# Amp vs Kimi Code CLI

> Kimi Code CLI scores 62.1 (B) to Amp's 57.1 (C) for agent harnesses. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
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- Updated: 2026-10-18

Kimi Code CLI scores 62.1 (B) on agent readiness against Amp's 57.1 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Amp leads on security & auth, maintenance & community and transparency & trust. Both do agent harnesses.

- Amp: grade C, 57.1/100, rank #691 of 1146. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/amp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/amp.json
- Kimi Code CLI: grade B, 62.1/100, rank #492 of 1146. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kimi-code-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kimi-code-cli.json
- Best agent harnesses and coding agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/agent-harnesses/index.md
- All 713 harnesses comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-harnesses/index.md

## 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.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 57 against 45
- Maintenance & community, 79 against 72
- Transparency & trust, 77 against 62

Also in its favour:
- No incidents deducted, where Kimi Code CLI loses 4 points for them

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

### Kimi Code CLI (B)

Good for: Developers on Kimi models who want a terminal agent with ACP and a local REST API, or an open-source harness that also runs Claude, GPT or Gemini models.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 68 against 31
- Schema & documentation, 85 against 72
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 35

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

Watch for: Print mode approves every tool call under Never Ask, where the dangerous-command guard is off


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Amp | Kimi Code CLI | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 31 | 68 | Kimi Code CLI +37 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 85 | Kimi Code CLI +13 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 69 | 71 | Kimi Code CLI +2 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 57 | 45 | Amp +12 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 35 | 60 | Kimi Code CLI +25 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 79 | 72 | Amp +7 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 77 | 62 | Amp +15 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -4 | |
| **Total** | | **57.1 · C** | **62.1 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Amp | Kimi Code CLI |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Amp Frontier Corporation | Moonshot AI |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Free |
| 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 | MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-08 | 2026-10-14 |
| Terms last updated | no date given |  |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-09-10 |  |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text |  |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes |  |
| Popularity | 41k npm/wk | 37k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (4) |

## 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.

**Kimi Code CLI.** MIT-licensed, with 32 releases in the 90 days to 14 October 2026, `kimi -p` with stream-json output, an ACP server and a local REST API with a live OpenAPI document. Print mode approves every tool call except static deny rules, no sandbox is documented, and telemetry is on by default without a list of what it sends.

## 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

### Kimi Code CLI

1. `kimi -p` approves every tool call. Add `[[permission.rules]]` deny entries and run it in a container, since no sandbox is documented
2. Set `KIMI_LOOP_MAX_STEPS_PER_TURN` for unattended runs. Steps per turn are unlimited by default
3. Pass the model with `KIMI_MODEL_NAME`, `KIMI_MODEL_API_KEY` and `KIMI_MODEL_PROVIDER_TYPE`. `OPENAI_API_KEY` or `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` in the shell is ignored otherwise
4. Set `KIMI_DISABLE_TELEMETRY=1` and use 0.41.0 or later, since earlier print-mode runs ignored it
5. Install `@moonshot-ai/kimi-code` or the `kimi-code` formula. The `kimi-cli` and `kimi-code` packages on PyPI are the archived Python CLI

## Questions

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

Kimi Code CLI scores 62.1 (B) on agent readiness against Amp's 57.1 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Amp leads on security & auth, maintenance & community and transparency & trust.

### Are Amp and Kimi Code CLI open source?

No open-source release is listed for Amp. Kimi Code CLI is open source (MIT).


## For agents

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

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