{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "axlr", "name": "AXLR", "vendor": "Underpass AI", "vendorUrl": "https://axlr.underpassai.com", "kind": "harness", "category": "agent-harnesses", "summary": "Open-source Go execution engine for agentic work from Underpass AI. A console with work modes and approval cards, an mTLS HTTP, gRPC and MCP service, a JSON worker and a Go library, with KMP memory and MADE procedures over MCP.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/axlr", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/axlr.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/axlr.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/axlr.json", "dns": "axlr.grade.anchorterminal.com", "repo": "https://github.com/underpass-ai/AXLR", "license": "Apache-2.0, with a NOTICE naming Tirso García Ibáñez as the copyright holder", "transports": [], "packages": [ { "registry": "go", "name": "github.com/underpass-ai/AXLR" }, { "registry": "oci", "name": "ghcr.io/underpass-ai/axlr" }, { "registry": "oci", "name": "ghcr.io/underpass-ai/charts/axlr" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "The console and the one-command `axlr-tui --exec` need a model route, an OpenRouter key (`OPENROUTER_API_KEY` or `credentials.json`, mode 0600), a local OpenAI-compatible server, or an Anthropic Messages or OpenAI Responses key in a `local_models` entry; the JSON worker and the library tests need no model account. The service, `axlr-serve`, requires TLS 1.3 and a client certificate signed by its CA whose SHA-256 fingerprint is mapped in a private principals file to a principal and the roles `session_client`, `approver`, `tool_operator` and `admin`; an unmapped certificate is forbidden, a session belongs to the principal that created it, and authentication never approves a tool by itself. MCP at `/mcp` is stateless and authenticated per request by the same certificate; gRPC uses the TLS peer certificate.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free and open source under Apache-2.0, with nothing to buy from Underpass AI. You pay your model provider (OpenRouter reports a cost per request, which the console's `/usage` and `max_session_usd` track) or run a local server at no charge; TypeSafe's Jev judge is optional and needs its own key. No hosted AXLR exists (checked 2026-11-01).", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the repository, the OpenAPI file or the two sites (checked 2026-11-01). Nothing is sold.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 0, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-11-01" }, "docsUrl": "https://axlr.underpassai.com/docs/", "openapi": "https://github.com/underpass-ai/AXLR/blob/main/api/openapi/axlr-v1.yaml", "capabilities": [ "agent.harness", "agent.mcp-client", "agent.multi-agent" ], "tags": [ "open-source", "local", "self-hosted", "free", "no-card", "go", "cli", "mcp-client", "openapi", "grpc", "docker", "helm", "sandbox", "approvals", "pre-1.0", "new" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-25", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 70.6, "grade": "BB", "agentReady": true, "rank": 168, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1253, "categoryRank": 3, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 83, "maintenance": 79, "payments": 60, "reliability": 70, "schema": 80, "security": 62, "transparency": 55 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-11-01" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "A pre-1.0 Go harness with an unusually complete service contract, mutual TLS with principal roles, required idempotency keys, a policy, budget and sandbox per execution, and a result object a program can read. The console's defaults after setup are autonomy on and no sandbox, the project has one maintainer and no outside users yet, and releases carry no notes.", "bestFor": "A program or bot that needs one governed execution at a time, with a policy, a budget, a sandbox profile and correlation ids it sets itself and a result object it reads back, on a machine it controls, with the model on OpenRouter, a local server or a native Anthropic or OpenAI key.", "strengths": [ "mTLS HTTP, gRPC and MCP service with four principal roles, `Idempotency-Key` required on turns, approvals and direct calls, and `expected_revision` on decisions", "A policy (observe, propose, act-with-approval, act-within-policy), a budget in seconds, requests, tool calls and dollars, and a bubblewrap or container sandbox with an enforced egress allow list, each per execution", "`axlr-tui --exec --json` runs one task headless and ends with a result object; exit 0 done, 3 waiting for a decision, 1 error", "OpenRouter, local OpenAI-compatible servers (llama.cpp, vLLM, Ollama, LM Studio), and the Anthropic Messages and OpenAI Responses APIs spoken directly", "21 releases in October 2026 from a workflow that tests on six native runners and refuses to republish different bytes, with a `.sha256` beside every archive" ], "weaknesses": [ "The setup assistant turns autonomy on and leaves the exec sandbox off, so after setup the model's commands run with the person's rights, bar the destructive list", "Pre-1.0 with one maintainer, 0 stars and 10 open issues, all the founder's own trackers; releases have empty notes and there is no changelog", "The service needs KMP and MADE as remote gRPC services, a client CA and a principals file before a first session, and has no work modes, plugins or forged-tool setting yet", "No SECURITY.md, security.txt, advisories or disclosure route; the legal entity is not yet incorporated and no terms or privacy policy exist", "No llms.txt, and the Go library is the only SDK; the catalog registry answers every non-AXLR client with 403" ], "agentNotes": [ "Before the first prompt, set `approvals.autonomous` to false or run with `--approve none`, and turn `exec_sandbox.mode` to `auto` or `required` on Linux; after setup both default the other way", "Drive a run with `axlr-tui --exec --json --policy \u003cfile\u003e --budget \u003cfile\u003e --sandbox \u003cfile\u003e` and read only the last `result` line; exit 3 means a call waits for `--decide approve|deny` with `--session \u003cid\u003e`", "On the service, send `Idempotency-Key` (16 to 128 safe ASCII characters) on every turn, approval and direct call, and pass the session's `expected_revision`; a reused key with a different body answers 409", "A local model must return native tool calls (llama.cpp with `--jinja`, vLLM with `--enable-auto-tool-choice`); set `context_tokens` on the entry and `OLLAMA_CONTEXT_LENGTH` for Ollama", "Leave `TYPESAFE_API_KEY` unset unless you want the setup assistant to switch Jev on, which sends requests and final answers to TypeSafe" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "BB", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 70.6 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 83, "maintenance": 79, "payments": 60, "reliability": 70, "schema": 80, "security": 62, "transparency": 68 }, "provenanceScore": 42, "checked": { "categories": { "ergonomics": "2026-11-01", "maintenance": "2026-11-01", "payments": "2026-11-01", "reliability": "2026-11-01", "schema": "2026-11-01", "security": "2026-11-01", "transparency": "2026-11-01" }, "last": "2026-11-01", "oldest": "2026-11-01", "stale": false, "staleAfterDays": 90 } }, "connect": { "install": "V=v0.15.0; OS=linux; ARCH=amd64; curl -fsSLO https://github.com/underpass-ai/AXLR/releases/download/$V/axlr-$V-$OS-$ARCH.tar.gz{,.sha256} \u0026\u0026 sha256sum -c axlr-$V-$OS-$ARCH.tar.gz.sha256 \u0026\u0026 tar xzf axlr-$V-$OS-$ARCH.tar.gz -C ~/.local/bin axlr axlr-tui axlr-serve # or build from source with Go 1.26", "headless": { "command": "axlr-tui --root \"$PWD\" --exec \"$TASK\" --json --approve none --policy policy.json --budget budget.json --sandbox sandbox.json", "decide": "axlr-tui --session \u003cid\u003e --decide approve --json", "env": { "OPENROUTER_API_KEY": "\u003ckey\u003e" } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/agent.harness", "tool": "https://letme.dev/axlr" }, "area": "frameworks", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "", "domain": "underpassai.com", "domainRegistered": "2025-08-10", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/underpass-ai/AXLR/releases", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-11-01", "notes": [ "No legal entity exists yet. underpassai.com's footer says Underpass AI is a startup project created by Tirso García Ibáñez and preparing incorporation as a Spanish limited liability company, that the technical assets are founder-owned and intended to be assigned to the company after incorporation, and that licence terms are in each repository's LICENSE and NOTICE. The NOTICE names Tirso García Ibáñez as copyright holder. Recorded as absent with that explanation.", "No terms of service or privacy policy on underpassai.com (sitemap lists the home page and one article) or axlr.underpassai.com. For local software the docs' 'Where data goes' and 'Diagnostics and privacy' sections stand in.", "RDAP for underpassai.com gives registration on 2025-08-10 with Route 53 nameservers. The GitHub organisation underpass-ai was created on 2025-08-09, location Spain, 16 public repositories. The AXLR repository was created on 2026-09-29; the first tag and release, v0.1.0, is dated 2026-10-04, which is firstReleased.", "https://underpassai.com/.well-known/security.txt and https://axlr.underpassai.com/.well-known/security.txt answer 404; the repository has no SECURITY.md. No status page (local software). The changelog is the GitHub releases list, whose entries carry no notes.", "robots.txt on underpassai.com and axlr.underpassai.com allow everything. registry.underpassai.com answers every path, robots.txt included, with 403 'forbidden: client is not AXLR', so nothing was read from it after that reply.", "The founder's LinkedIn URL is linked from underpassai.com and was not visited." ], "score": 42 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/axlr.json" }, "answer": "AXLR scores 70.6 (BB) on agent readiness against Kilo Code CLI's 68 (B), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Kilo Code CLI leads on reliability, schema \u0026 documentation, maintenance \u0026 community and transparency \u0026 trust.", "b": { "slug": "kilo-code-cli", "name": "Kilo Code CLI", "vendor": "Kilo Code Inc.", "vendorUrl": "https://kilo.ai", "kind": "harness", "category": "agent-harnesses", "summary": "Open-source coding agent for the terminal, forked from opencode and built from the same repository as Kilo's VS Code and JetBrains extensions. It runs with your own provider key, a local model or the Kilo Gateway.