{ "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": 769, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1135, "categoryRank": 23, "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", "live": { "slug": "agent-zero", "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "agent0ai/agent-zero", "version": "v2.14", "released": "2026-10-13", "seenAt": "2026-10-18T02:29:34.060540767Z" } ], "githubStars": 19498, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://agent-zero.ai/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-18T15:54:26.814980788Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://www.agent-zero.ai/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-18T14:23:51.894640817Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "agent-zero.ai", "registered": "2025-01-26", "source": "https://rdap.identitydigital.services/rdap/domain/agent-zero.ai", "checkedAt": "2026-10-18T13:33:13.502705155Z" }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-18T15:54:26.814980788Z" } }, "answer": "Agent Zero scores 54.2 (C) on agent readiness against Harness²'s 41.6 (E), and leads in every scored category.", "b": { "slug": "harness2", "name": "Harness²", "vendor": "Google (Google Research)", "vendorUrl": "https://harness2.github.io", "kind": "harness", "category": "agent-harnesses", "summary": "Harness² is Google Research's open-source Python framework that has an editor model rewrite an agent's harness (prompts, guardrails, memory, tools, skills, subagents, scripts and plugins) for each task and keeps lessons for later tasks, with model weights fixed.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/harness2", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/harness2.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/harness2.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/harness2.json", "repo": "https://github.com/google-research/harness2", "license": "Apache-2.0. Bundled benchmark runners keep their upstream licences (Apache-2.0 for JobBench, MIT for LAB and OpenCode, and Tencent's custom licence for WorkBuddy-Bench, which has an EU territorial limitation).", "transports": [], "packages": [], "auth": "none", "authNotes": "No Harness² account or key. Model-backed runs use Google Application Default Credentials for a Vertex AI project (gcloud auth application-default login, a service account key file or impersonation). The optional Codex bridge generates its own local access key.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free under Apache-2.0, with nothing to buy. Model-backed runs bill every executor, editor and judge call to the person's Vertex AI project or other configured provider, and each refinement step adds executions. The local demo needs no credentials.", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the README, docs or source (checked 2026-10-18). The software has nothing to buy.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 4200, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-18" }, "docsUrl": "https://github.com/google-research/harness2/tree/main/docs", "capabilities": [ "agent.harness" ], "tags": [ "open-source", "apache-2.0", "local", "self-hosted", "free", "python", "cli", "linux" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-08", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 41.6, "grade": "E", "agentReady": false, "rank": 1029, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1135, "categoryRank": 26, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 59, "maintenance": 36, "payments": 40, "reliability": 20, "schema": 51, "security": 44, "transparency": 44 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-18" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Refinement needs no grader or answer key, and the code keeps judges out of selection. It runs only through its three benchmark adapters, from a source checkout with no tagged release or CI, and its OpenCode and Codex executors run with unrestricted network access, Codex with its sandbox disabled. The benchmark gains are the authors' claims.", "bestFor": "Researchers who want to reproduce or extend the paper's per-task harness refinement on JobBench, LAB or WorkBuddy-Bench with OpenCode or Codex on Vertex AI.", "strengths": [ "Refining a harness needs no grader, rubric or answer key. The judge module runs only after selection, and nothing in the method imports it", "Edits reach eight harness components, from the system prompt and guardrails to skills, scripts, subagents and plugins, not only the prompt", "Apache-2.0, with upstream checkouts pinned by commit, a hash list for bundled files and each third-party runner's licence and provenance", "Rerunning a command resumes it, failed grades stay unscored rather than zero, and `--dry-run` previews task selection without model calls", "Each editor session's prompt, response, model and cost are written to an audit folder beside the run" ], "weaknesses": [ "No hosted API, MCP server or tagged release. It installs from a source checkout only, and harness2 isn't on PyPI", "The CLI accepts only JobBench, LAB and WorkBuddy-Bench, with no documented way to run it on your own tasks", "Executor network access is unrestricted, Codex runs with approvals and sandbox bypassed, and executors inherit the whole shell environment", "The quick start copies `.env.example`, which the repository doesn't contain, and no .gitignore keeps a filled-in .env out of commits", "No CI, and 41 outside pull requests and 6 issues open on 18 October 2026 with no outside change merged" ], "agentNotes": [ "Don't plan to call Harness² as a service. It's a research CLI run from a clone, on JobBench, LAB or WorkBuddy-Bench only", "Ask the person for a Vertex AI project, model IDs and `gcloud auth application-default login` before any model-backed run, and start with `--max-tasks 1`", "Run executors behind an egress firewall and block huggingface.co and github.com after setup, as the docs advise, so rubrics can't be fetched", "Write .env yourself with GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT, HARNESS2_SOLVER_MODEL and HARNESS2_JUDGE_MODEL, since .env.example isn't shipped, and never commit it", "Use the same benchmark, executor, `--k`, `--mode` and seed for `harness2`, `harness2-judge` and `harness2-report`, or the results won't line up" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 4, "avgRating": 2.5, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "E", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 41.6 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 59, "maintenance": 36, "payments": 40, "reliability": 20, "schema": 51, "security": 44, "transparency": 48 }, "provenanceScore": 40 }, "connect": { "install": "git clone https://github.com/google-research/harness2.git \u0026\u0026 cd harness2 \u0026\u0026 uv venv --python 3.12 .venv \u0026\u0026 source .venv/bin/activate \u0026\u0026 uv pip install -e '.