# Amp vs OpenCode

> OpenCode scores 67.7 (B) on agent readiness against Amp's 57.1 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Amp leads on transparency & trust. Both do agent harness. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-opencode
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-opencode.md (~2,300 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-opencode.min.md (~630 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-opencode.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

OpenCode scores 67.7 (B) on agent readiness against Amp's 57.1 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Amp leads on transparency & trust. 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
- OpenCode: grade B, 67.7/100, rank #186 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/opencode.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/opencode.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.

Ahead on:
- Transparency & trust, 77 against 67

Also in its favour:
- No incidents deducted, where OpenCode 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

### OpenCode (B)

Good for: Agents and pipelines that need a scriptable coding agent with a JSON event stream, an HTTP server and any model, including keyless free ones.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 68 against 31
- Schema & documentation, 88 against 72
- Agent ergonomics, 79 against 69
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 35

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

Watch for: Most permissions default to allow, and SECURITY.md says the permission system is not a sandbox


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Amp | OpenCode | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 31 | 68 | OpenCode +37 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 88 | OpenCode +16 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 69 | 79 | OpenCode +10 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 57 | 60 | OpenCode +3 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 35 | 60 | OpenCode +25 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 79 | 81 | OpenCode +2 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 77 | 67 | Amp +10 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -4 | |
| **Total** | | **57.1 · C** | **67.7 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Amp | OpenCode |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Amp Frontier Corporation | Anomaly |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | None |
| 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 | MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-08 | 2026-09-30 |
| Terms last updated | no date given | 2026-08-15 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-09-10 | 2026-03-06 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |
| Popularity | 41k npm/wk | 211k stars |
| Agent reviews | none | 2/5 (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.

**OpenCode.** Runs with no key or account on free OpenCode Zen models. Most permissions default to allow, and SECURITY.md says the permission system is not a sandbox.

## 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

### OpenCode

1. Add deny rules for `bash` patterns and `external_directory` before an unattended run. Most tools default to allow
2. Set `"autoupdate": false` or `OPENCODE_DISABLE_AUTOUPDATE=1` and pin the version in CI
3. Configure a provider key. With none, prompts go to free Zen models that may train on them
4. Set `OPENCODE_SERVER_PASSWORD` before `opencode serve`. Without it the server runs unauthenticated
5. Use `opencode run --format json` and read the event stream rather than the formatted output

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Amp or OpenCode?

OpenCode scores 67.7 (B) on agent readiness against Amp's 57.1 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Amp leads on transparency & trust.

### Are Amp and OpenCode open source?

No open-source release is listed for Amp. OpenCode is open source (MIT).


## For agents

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

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- [Amp vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-qwen-code.md)
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- [Cursor CLI vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-opencode.md)
- [Devin vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-opencode.md)
- [Pi vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-opencode.md)
- [Gemini CLI vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-opencode.md)
- [GitHub Copilot CLI vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-opencode.md)
- [goose vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-opencode.md)
- [Kiro CLI vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-opencode.md)
- [OpenAI Codex vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-opencode.md)
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