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kilo-code-cli", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kilo-code-cli.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kilo-code-cli.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kilo-code-cli.json", "dns": "kilo-code-cli.grade.anchorterminal.com", "repo": "https://github.com/Kilo-Org/kilocode", "license": "MIT", "transports": [], "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@kilocode/cli" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@kilocode/sdk" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "Your own provider key in `~/.config/kilo/kilo.jsonc` or the environment, a local model, or a Kilo account through `kilo auth login` for the Kilo Gateway and its free models. `kilo serve` runs unauthenticated unless `KILO_SERVER_PASSWORD` is set.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "The CLI is free and MIT-licensed, and needs no Kilo account with your own key or a local model. Kilo Gateway credits are billed at exact provider rates with a 5 per cent processing fee on credit purchases, and paid credits bought from 27 October 2026 expire after one year. Kilo Pass is $19, $49 or $199 a month, Teams is $15 a user a month and Enterprise is quoted (https://kilo.ai/pricing).", "priceSummary": "$19 / mo", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, the pricing page or the README (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 27539, "npmWeekly": 32804, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://kilo.ai/docs/code-with-ai/platforms/cli", "llmsTxt": "https://kilo.ai/docs/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "agent.harness", "agent.mcp-client", "agent.multi-agent" ], "tags": [ "harness", "coding-agent", "cli", "open-source", "typescript", "mcp", "llms-txt", "telemetry-default-on", "freemium", "no-card", "local" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-26", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 68, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 231, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1253, "categoryRank": 7, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 72, "maintenance": 87, "payments": 50, "reliability": 85, "schema": 90, "security": 64, "transparency": 76 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-11-01" }, "negative": -7, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-10-14. 7.8.10 added the conda client ID to default-on telemetry. When `~/.conda/aau_token` exists the CLI runs `conda info --json --offline` and attaches the ID (`aauClientToken`) to every PostHog event, and a commit hashing it was reverted. Neither the changelog nor the docs mention it. It respects Kilo's opt-out and conda's `anaconda_anon_usage: false`. -2. https://github.com/Kilo-Org/kilocode/blob/main/packages/kilo-telemetry/src/conda.ts", "2026-10-16 and 2026-10-26. Breaking changes in releases without notice. 7.8.13, filed as a patch change, made a custom delegator's own `edit` rules, path-scoped denies such as `secrets/**` included, stop applying to the subagents it starts, so a configuration that relied on them no longer confines delegated writes. 7.8.18 stopped remote MCP servers that redirect across origins from connecting. Neither is marked breaking, every release stays on 7.8.x, and no earlier notice was found. The redirect change closes a security issue and the changelog names the fix, so one term at the floor, -3, as firecrawl-mcp and docker-agent took. https://github.com/Kilo-Org/kilocode/blob/main/packages/opencode/CHANGELOG.md", "2026-10-22. 7.8.16 stopped running shell expressions in MCP prompt text. Before it, a `!`cmd`` expression in a prompt served by a connected MCP server ran as a local shell command when the user invoked that prompt (commit 2e17931, with a test that shows the expression ran). Fixed in a release, documented only as a changelog line with no advisory, -2, as docker-agent's fixed skill-file command execution took. https://github.com/Kilo-Org/kilocode/commit/2e1793154f6bef7632516a75a53d421a2e96b718" ], "verdict": "Shell commands ask before running by default, and an optional operating-system sandbox blocks writes outside the workspace and outbound network. Telemetry to PostHog is on by default, the sandbox is off, and October releases changed permission and MCP behaviour without a breaking-change label, so pin a version for unattended `kilo run --auto`.", "bestFor": "Developers who want an open-source terminal agent with per-tool permission rules, an optional sandbox and a choice of provider, and the same engine in VS Code and JetBrains.", "strengths": [ "Permission rules of `allow`, `ask` or `deny` per tool with glob patterns, and shell commands asking by default outside a built-in allow list", "A sandbox on macOS and Linux that limits writes, blocks network by default and refuses to run when it can't be enforced", "Project config can't weaken the sandbox or read environment variables through `{env:VAR}`", "Your own provider key or a local model works with no Kilo account", "Releases most weeks, 51 tagged releases between 4 August and 28 October 2026" ], "weaknesses": [ "Telemetry to PostHog is on by default, attaches the conda client ID since 7.8.10, and the privacy policy doesn't mention it", "The sandbox is off by default and unavailable on Windows", "`kilo run` lists no flag for a turn, time or cost limit", "The terms grant a perpetual licence to use uploaded Customer Data to improve Kilo's services", "SECURITY.md still says the CLI has no sandbox, and NVD records two unanswered low-severity CVEs from May 2026", "7.8.13 and 7.8.18 changed permission and MCP behaviour under patch-level versions with no breaking-change label" ], "agentNotes": [ "Set `sandbox.enabled` to true in the global `kilo.jsonc` before `kilo run --auto`. `--auto` approves every permission request not explicitly denied", "Set `experimental.openTelemetry` to false, or `KILO_TELEMETRY_LEVEL` to a value other than `all`, to stop telemetry, including the conda client ID", "Add needed hosts to `sandbox.allowed_hosts` in global config. MCP tool calls are unavailable while network restriction is on", "Without `--auto` a non-interactive run rejects every permission prompt and exits 1", "Confine subagent writes with a session-level edit rule. Since 7.8.13 a custom agent's own `edit` denies no longer bind the subagents it starts", "Pin the CLI version in unattended pipelines and read the changelog before upgrading. Behaviour changes ship under 7.8.x patch versions" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 4, "avgRating": 2.3, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 68 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 72, "maintenance": 87, "payments": 50, "reliability": 85, "schema": 90, "security": 64, "transparency": 61 }, "provenanceScore": 90, "checked": { "categories": { "ergonomics": "2026-11-01", "maintenance": "2026-11-01", "payments": "2026-11-01", "reliability": "2026-11-01", "schema": "2026-11-01", "security": "2026-11-01", "transparency": "2026-11-01" }, "last": "2026-11-01", "lastMoved": "2026-11-01", "oldest": "2026-11-01", "stale": false, "staleAfterDays": 90 } }, "connect": { "install": "npm install -g @kilocode/cli # or: brew install Kilo-Org/tap/kilo", "headless": { "command": "kilo run --auto --format json \"$TASK\"" } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/agent.harness", "tool": "https://letme.dev/kilo-code-cli" }, "area": "frameworks", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Kilo Pass, Starter", "unit": "month", "usd": 19, "note": "up to $26.60 a month in credits, optional" }, { "item": "Kilo Pass, Pro", "unit": "month", "usd": 49, "note": "up to $68.60 a month in credits, optional" }, { "item": "Kilo Pass, Expert", "unit": "month", "usd": 199, "note": "up to $278.60 a month in credits, optional" }, { "item": "Teams plan", "unit": "seat-month", "usd": 15, "note": "model use billed separately at provider rates" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Kilo Code Inc. (the terms are a contract with Anaconda, Inc. on behalf of itself and its affiliates, including Kilo Code Inc.)", "domain": "kilo.ai", "domainRegistered": "2017-12-16", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "https://kilo.ai/terms", "privacy": "https://kilo.ai/privacy", "statusPage": "https://status.kilo.ai", "changelog": "https://github.com/Kilo-Org/kilocode/blob/main/packages/opencode/CHANGELOG.md", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-11-01", "notes": [ "The terms (last updated 30 September 2026) name the CLI among the services they cover and are made with Anaconda, Inc. The privacy policy (29 May 2026) names Kilo Code Inc. as data controller.", "kilo.ai/.well-known/security.txt lists security@kilo.ai and the policy at kilo.ai/security, names the CLI in scope and expires on 2026-12-31.", "trust.kilo.ai redirects to trust.anaconda.com, which has a Kilo Code section.", "status.kilo.ai is a Statuspage site for the website, gateway and cloud platform. The CLI runs on the owner's machine.", "PRIVACY.md in the repository is a separate short policy for the CLI dated March 2025.", "Anaconda announced its acquisition of Kilo Code on 15 July 2026, and kilo.ai's footer links the announcement. Re-read on 1 November with the terms, privacy policy and security.txt, which are unchanged." ], "score": 90 }, "requirements": { "card": "no", "freeTier": true, "minutes": 3, "credential": "mixed", "hosting": [ "self-hosted" ], "euResidency": "unknown", "trainsOnData": "unknown", "zeroRetention": "unknown", "selfHost": "yes" }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kilo-code-cli.json", "live": { "slug": "kilo-code-cli", "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.kilo.ai", "indicator": "maintenance", "summary": "Service Under Maintenance", "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T22:09:21.273875666Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "Kilo-Org/kilocode", "version": "v7.8.18", "released": "2026-10-26", "seenAt": "2026-11-01T17:08:26.368588074Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@kilocode/cli", "version": "7.8.18", "seenAt": "2026-11-01T17:08:24.077136848Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@kilocode/sdk", "version": "7.8.18", "seenAt": "2026-11-01T17:08:24.994778409Z" } ], "githubStars": 27826, "npmWeekly": 57470, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://kilo.ai/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "expires": "2026-12-31T23:59:59.000Z", "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T15:43:47.811037231Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://kilo.ai/docs/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T15:14:06.444656237Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "kilo.ai", "registered": "2017-12-16", "source": "https://rdap.identitydigital.services/rdap/domain/kilo.ai", "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T14:08:08.435146626Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Kilo-Org/kilocode/main/packages/opencode/CHANGELOG.md", "kind": "changelog", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T06:51:29.651084547Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-29T05:14:29.778937453Z", "fingerprint": "e62a422384a5" }, { "url": "https://kilo.ai/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T06:46:09.767230009Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-21T00:28:45.897088737Z", "fingerprint": "438622fad605" }, { "url": "https://kilo.ai/terms", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T06:46:11.952766674Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-21T00:28:48.139673985Z", "fingerprint": "ab8895c68f21" } ], "github": { "repo": "kilo-org/kilocode", "checkedAt": "2026-10-26T07:37:46.421102244Z", "stars": 27753, "archived": false, "issuesEnabled": true, "pushedAt": "2026-10-25T18:19:48Z", "openIssues": 577, "openPRs": 197, "issuesOpened90d": 922, "issuesClosed90d": 934, "prsMerged90d": 1426, "ci": { "branch": "main", "runs": 50, "success": 50, "failure": 0, "other": 0, "latest": "success", "latestAt": "2026-10-23T17:23:45Z" }, "replies": { "sampled": 5, "unanswered": 4, "medianDays": 1.7 } }, "updatedAt": "2026-11-01T22:09:21.273875666Z" } }, "edges": [ { "by": 21, "category": "transparency", "leads": "kilo-code-cli", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "reasons": { "a": "Apache-2.0 with a NOTICE (30). No privacy policy or terms on underpassai.com or axlr.underpassai.com; the docs' 'Where data goes' and 'Diagnostics and privacy' sections say that model requests go to OpenRouter, the local server or the native API, that Jev sends text to TypeSafe only when on, that sessions live under `$XDG_STATE_HOME/axlr`, that payload capture is off by default and redacted when on, and that traces are deleted after 30 days; nothing covers the engine downloads' or the catalog registry's handling of a client's requests (15). No deprecation policy; pre-1.0 changes are dated inline in the docs and the product contract records the 5 October 2026 retirement of the first skill catalogue after the fact (6). No telemetry to disclose, and the docs say in two places what leaves the machine and how to stop payload capture, though no single page says there is no telemetry (17). 30+15+6+17 = 68.", "b": "MIT, with opencode's copyright kept in the licence file (30). The privacy policy (29 May 2026, re-read on 1 November) names Kilo Code Inc. as controller, says data is stored in the United States and lists Stripe, OpenRouter, model providers, AppsFlyer and Sentry, but it doesn't mention the CLI's PostHog telemetry. PRIVACY.md in the repository is dated March 2025 and is silent on telemetry too. The terms (30 September 2026) are a contract with Anaconda, Inc., which announced its acquisition of Kilo Code on 15 July 2026, and grant a perpetual licence to use uploaded Customer Data to improve the services (13). `kilo console` is marked deprecated with no removal date, and updated terms apply after 30 days. No written deprecation policy found (8). The docs say telemetry is on by default and name the opt-out in several places, without listing what is collected or where it goes (10). 30 + 13 + 8 + 10 = 61." }, "scores": { "a": 55, "b": 76 } }, { "by": 15, "category": "reliability", "leads": "kilo-code-cli", "name": "Reliability", "reasons": { "a": "Read as a local package, as claude-code, goose, opencode and openhands were. Release archives for Linux, macOS and Windows on amd64 and arm64 with a `.sha256` beside each, a GHCR image, an OCI Helm chart and source builds with Go 1.26, all stated in the docs; no Homebrew, npm or apt route (20). CI on main runs vet, race tests and a coverage gate above 80 per cent for both modules, with the sandbox tests required under bubblewrap, and the last ten runs on main to 1 November 2026 all passed; the release workflow tests on six native runners (25). 10 open issues, all opened by the founder on 19 and 21 October 2026 as trackers for service work (work modes, plugins, the sandbox setting, cost limits), none from an outside user and none a crash report, 0 open pull requests and about 100 merged; with 0 stars there is nobody else to report, so the handling of outside reports is untested (20). Tags are semver 0.x and the docs date each behaviour change inline (\"until 14 October 2026…\"), but the 21 releases have empty notes, there is no CHANGELOG.md, and the product contract records one retirement (the seven 1.0 skill definitions on 5 October 2026) without a notice period (5). Pre-1.0, which the README calls an evolving project (0). 20+25+20+5+0 = 70.", "b": "Local-package reading. `@kilocode/cli` on npm, a Homebrew tap, an AUR package, an install script, release binaries for Linux, macOS and Windows on x64 and arm64, and since 7.8.20 (27 October) a `kilo-cli` conda package on Anaconda.org (20). Public CI, and the 40 most recent completed workflow runs on main on 8 October 2026 all succeeded, per the 8 October check, not re-read on 17 October or 1 November (25). 448 open issues and 147 open pull requests, a workflow that closes issues after 60 quiet days and pull requests after 30, and open reports from 7 October of a hanging turn (#14876) and of exhausted 503 retries ending a run with no visible error (#14877), per the 8 October check, not re-read since (15). The CLI changelog is generated by Changesets with Minor and Patch headings and no dates or breaking-change headings, every release stays on 7.8.x whatever its heading, and 7.8.13 and 7.8.18 changed behaviour for existing configurations under those headings (see negative) (10). 7.8.18 on the npm `latest` tag on 1 November, past 1.0 (15). 20 + 25 + 15 + 10 + 15 = 85." }, "scores": { "a": 70, "b": 85 } }, { "by": 11, "category": "ergonomics", "leads": "axlr", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "reasons": { "a": "Harness reading of the framework line, scored on what a program driving it has to supply. Six local tools plus the host's bookkeeping tools; work modes and an execution policy hide the tools a run may not use, `axlr_catalog` searches the catalog instead of loading it, forged tools keep the request prefix for the prompt cache, and a context cap of 75,000 prompt tokens opens a successor session (20). `local_read`, `local_search` and `local_list` page with `offset`, `next_offset` and `max_bytes`; `StreamEvents` takes `after`, `max_events` (1 to 256) and `wait_ms`; a budget per execution in seconds, requests, tool calls and dollars; 32 tool calls a turn and `max_session_usd` (20). The `--exec` run ends in one `result` line with a status, the pending call, every call's outcome and the usage, and exits 0, 3 or 1; service errors carry codes an agent can act on; a budget stop says which limit (`budget: requests 20 reached`) and leaves the session resumable (16). `Idempotency-Key` on every turn, approval and direct call with cross-transport replay, `expected_revision` on decisions, `expected_sha256` on worker writes, and an interrupted effectful call left `uncertain` for an operator rather than retried (19). One command runs a task, but the first launch needs an OpenRouter key or a local server, the service needs a CA, a principals file and remote KMP and MADE before a first session, and the only SDK is the Go library (8). 