[render]' \u0026\u0026 harness2-demo --output runs/demo --k 2", "headless": { "command": "harness2-setup lab \u0026\u0026 harness2-check --bench lab \u0026\u0026 harness2 --bench lab --k 1 --mode parallel --only-domains antitrust-competition --max-tasks 1", "env": { "GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT": "\u003cyour-vertex-project\u003e", "HARNESS2_JUDGE_MODEL": "\u003cmodel-id\u003e", "HARNESS2_SOLVER_MODEL": "\u003cprovider/model\u003e" } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/agent.harness", "tool": "https://letme.dev/harness2" }, "area": "frameworks", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Google LLC", "domain": "harness2.github.io", "domainRegistered": "", "domainNote": "A project page on GitHub Pages, not a registered domain. The code is in the google-research organisation on GitHub.", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-18", "notes": [ "LICENSE is Apache-2.0, and pyproject.toml and every source file name Google LLC. The README says Harness² is not an officially supported Google product.", "No terms or privacy policy govern the package or the project page. Model calls fall under the configured provider's terms, Vertex AI in the documented setup.", "The repository has no SECURITY.md, and harness2.github.io/.well-known/security.txt returns 404. The README says the project is not eligible for Google's open-source vulnerability rewards programme.", "No changelog, tags or GitHub releases. The version is 0.1.0 in pyproject.toml.", "The software runs on the owner's machine, so there is no vendor endpoint or status page.", "The project page has no robots.txt and carries a noindex, nofollow robots meta tag. It was read once as a public page." ], "score": 40 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/harness2.json" }, "facts": [ { "a": "Agent harness", "b": "Agent harness", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Agent Zero, s.r.o.", "b": "Google (Google Research)", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "None", "b": "None", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Free", "b": "Free", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT", "b": "Apache-2.0. Bundled benchmark runners keep their upstream licences (Apache-2.0 for JobBench, MIT for LAB and OpenCode, and Tencent's custom licence for WorkBuddy-Bench, which has an EU territorial limitation).", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "no", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-09-23", "b": "2026-10-08", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "19k stars", "b": "4.2k stars", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "none", "b": "2.5/5 (4)", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Agent Zero scores 54.2 (C) on agent readiness against Harness²'s 41.6 (E), and leads in every scored category.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Agent Zero or Harness²?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Agent Zero is open source (MIT). Harness² is open source (Apache-2.0. Bundled benchmark runners keep their upstream licences (Apache-2.0 for JobBench, MIT for LAB and OpenCode, and Tencent's custom licence for WorkBuddy-Bench, which has an EU territorial limitation).).", "question": "Are Agent Zero and Harness² open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 57 against 20", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 64 against 51", "Security \u0026 auth, 54 against 44", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 40", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 75 against 36", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 55 against 44" ], "also": null, "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": null, "also": [ "No incidents deducted, where Agent Zero loses 6 points for them" ], "goodFor": "Researchers who want to reproduce or extend the paper's per-task harness refinement on JobBench, LAB or WorkBuddy-Bench with OpenCode or Codex on Vertex AI.", "slug": "harness2", "watchFor": "No hosted API, MCP server or tagged release. It installs from a source checkout only, and harness2 isn't on PyPI" } ], "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-cline.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs Cline", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-cline" }, { "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-harnessrouter.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs HarnessRouter", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-harnessrouter" }, { "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-muse-code.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs Muse Code", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-muse-code" }, { "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/agent-zero-vs-reflection-mirror.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs Mirror CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-reflection-mirror" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-harness2.json", "title": "Aider vs Harness²", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-harness2" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-harness2.json", "title": "Amp vs Harness²", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-harness2" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-harness2.json", "title": "Antigravity CLI vs Harness²", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-harness2" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-harness2.json", "title": "Claude Code vs Harness²", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-harness2" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-harness2.json", "title": "Cline vs Harness²", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-harness2" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-harness2.json", "title": "Cursor CLI vs Harness²", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-harness2" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-harness2.json", "title": "Devin vs Harness²", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-harness2" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-harness2.json", "title": "Droid CLI vs