n- [Agent Zero vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-earendil-pi.md)\n- [Agent Zero vs Gemini CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-gemini-cli.md)\n- [Agent Zero vs GitHub Copilot CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-github-copilot-cli.md)\n- [Agent Zero vs goose](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-goose.md)\n- [Agent Zero vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Agent Zero vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Agent Zero vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [Agent Zero vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-opencode.md)\n- [Agent Zero vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-openhands.md)\n- [Agent Zero vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-prime-agent.md)\n- [Agent Zero vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-qwen-code.md)\n- [Aider vs Cline](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-cline.md)\n- [Amp vs Cline](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-cline.md)\n- [Antigravity CLI vs Cline](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-cline.md)\n- [Claude Code vs Cline](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-cline.md)\n- [Cline vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-cursor-cli.md)\n- [Cline vs Devin](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-devin.md)\n- [Cline vs Droid CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-droid-cli.md)\n- [Cline vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-earendil-pi.md)\n- [Cline vs Gemini CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-gemini-cli.md)\n- [Cline vs GitHub Copilot CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-github-copilot-cli.md)\n- [Cline vs goose](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-goose.md)\n- [Cline vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Cline vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Cline vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [Cline vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-opencode.md)\n- [Cline vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openhands.md)\n- [Cline vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-prime-agent.md)\n- [Cline vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-qwen-code.md)\n- [Cline vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-paperclip.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-12", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Agent Zero vs Cline", "url": "" } ], "description": "Cline scores 60.4 (C) to Agent Zero's 54.2 (C) for agent harnesses. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Agent Zero C 54.2", "Cline C 60.4", "scores" ], "h1": "Agent Zero vs Cline", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-agent-zero-vs-cline.png", "path": "/compare/agent-zero-vs-cline", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Agent Zero vs Cline for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-12", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-cline" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2500, "slim": 630 }, "version": 1 }