20+20+16+19+8 = 83.", "b": "Framework reading, adapted to a harness driven by a pipeline. Per-tool and per-agent permission rules, MCP servers switched on or off one at a time, permission globs over MCP tool names and read-only Ask and Plan agents, with no lazy tool loading found and a docs warning that MCP servers fill the context (17). Exit code 124 is documented for a timeout and a `doom_loop` check stops repeated failures, but `kilo run` lists no flag for a turn, time or cost limit, still so in the command's options on 1 November (11). Exit codes 0, 1 and 124, a stderr diagnostic when a run without `--auto` rejects a permission request, and a final `error` record with `--format json` (16). `--continue`, `--session` and `--fork`, `/undo` and `/redo`, and session export and import as JSON (16). `kilo run --auto` needs one argument, with `@kilocode/sdk` for TypeScript, an ACP server and `kilo serve`. We found no second-language SDK on a registry (12). 17 + 11 + 16 + 16 + 12 = 72." }, "scores": { "a": 83, "b": 72 } }, { "by": 10, "category": "schema", "leads": "kilo-code-cli", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "reasons": { "a": "An OpenAPI 3.1 file for the service (15 paths, 23 schemas, `mutualTLS` security scheme, `additionalProperties: false` on request bodies), a checked proto for the gRPC service, and the 19 MCP tools built from the same shared schemas (25). No llms.txt on either site (404), and the docs site renders HTML; the Markdown sources are in the repository (5). The product contract tables what each of the four interfaces can and cannot do, the work-mode table states each mode's purpose and tool policy, the transport parity ledger names every verb's arguments and behaviour, and `axlr_tools` tells the model to look for a tool before forging one (15). Typed inputs throughout, `Idempotency-Key` 16 to 128 safe ASCII characters, `expected_revision` a positive integer, policy levels, sandbox profiles and egress values enumerated, budgets as four integers, and the service rejects unknown fields, invalid types and bodies over 4 MiB (14). Examples in every guide, an error shape of `code`, `message` and `request_id`, named codes (`409 idempotency_conflict`, `400 invalid_cursor`, `422 invalid_policy`, `invalid_budget`, `sandbox_unavailable`, `not_ready`, `invalid_id`), a gRPC status mapping, and the worker's five statuses and three exit codes; no single error reference page (14). `/v1` routes and an OpenAPI version of 0.1.0 against a 0.15.0 release, and no changelog beyond the dated notes inside the docs (7). 25+5+15+14+14+7 = 80.", "b": "Framework reading. A JSON Schema for `kilo.jsonc` at `https://app.kilo.ai/config.json`, an OpenAPI file for the `kilo serve` API at `packages/sdk/openapi.json` and a CLI reference generated from the command definitions (25). `llms.txt` on kilo.ai and on the docs, the second listing a raw Markdown address for every page (10). The sandboxing page says when to use the sandbox, what it does not protect and how it differs from permissions (16). Permissions are `allow`, `ask` or `deny` with glob rules, `sandbox.network` and `--format` are enums, though the schema served on 8 October had no `sandbox` key (13). Config and CI samples and exit codes 0, 1 and 124, but we found no reference for the records `--format json` writes (11). A versioned changelog and dated GitHub releases (15). Not re-read on 1 November apart from the changelog. 25 + 10 + 16 + 13 + 11 + 15 = 90." }, "scores": { "a": 80, "b": 90 } }, { "by": 10, "category": "payments", "leads": "axlr", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "reasons": { "a": "No payment protocol (0). Free and Apache-2.0 with nothing to buy, so 20, 20 and 20 on the last three lines by the self-hosted rule, since the docs say what you pay your model provider, the free route needs no card, and it runs local models with no signup at all, the JSON worker without any model. 0+20+20+20 = 60.", "b": "No payment protocol (0). Scored on Kilo's paid options, as with Cline. Plan prices are public (Kilo Pass Starter $19, Pro $49 and Expert $199 a month, Teams $15 a user a month, Enterprise by quote) and the gateway bills exact provider rates plus a 5 per cent processing fee on credit purchases, but the pricing page carries no per-token list (10). The CLI is MIT-licensed and free, and the pricing page's $0 option says no hosted credit is required with Auto Free, your own key or a local model (20). Your own provider key or a local model works with no Kilo account, so an agent can install and run it without a sign-up (20). Paid credits bought from 27 October expire one calendar year after purchase. 0 + 10 + 20 + 20 = 50." }, "scores": { "a": 60, "b": 50 } }, { "by": 8, "category": "maintenance", "leads": "kilo-code-cli", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "reasons": { "a": "v0.15.0 on 2026-10-25, with commits on main to 2026-11-01 (30). 21 releases between 4 and 25 October 2026 (20). One maintainer (368 of 399 commits, the rest by two agent accounts), 10 open issues that are his own trackers with no comments, about 100 merged pull requests and no outside report to measure a reply against (15). Not in the MCP registry; the Go module and a proto to generate clients from are the only client code, beside the GHCR image and Helm chart (5). Go 1.26 toolchain pinned, release actions pinned by commit SHA, a go-licenses check that the third-party bundle matches the dependency graph, and CI passing on main (9). 30+20+15+5+9 = 79.", "b": "7.8.18 on the npm `latest` tag (tag of 26 October 2026), with 7.8.25 on the `rc` tag (28 October) (30). 51 v7 release tags from 4 August to 28 October 2026, among them 7.8.13 to 7.8.25 since the 17 October check (20). Issue replies weren't re-read. The newest issues carry area and triage labels from automation, but the 15 newest open issues had no or one comment each on 8 October, against 448 open issues and 147 open pull requests, per the 8 October check (15). `@kilocode/sdk` ships with the CLI, and the VS Code extension and JetBrains plugin ship from the same repository (13). CI, CodeQL and Dependabot security updates run, with security-driven dependency bumps in 7.8.18 and 7.8.20 (9). 30 + 20 + 15 + 13 + 9 = 87." }, "scores": { "a": 79, "b": 87 } } ], "facts": [ { "a": "Agent harness", "b": "Agent harness", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Underpass AI", "b": "Kilo Code Inc.", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth or key", "b": "OAuth or key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Free", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Apache-2.0, with a NOTICE naming Tirso García Ibáñez as the copyright holder", "b": "MIT", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-25", "b": "2026-10-26", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "2026-09-30", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "2026-05-29", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not read yet", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not read yet", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "not read yet", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not read yet", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "not read yet", "b": "yes", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "0 stars", "b": "28k stars, 33k npm/wk", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "none", "b": "2.3/5 (4)", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "AXLR scores 70.6 (BB) on agent readiness against Kilo Code CLI's 68 (B), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Kilo Code CLI leads on reliability, schema \u0026 documentation, maintenance \u0026 community and transparency \u0026 trust.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, AXLR or Kilo Code CLI?" }, { "answer": "Yes. AXLR is open source (Apache-2.0, with a NOTICE naming Tirso García Ibáñez as the copyright holder). Kilo Code CLI is open source (MIT).", "question": "Are AXLR and Kilo Code CLI open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Agent ergonomics, 83 against 72", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 50" ], "also": [ "Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better", "No incidents deducted, where Kilo Code CLI loses 7 points for them" ], "goodFor": "A program or bot that needs one governed execution at a time, with a policy, a budget, a sandbox profile and correlation ids it sets itself and a result object it reads back, on a machine it controls, with the model on OpenRouter, a local server or a native Anthropic or OpenAI key.", "slug": "axlr", "watchFor": "The setup assistant turns autonomy on and leaves the exec sandbox off, so after setup the model's commands run with the person's rights, bar the destructive list" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 85 against 70", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 90 against 80", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 87 against 79", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 76 against 55" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Developers who want an open-source terminal agent with per-tool permission rules, an optional sandbox and a choice of provider, and the same engine in VS Code and JetBrains.", "slug": "kilo-code-cli", "watchFor": "Telemetry to PostHog is on by default, attaches the conda client ID since 7.8.10, and the