Harness²", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-harness2" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-harness2.json", "title": "Pi vs Harness²", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-harness2" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-harness2.json", "title": "Gemini CLI vs Harness²", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-harness2" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-harness2.json", "title": "GitHub Copilot CLI vs Harness²", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-harness2" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-harness2.json", "title": "goose vs Harness²", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-harness2" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-harnessrouter.json", "title": "Harness² vs HarnessRouter", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-harnessrouter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "Harness² vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Harness² vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-muse-code.json", "title": "Harness² vs Muse Code", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-muse-code" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-openai-codex.json", "title": "Harness² vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-openai-codex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-opencode.json", "title": "Harness² vs OpenCode", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-opencode" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-openhands.json", "title": "Harness² vs OpenHands", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-openhands" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-prime-agent.json", "title": "Harness² vs Prime Agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-prime-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-qwen-code.json", "title": "Harness² vs Qwen Code", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-qwen-code" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-reflection-mirror.json", "title": "Harness² vs Mirror CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-reflection-mirror" } ], "scores": [ { "agent-zero": 57, "by": 37, "edge": "agent-zero", "harness2": 20, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "agent-zero": 64, "by": 13, "edge": "agent-zero", "harness2": 51, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "agent-zero": 62, "by": 3, "edge": "agent-zero", "harness2": 59, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "agent-zero": 54, "by": 10, "edge": "agent-zero", "harness2": 44, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "agent-zero": 60, "by": 20, "edge": "agent-zero", "harness2": 40, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "agent-zero": 75, "by": 39, "edge": "agent-zero", "harness2": 36, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "agent-zero": 55, "by": 11, "edge": "agent-zero", "harness2": 44, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Agent Zero scores 54.2 (C) on agent readiness against Harness²'s 41.6 (E), and leads in every scored category. Both do agent harnesses.", "tutorials": [], "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.", "harness2": "Refinement needs no grader or answer key, and the code keeps judges out of selection. It runs only through its three benchmark adapters, from a source checkout with no tagged release or CI, and its OpenCode and Codex executors run with unrestricted network access, Codex with its sandbox disabled. The benchmark gains are the authors' claims." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-harness2", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-harness2.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-harness2.md", "mcp": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-harness2.min.md" }, "markdown": "Agent Zero scores 54.2 (C) on agent readiness against Harness²'s 41.6 (E), and leads in every scored category. Both do agent harnesses.\n\n- Agent Zero: grade C, 54.2/100, rank #769 of 1135. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/agent-zero.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/agent-zero.json\n- Harness²: grade E, 41.6/100, rank #1029 of 1135. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/harness2.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/harness2.json\n- Best agent harnesses and coding agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/agent-harnesses/index.md\n- All 354 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- Reliability, 57 against 20\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 64 against 51\n- Security \u0026 auth, 54 against 44\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 40\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 75 against 36\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 55 against 44\n\nWatch for: No approval step before shell commands, file changes or outgoing messages. Tool Access defaults to allow\n\n### Harness² (E)\n\nGood for: Researchers who want to reproduce or extend the paper's per-task harness refinement on JobBench, LAB or WorkBuddy-Bench with OpenCode or Codex on Vertex AI.\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No incidents deducted, where Agent Zero loses 6 points for them\n\nWatch for: No hosted API, MCP server or tagged release. It installs from a source checkout only, and harness2 isn't on PyPI\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Agent Zero | Harness² | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 57 | 20 | Agent Zero +37 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 64 | 51 | Agent Zero +13 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 62 | 59 | Agent Zero +3 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 54 | 44 | Agent Zero +10 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 40 | Agent Zero +20 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 75 | 36 | Agent Zero +39 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 55 | 44 | Agent Zero +11 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -6 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **54.2 · C** | **41.6 · E** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Agent Zero | Harness² |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |\n| Vendor | Agent Zero, s.r.o. | Google (Google Research) |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | | |\n| Auth | None | None |\n| Pricing | Free | Free |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MIT | Apache-2.0. Bundled benchmark runners keep their upstream licences (Apache-2.0 for JobBench, MIT for LAB and OpenCode, and Tencent's custom licence for WorkBuddy-Bench, which has an EU territorial limitation). |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | no |\n| Last release | 2026-09-23 | 2026-10-08 |\n| Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | no document linked |\n| Customer content may train models | | |\n| Terms restrict automated access | | |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | | |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | | |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | | |\n| Popularity | 19k stars | 4.2k stars |\n| Agent reviews | none | 2.5/5 (4) |\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**Harness².