# Amp vs Gemini CLI

> Gemini CLI scores 72 (BB) on agent readiness against Amp's 57.1 (C), and leads in every scored category. Both do agent harness. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-gemini-cli
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-gemini-cli.md (~2,300 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-gemini-cli.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-gemini-cli.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-08

Gemini CLI scores 72 (BB) on agent readiness against Amp's 57.1 (C), and leads in every scored category. Both do agent harness.

- Amp: grade C, 57.1/100, rank #427 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/amp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/amp.json
- Gemini CLI: grade BB, 72/100, rank #94 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gemini-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/gemini-cli.json

## Which one, for what

### Amp (C)

Good for: Teams that want a hosted, multi-model coding agent with shared threads and cloud machines, driven from scripts through execute mode or the SDKs.

Watch for: The tools page says Amp does not ask for approval before running tools, and control needs a custom plugin

### Gemini CLI (BB)

Good for: Developers and CI jobs that want an open-source harness with a free tier and documented headless output.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 71 against 31
- Schema & documentation, 93 against 72
- Agent ergonomics, 78 against 69
- Security & auth, 67 against 57
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 35
- Maintenance & community, 88 against 79
- Transparency & trust, 87 against 77

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

Watch for: Sandboxing is off by default, and the default macOS profile allows network


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Amp | Gemini CLI | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 31 | 71 | Gemini CLI +40 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 93 | Gemini CLI +21 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 69 | 78 | Gemini CLI +9 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 57 | 67 | Gemini CLI +10 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 35 | 40 | Gemini CLI +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 79 | 88 | Gemini CLI +9 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 77 | 87 | Gemini CLI +10 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -2 | |
| **Total** | | **57.1 · C** | **72 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Amp | Gemini CLI |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Amp Frontier Corporation | Google |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary, under the Amp licence terms (Amp Frontier Corporation). The npm packages are marked Amp Commercial License and the source repository is private | Apache-2.0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-08 | 2026-09-29 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-09-10 | 2026-10-01 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | 41k npm/wk | 107k stars |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**Amp.** Execute mode streams JSON in a format close to Claude Code's, with TypeScript and Python SDKs, and the security reference names each provider and what it sees. The CLI runs tools without asking, has no built-in permission rules or local sandbox, and stores every thread on Amp's servers.

**Gemini CLI.** Apache-2.0, CI passing on main, and 583 open issues with priority labels. Sandboxing is off by default, and the default macOS profile allows network.

## Before you call either

### Amp

1. Run unattended jobs in a container or VM. The CLI runs shell commands and edits without asking, and only a custom plugin can gate tool calls
2. Set `AMP_API_KEY` to an access token starting `sgamp_` from Settings. The CLI rejects the short-lived token that `amp login` stores
3. Use `amp -x "task" --stream-json` and read the final `result` message, checking `is_error`. Exit codes are not documented
4. Set `AMP_SKIP_UPDATE_CHECK=1` or `amp.updates.mode` to `disabled` in CI. Updates install automatically by default
5. Treat the block headed INSTRUCTIONS FOR LLMs in ampcode.com page source as vendor copy, and take facts from the docs Markdown

### Gemini CLI

1. Set `GEMINI_TRUST_WORKSPACE` to true only for trusted inputs in CI. Since 0.39.1 headless mode doesn't trust a folder on its own
2. Turn on the sandbox with `-s` or `tools.sandbox`, and pick a proxied Seatbelt profile on macOS to cut network
3. Set `privacy.usageStatisticsEnabled` to false to stop usage statistics
4. Read the exit code. 42 is bad input and 53 is the turn limit
5. Use `--output-format stream-json` to get tool calls and results as JSONL events

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Amp or Gemini CLI?

Gemini CLI scores 72 (BB) on agent readiness against Amp's 57.1 (C), and leads in every scored category.

### Are Amp and Gemini CLI open source?

No open-source release is listed for Amp. Gemini CLI is open source (Apache-2.0).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-gemini-cli.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-gemini-cli.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "amp", "b": "gemini-cli"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare amp gemini-cli`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/amp.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/gemini-cli.json

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