privacy policy doesn't mention it" } ], "history": { "axlr": null, "kilo-code-cli": [ { "causes": [ "event" ], "date": "2026-11-01", "delta": -5, "from": 73, "fromGrade": "BB", "to": 68, "toGrade": "B" }, { "causes": [ "evidence", "event" ], "date": "2026-10-17", "delta": -2.4, "from": 75.4, "fromGrade": "BB", "to": 73, "toGrade": "BB" } ] }, "job": { "capability": "agent.harness", "name": "Agent harnesses" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-axlr.json", "title": "Agent Zero vs AXLR", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-axlr" }, { "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/aider-vs-axlr.json", "title": "Aider vs AXLR", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-axlr" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "Aider vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-axlr.json", "title": "Amp vs AXLR", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-axlr" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "Amp vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-axlr.json", "title": "Antigravity CLI vs AXLR", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-axlr" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "Antigravity CLI vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/auggie-vs-axlr.json", "title": "Auggie CLI vs AXLR", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/auggie-vs-axlr" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/auggie-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "Auggie CLI vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/auggie-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-claude-code.json", "title": "AXLR vs Claude Code", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-claude-code" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-cline.json", "title": "AXLR vs Cline", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-cline" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-crush.json", "title": "AXLR vs Crush", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-crush" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-cursor-cli.json", "title": "AXLR vs Cursor CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-cursor-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-deepseek-harness.json", "title": "AXLR vs DeepSeek Harness (dsh)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-deepseek-harness" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-deepseek-superagent.json", "title": "AXLR vs dsh-superagent (DeepSeek)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-deepseek-superagent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-devin.json", "title": "AXLR vs Devin", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-devin" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-droid-cli.json", "title": "AXLR vs Droid CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-droid-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-earendil-pi.json", "title": "AXLR vs Pi", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-earendil-pi" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-gemini-cli.json", "title": "AXLR vs Gemini CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-gemini-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-github-copilot-cli.json", "title": "AXLR vs GitHub Copilot CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-github-copilot-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-goose.json", "title": "AXLR vs goose", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-goose" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-harness2.json", "title": "AXLR vs Harness²", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-harness2" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-harnessrouter.json", "title": "AXLR vs HarnessRouter", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-harnessrouter" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-jules.json", "title": "AXLR vs Jules", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-jules" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-junie.json", "title": "AXLR vs Junie CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-junie" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-kimi-code-cli.json", "title": "AXLR vs Kimi Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-kimi-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "AXLR vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-mini-swe-agent.json", "title": "AXLR vs mini-swe-agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-mini-swe-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-minimax-code.json", "title": "AXLR vs MiniMax Code", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-minimax-code" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-mistral-vibe-cli.json", "title": "AXLR vs Mistral Vibe CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-mistral-vibe-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-muse-code.json", "title": "AXLR vs Muse Code", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-muse-code" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-openai-codex.json", "title": "AXLR vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-openai-codex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-opencode.json", "title": "AXLR vs OpenCode", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-opencode" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-openhands.json", "title": "AXLR vs OpenHands", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-openhands" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-openmausbot.json", "title": "AXLR vs OpenMausBot", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-openmausbot" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-prime-agent.json", "title": "AXLR vs Prime Agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-prime-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-qoder-cli.json", "title": "AXLR vs Qoder CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-qoder-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-qwen-code.json", "title": "AXLR vs Qwen Code", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-qwen-code" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-reflection-mirror.json", "title": "AXLR vs Mirror CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-reflection-mirror" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-rovo-dev-cli.json", "title": "AXLR vs Rovo Dev CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-rovo-dev-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-unstoppable.json", "title": "AXLR vs Unstoppable", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-unstoppable" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-vibe-trading.json", "title": "AXLR vs Vibe-Trading", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-vibe-trading" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-warp.json", "title": "AXLR vs Warp (Warp Agent CLI and the Oz Agent API)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-warp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "Claude Code vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "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/crush-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "Crush vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crush-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "Cursor CLI vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-harness-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "DeepSeek Harness (dsh) vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-harness-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-superagent-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "dsh-superagent (DeepSeek) vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-superagent-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "Devin vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "Droid CLI vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "Pi vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "Gemini CLI vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "GitHub Copilot CLI vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "goose vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "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/harnessrouter-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "HarnessRouter vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harnessrouter-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jules-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "Jules vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jules-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/junie-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "Junie CLI vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/junie-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-kimi-code-cli.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs Kimi Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-kimi-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-mini-swe-agent.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs mini-swe-agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-mini-swe-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-minimax-code.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs MiniMax Code", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-minimax-code" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-mistral-vibe-cli.