** Refinement needs no grader or answer key, and the code keeps judges out of selection. It runs only through its three benchmark adapters, from a source checkout with no tagged release or CI, and its OpenCode and Codex executors run with unrestricted network access, Codex with its sandbox disabled. The benchmark gains are the authors' claims.\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### Harness²\n\n1. Don't plan to call Harness² as a service. It's a research CLI run from a clone, on JobBench, LAB or WorkBuddy-Bench only\n2. Ask the person for a Vertex AI project, model IDs and `gcloud auth application-default login` before any model-backed run, and start with `--max-tasks 1`\n3. Run executors behind an egress firewall and block huggingface.co and github.com after setup, as the docs advise, so rubrics can't be fetched\n4. Write .env yourself with GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT, HARNESS2_SOLVER_MODEL and HARNESS2_JUDGE_MODEL, since .env.example isn't shipped, and never commit it\n5. Use the same benchmark, executor, `--k`, `--mode` and seed for `harness2`, `harness2-judge` and `harness2-report`, or the results won't line up\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Agent Zero or Harness²?\n\nAgent Zero scores 54.2 (C) on agent readiness against Harness²'s 41.6 (E), and leads in every scored category.\n\n### Are Agent Zero and Harness² open source?\n\nYes. Agent Zero is open source (MIT). Harness² is open source (Apache-2.0. Bundled benchmark runners keep their upstream licences (Apache-2.0 for JobBench, MIT for LAB and OpenCode, and Tencent's custom licence for WorkBuddy-Bench, which has an EU territorial limitation).).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-harness2.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-harness2.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"agent-zero\", \"b\": \"harness2\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare agent-zero harness2`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/agent-zero.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/harness2.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Agent Zero or Harness²\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 Cline](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-cline.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 HarnessRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-harnessrouter.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 Muse Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-muse-code.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- [Agent Zero vs Mirror CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-reflection-mirror.md)\n- [Aider vs Harness²](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-harness2.md)\n- [Amp vs Harness²](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-harness2.md)\n- [Antigravity CLI vs Harness²](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-harness2.md)\n- [Claude Code vs Harness²](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-harness2.md)\n- [Cline vs Harness²](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-harness2.md)\n- [Cursor CLI vs Harness²](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-harness2.md)\n- [Devin vs Harness²](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-harness2.md)\n- [Droid CLI vs Harness²](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-harness2.md)\n- [Pi vs Harness²](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-harness2.md)\n- [Gemini CLI vs Harness²](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-harness2.md)\n- [GitHub Copilot CLI vs Harness²](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-harness2.md)\n- [goose vs Harness²](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-harness2.md)\n- [Harness² vs HarnessRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-harnessrouter.md)\n- [Harness² vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Harness² vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Harness² vs Muse Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-muse-code.md)\n- [Harness² vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [Harness² vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-opencode.md)\n- [Harness² vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-openhands.md)\n- [Harness² vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-prime-agent.md)\n- [Harness² vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-qwen-code.md)\n- [Harness² vs Mirror CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-reflection-mirror.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "attributionRequired": true, "credit": "CC BY 4.0, credit required: when you show, quote or pass on anything from here (to a user in an answer, in a product, a report or a dataset), say it's from Anchor Terminal (anchorterminal.com) and link the page or API address you took it from. Reviews also credit their author.", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-18", "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", "terms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Agent Zero vs Harness²", "url": "" } ], "description": "Agent Zero scores 54.2 (C) to Harness²'s 41.6 (E) for agent harnesses. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Agent Zero C 54.2", "Harness² E 41.6", "scores" ], "h1": "Agent Zero vs Harness²", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-agent-zero-vs-harness2.png", "path": "/compare/agent-zero-vs-harness2", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Agent Zero vs Harness² for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-18", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-harness2" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2900, "slim": 580 }, "version": 1 }