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs Mistral Vibe CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-mistral-vibe-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-muse-code.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs Muse Code", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-muse-code" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-openai-codex.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-openai-codex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-opencode.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs OpenCode", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-opencode" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-openhands.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs OpenHands", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-openhands" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-openmausbot.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs OpenMausBot", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-openmausbot" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-prime-agent.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs Prime Agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-prime-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-qoder-cli.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs Qoder CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-qoder-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-qwen-code.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs Qwen Code", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-qwen-code" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-reflection-mirror.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs Mirror CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-reflection-mirror" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-rovo-dev-cli.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs Rovo Dev CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-rovo-dev-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-unstoppable.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs Unstoppable", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-unstoppable" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-vibe-trading.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs Vibe-Trading", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-vibe-trading" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-warp.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs Warp (Warp Agent CLI and the Oz Agent API)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-warp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-clawboo.json", "title": "AXLR vs Clawboo", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-clawboo" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-cli-manager.json", "title": "AXLR vs CLI Manager", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-cli-manager" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-harness-autonomous.json", "title": "AXLR vs Harness", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-harness-autonomous" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-paperclip.json", "title": "AXLR vs Paperclip", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-paperclip" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-parallax-agents.json", "title": "AXLR vs Parallax", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-parallax-agents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clawboo-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "Clawboo vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clawboo-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cli-manager-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "CLI Manager vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cli-manager-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness-autonomous-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "title": "Harness vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness-autonomous-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-paperclip.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs Paperclip", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-paperclip" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-parallax-agents.json", "title": "Kilo Code CLI vs Parallax", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-parallax-agents" } ], "panel": null, "scores": [ { "axlr": 70, "by": 15, "edge": "kilo-code-cli", "key": "reliability", "kilo-code-cli": 85, "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "axlr": 80, "by": 10, "edge": "kilo-code-cli", "key": "schema", "kilo-code-cli": 90, "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "axlr": 83, "by": 11, "edge": "axlr", "key": "ergonomics", "kilo-code-cli": 72, "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "axlr": 62, "by": 2, "edge": "kilo-code-cli", "key": "security", "kilo-code-cli": 64, "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "axlr": 60, "by": 10, "edge": "axlr", "key": "payments", "kilo-code-cli": 50, "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "axlr": 79, "by": 8, "edge": "kilo-code-cli", "key": "maintenance", "kilo-code-cli": 87, "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "axlr": 55, "by": 21, "edge": "kilo-code-cli", "key": "transparency", "kilo-code-cli": 76, "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "AXLR scores 70.6 (BB) on agent readiness against Kilo Code CLI's 68 (B), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Kilo Code CLI leads on reliability, schema \u0026 documentation, maintenance \u0026 community and transparency \u0026 trust. Both do agent harnesses.", "tasks": null, "tutorials": [], "verdicts": { "axlr": "A pre-1.0 Go harness with an unusually complete service contract, mutual TLS with principal roles, required idempotency keys, a policy, budget and sandbox per execution, and a result object a program can read. The console's defaults after setup are autonomy on and no sandbox, the project has one maintainer and no outside users yet, and releases carry no notes.", "kilo-code-cli": "Shell commands ask before running by default, and an optional operating-system sandbox blocks writes outside the workspace and outbound network. Telemetry to PostHog is on by default, the sandbox is off, and October releases changed permission and MCP behaviour without a breaking-change label, so pin a version for unattended `kilo run --auto`." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-kilo-code-cli", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-kilo-code-cli.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-kilo-code-cli.md", "mcp": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-kilo-code-cli.min.md" }, "markdown": "AXLR scores 70.6 (BB) on agent readiness against Kilo Code CLI's 68 (B), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Kilo Code CLI leads on reliability, schema \u0026 documentation, maintenance \u0026 community and transparency \u0026 trust. Both do agent harnesses.\n\n- AXLR: grade BB, 70.6/100, rank #168 of 1253. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/axlr.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/axlr.json\n- Kilo Code CLI: grade B, 68/100, rank #231 of 1253. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kilo-code-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kilo-code-cli.json\n- Best agent harnesses and coding agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/agent-harnesses/index.md\n- All 1000 harnesses comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-harnesses/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### AXLR (BB)\n\nGood for: A program or bot that needs one governed execution at a time, with a policy, a budget, a sandbox profile and correlation ids it sets itself and a result object it reads back, on a machine it controls, with the model on OpenRouter, a local server or a native Anthropic or OpenAI key.\n\nAhead on:\n- Agent ergonomics, 83 against 72\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 50\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better\n- No incidents deducted, where Kilo Code CLI loses 7 points for them\n\nWatch for: The setup assistant turns autonomy on and leaves the exec sandbox off, so after setup the model's commands run with the person's rights, bar the destructive list\n\n### Kilo Code CLI (B)\n\nGood for: Developers who want an open-source terminal agent with per-tool permission rules, an optional sandbox and a choice of provider, and the same engine in VS Code and JetBrains.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 85 against 70\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 90 against 80\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 87 against 79\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 76 against 55\n\nWatch for: Telemetry to PostHog is on by default, attaches the conda client ID since 7.8.10, and the privacy policy doesn't mention it\n\n\n## Why the edge\n\n### Transparency \u0026 trust: Kilo Code CLI +21\n\n- AXLR (55): Apache-2.0 with a NOTICE (30). No privacy policy or terms on underpassai.com or axlr.underpassai.com; the docs' 'Where data goes' and 'Diagnostics and privacy' sections say that model requests go to OpenRouter, the local server or the native API, that Jev sends text to TypeSafe only when on, that sessions live under `$XDG_STATE_HOME/axlr`, that payload capture is off by default and redacted when on, and that traces are deleted after 30 days; nothing covers the engine downloads' or the catalog registry's handling of a client's requests (15). No deprecation policy; pre-1.0 changes are dated inline in the docs and the product contract records the 5 October 2026 retirement of the first skill catalogue after the fact (6). No telemetry to disclose, and the docs say in two places what leaves the machine and how to stop payload capture, though no single page says there is no telemetry (17). 30+15+6+17 = 68.\n- Kilo Code CLI (76): MIT, with opencode's copyright kept in the licence file (30). The privacy policy (29 May 2026, re-read on 1 November) names Kilo Code Inc. as controller, says data is stored in the United States and lists Stripe, OpenRouter, model providers, AppsFlyer and Sentry, but it doesn't mention the CLI's PostHog telemetry. PRIVACY.md in the repository is dated March 2025 and is silent on telemetry too. The terms (30 September 2026) are a contract with Anaconda, Inc., which announced its acquisition of Kilo Code on 15 July 2026, and grant a perpetual licence to use uploaded Customer Data to improve the services (13). `kilo console` is marked deprecated with no removal date, and updated terms apply after 30 days. No written deprecation policy found (8). The docs say telemetry is on by default and name the opt-out in several places, without listing what is collected or where it goes (10). 30 + 13 + 8 + 10 = 61.\n\n### Reliability: Kilo Code CLI +15\n\n- AXLR (70): Read as a local package, as claude-code, goose, opencode and openhands were. Release archives for Linux, macOS and Windows on amd64 and arm64 with a `.sha256` beside each, a GHCR image, an OCI Helm chart and source builds with Go 1.26, all stated in the docs; no Homebrew, npm or apt route (20). CI on main runs vet, race tests and a coverage gate above 80 per cent for both modules, with the sandbox tests required under bubblewrap, and the last ten runs on main to 1 November 2026 all passed; the release workflow tests on six native runners (25). 10 open issues, all opened by the founder on 19 and 21 October 2026 as trackers for service work (work modes, plugins, the sandbox setting, cost limits), none from an outside user and none a crash report, 0 open pull requests and about 100 merged; with 0 stars there is nobody else to report, so the handling of outside reports is untested (20). Tags are semver 0.x and the docs date each behaviour change inline (\"until 14 October 2026…\"), but the 21 releases have empty notes, there is no CHANGELOG.md, and the product contract records one retirement (the seven 1.0 skill definitions on 5 October 2026) without a notice period (5). Pre-1.0, which the README calls an evolving project (0). 20+25+20+5+0 = 70.\n- Kilo Code CLI (85): Local-package reading. `@kilocode/cli` on npm, a Homebrew tap, an AUR package, an install script, release binaries for Linux, macOS and Windows on x64 and arm64, and since 7.8.20 (27 October) a `kilo-cli` conda package on Anaconda.org (20). Public CI, and the 40 most recent completed workflow runs on main on 8 October 2026 all succeeded, per the 8 October check, not re-read on 17 October or 1 November (25). 448 open issues and 147 open pull requests, a workflow that closes issues after 60 quiet days and pull requests after 30, and open reports from 7 October of a hanging turn (#14876) and of exhausted 503 retries ending a run with no visible error (#14877), per the 8 October check, not re-read since (15). The CLI changelog is generated by Changesets with Minor and Patch headings and no dates or breaking-change headings, every release stays on 7.8.x whatever its heading, and 7.8.13 and 7.8.18 changed behaviour for existing configurations under those headings (see negative) (10). 7.8.18 on the npm `latest` tag on 1 November, past 1.0 (15). 20 + 25 + 15 + 10 + 15 = 85.\n\n### Agent ergonomics: AXLR +11\n\n- AXLR (83): Harness reading of the framework line, scored on what a program driving it has to supply. Six local tools plus the host's bookkeeping tools; work modes and an execution policy hide the tools a run may not use, `axlr_catalog` searches the catalog instead of loading it, forged tools keep the request prefix for the prompt cache, and a context cap of 75,000 prompt tokens opens a successor session (20). `local_read`, `local_search` and `local_list` page with `offset`, `next_offset` and `max_bytes`; `StreamEvents` takes `after`, `max_events` (1 to 256) and `wait_ms`; a budget per execution in seconds, requests, tool calls and dollars; 32 tool calls a turn and `max_session_usd` (20). The `--exec` run ends in one `result` line with a status, the pending call, every call's outcome and the usage, and exits 0, 3 or 1; service errors carry codes an agent can act on; a budget stop says which limit (`budget: requests 20 reached`) and leaves the session resumable (16). `Idempotency-Key` on every turn, approval and direct call with cross-transport replay, `expected_revision` on decisions, `expected_sha256` on worker writes, and an interrupted effectful call left `uncertain` for an operator rather than retried (19). One command runs a task, but the first launch needs an OpenRouter key or a local server, the service needs a CA, a principals file and remote KMP and MADE before a first session, and the only SDK is the Go library (8). 20+20+16+19+8 = 83.\n- Kilo Code CLI (72): Framework reading, adapted to a harness driven by a pipeline. Per-tool and per-agent permission rules, MCP servers switched on or off one at a time, permission globs over MCP tool names and read-only Ask and Plan agents, with no lazy tool loading found and a docs warning that MCP servers fill the context (17). Exit code 124 is documented for a timeout and a `doom_loop` check stops repeated failures, but `kilo run` lists no flag for a turn, time or cost limit, still so in the command's options on 1 November (11). Exit codes 0, 1 and 124, a stderr diagnostic when a run without `--auto` rejects a permission request, and a final `error` record with `--format json` (16). `--continue`, `--session` and `--fork`, `/undo` and `/redo`, and session export and import as JSON (16). `kilo run --auto` needs one argument, with `@kilocode/sdk` for TypeScript, an ACP server and `kilo serve`. We found no second-language SDK on a registry (12). 17 + 11 + 16 + 16 + 12 = 72.\n\n### Schema \u0026 documentation: Kilo Code CLI +10\n\n- AXLR (80): An OpenAPI 3.1 file for the service (15 paths, 23 schemas, `mutualTLS` security scheme, `additionalProperties: false` on request bodies), a checked proto for the gRPC service, and the 19 MCP tools built from the same shared schemas (25). No llms.txt on either site (404), and the docs site renders HTML; the Markdown sources are in the repository (5). The product contract tables what each of the four interfaces can and cannot do, the work-mode table states each mode's purpose and tool policy, the transport parity ledger names every verb's arguments and behaviour, and `axlr_tools` tells the model to look for a tool before forging one (15). Typed inputs throughout, `Idempotency-Key` 16 to 128 safe ASCII characters, `expected_revision` a positive integer, policy levels, sandbox profiles and egress values enumerated, budgets as four integers, and the service rejects unknown fields, invalid types and bodies over 4 MiB (14). Examples in every guide, an error shape of `code`, `message` and `request_id`, named codes (`409 idempotency_conflict`, `400 invalid_cursor`, `422 invalid_policy`, `invalid_budget`, `sandbox_unavailable`, `not_ready`, `invalid_id`), a gRPC status mapping, and the worker's five statuses and three exit codes; no single error reference page (14). `/v1` routes and an OpenAPI version of 0.1.0 against a 0.15.0 release, and no changelog beyond the dated notes inside the docs (7). 25+5+15+14+14+7 = 80.\n- Kilo Code CLI (90): Framework reading. A JSON Schema for `kilo.jsonc` at `https://app.kilo.ai/config.json`, an OpenAPI file for the `kilo serve` API at `packages/sdk/openapi.json` and a CLI reference generated from the command definitions (25). `llms.txt` on kilo.ai and on the docs, the second listing a raw Markdown address for every page (10). The sandboxing page says when to use the sandbox, what it does not protect and how it differs from permissions (16). Permissions are `allow`, `ask` or `deny` with glob rules, `sandbox.network` and `--format` are enums, though the schema served on 8 October had no `sandbox` key (13). Config and CI samples and exit codes 0, 1 and 124, but we found no reference for the records `--format json` writes (11). A versioned changelog and dated GitHub releases (15). Not re-read on 1 November apart from the changelog. 25 + 10 + 16 + 13 + 11 + 15 = 90.\n\n### Payments \u0026 pricing: AXLR +10\n\n- AXLR (60): No payment protocol (0). Free and Apache-2.0 with nothing to buy, so 20, 20 and 20 on the last three lines by the self-hosted rule, since the docs say what you pay your model provider, the free route needs no card, and it runs local models with no signup at all, the JSON worker without any model. 0+20+20+20 = 60.\n- Kilo Code CLI (50): No payment protocol (0). Scored on Kilo's paid options, as with Cline. Plan prices are public (Kilo Pass Starter $19, Pro $49 and Expert $199 a month, Teams $15 a user a month, Enterprise by quote) and the gateway bills exact provider rates plus a 5 per cent processing fee on credit purchases, but the pricing page carries no per-token list (10). The CLI is MIT-licensed and free, and the pricing page's $0 option says no hosted credit is required with Auto Free, your own key or a local model (20). Your own provider key or a local model works with no Kilo account, so an agent can install and run it without a sign-up (20). Paid credits bought from 27 October expire one calendar year after purchase. 0 + 10 + 20 + 20 = 50.\n\n### Maintenance \u0026 community: Kilo Code CLI +8\n\n- AXLR (79): v0.15.0 on 2026-10-25, with commits on main to 2026-11-01 (30). 21 releases between 4 and 25 October 2026 (20). One maintainer (368 of 399 commits, the rest by two agent accounts), 10 open issues that are his own trackers with no comments, about 100 merged pull requests and no outside report to measure a reply against (15). Not in the MCP registry; the Go module and a proto to generate clients from are the only client code, beside the GHCR image and Helm chart (5). Go 1.26 toolchain pinned, release actions pinned by commit SHA, a go-licenses check that the third-party bundle matches the dependency graph, and CI passing on main (9). 30+20+15+5+9 = 79.\n- Kilo Code CLI (87): 7.8.18 on the npm `latest` tag (tag of 26 October 2026), with 7.8.25 on the `rc` tag (28 October) (30). 51 v7 release tags from 4 August to 28 October 2026, among them 7.8.13 to 7.8.25 since the 17 October check (20). Issue replies weren't re-read. The newest issues carry area and triage labels from automation, but the 15 newest open issues had no or one comment each on 8 October, against 448 open issues and 147 open pull requests, per the 8 October check (15). `@kilocode/sdk` ships with the CLI, and the VS Code extension and JetBrains plugin ship from the same repository (13). CI, CodeQL and Dependabot security updates run, with security-driven dependency bumps in 7.8.18 and 7.8.20 (9). 30 + 20 + 15 + 13 + 9 = 87.\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | AXLR | Kilo Code CLI | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 70 | 85 | Kilo Code CLI +15 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 90 | Kilo Code CLI +10 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 83 | 72 | AXLR +11 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 62 | 64 | Kilo Code CLI +2 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 50 | AXLR +10 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 79 | 87 | Kilo Code CLI +8 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 55 | 76 | Kilo Code CLI +21 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -7 | |\n| **Total** | | **70.6 · BB** | **68 · B** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | AXLR | Kilo Code CLI |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |\n| Vendor | Underpass AI | Kilo Code Inc. |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | | |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Free | Freemium |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Apache-2.0, with a NOTICE naming Tirso García Ibáñez as the copyright holder | MIT |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | no | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-10-25 | 2026-10-26 |\n| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2026-09-30 |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2026-05-29 |\n| Customer content may train models | not read yet | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not read yet | yes |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | not read yet | not found in the text |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not read yet | yes |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not read yet | yes |\n| Popularity | 0 stars | 28k stars, 33k npm/wk |\n| Agent reviews | none | 2.3/5 (4) |\n\n## How the scores have moved\n\n### AXLR\n\nNo score change since it was listed.\n\n### Kilo Code CLI\n\n- -5.0 on 1 November 2026 (BB to B): negative event\n- -2.4 on 17 October 2026: new evidence, negative event\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**AXLR.** A pre-1.0 Go harness with an unusually complete service contract, mutual TLS with principal roles, required idempotency keys, a policy, budget and sandbox per execution, and a result object a program can read. The console's defaults after setup are autonomy on and no sandbox, the project has one maintainer and no outside users yet, and releases carry no notes.\n\n**Kilo Code CLI.** Shell commands ask before running by default, and an optional operating-system sandbox blocks writes outside the workspace and outbound network. Telemetry to PostHog is on by default, the sandbox is off, and October releases changed permission and MCP behaviour without a breaking-change label, so pin a version for unattended `kilo run --auto`.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### AXLR\n\n1. Before the first prompt, set `approvals.autonomous` to false or run with `--approve none`, and turn `exec_sandbox.mode` to `auto` or `required` on Linux; after setup both default the other way\n2. Drive a run with `axlr-tui --exec --json --policy \u003cfile\u003e --budget \u003cfile\u003e --sandbox \u003cfile\u003e` and read only the last `result` line; exit 3 means a call waits for `--decide approve|deny` with `--session \u003cid\u003e`\n3. On the service, send `Idempotency-Key` (16 to 128 safe ASCII characters) on every turn, approval and direct call, and pass the session's `expected_revision`; a reused key with a different body answers 409\n4. A local model must return native tool calls (llama.cpp with `--jinja`, vLLM with `--enable-auto-tool-choice`); set `context_tokens` on the entry and `OLLAMA_CONTEXT_LENGTH` for Ollama\n5. Leave `TYPESAFE_API_KEY` unset unless you want the setup assistant to switch Jev on, which sends requests and final answers to TypeSafe\n\n### Kilo Code CLI\n\n1. Set `sandbox.enabled` to true in the global `kilo.jsonc` before `kilo run --auto`. `--auto` approves every permission request not explicitly denied\n2. Set `experimental.openTelemetry` to false, or `KILO_TELEMETRY_LEVEL` to a value other than `all`, to stop telemetry, including the conda client ID\n3. Add needed hosts to `sandbox.allowed_hosts` in global config. MCP tool calls are unavailable while network restriction is on\n4. Without `--auto` a non-interactive run rejects every permission prompt and exits 1\n5. Confine subagent writes with a session-level edit rule. Since 7.8.13 a custom agent's own `edit` denies no longer bind the subagents it starts\n6. Pin the CLI version in unattended pipelines and read the changelog before upgrading. Behaviour changes ship under 7.8.x patch versions\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, AXLR or Kilo Code CLI?\n\nAXLR scores 70.6 (BB) on agent readiness against Kilo Code CLI's 68 (B), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Kilo Code CLI leads on reliability, schema \u0026 documentation, maintenance \u0026 community and transparency \u0026 trust.\n\n### Are AXLR and Kilo Code CLI open source?\n\nYes. AXLR is open source (Apache-2.0, with a NOTICE naming Tirso García Ibáñez as the copyright holder). Kilo Code CLI is open source (MIT).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-kilo-code-cli.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-kilo-code-cli.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"axlr\", \"b\": \"kilo-code-cli\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare axlr kilo-code-cli`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/axlr.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kilo-code-cli.json\n\n## Other comparisons with AXLR or Kilo Code CLI\n\n- [Agent Zero vs AXLR](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-axlr.md)\n- [Agent Zero vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Aider vs AXLR](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-axlr.md)\n- [Aider vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Amp vs AXLR](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-axlr.md)\n- [Amp vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Antigravity CLI vs AXLR](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-axlr.md)\n- [Antigravity CLI vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Auggie CLI vs AXLR](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/auggie-vs-axlr.md)\n- [Auggie CLI vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/auggie-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [AXLR vs Claude Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-claude-code.md)\n- [AXLR vs Cline](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-cline.md)\n- [AXLR vs Crush](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-crush.md)\n- [AXLR vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-cursor-cli.md)\n- [AXLR vs DeepSeek Harness (dsh)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-deepseek-harness.md)\n- [AXLR vs dsh-superagent (DeepSeek)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-deepseek-superagent.md)\n- [AXLR vs Devin](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-devin.md)\n- [AXLR vs Droid CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-droid-cli.md)\n- [AXLR vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-earendil-pi.md)\n- [AXLR vs Gemini CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-gemini-cli.md)\n- [AXLR vs GitHub Copilot CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-github-copilot-cli.md)\n- [AXLR vs goose](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-goose.md)\n- [AXLR vs Harness²](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-harness2.md)\n- [AXLR vs HarnessRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-harnessrouter.md)\n- [AXLR vs Jules](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-jules.md)\n- [AXLR vs Junie CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-junie.md)\n- [AXLR vs Kimi Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-kimi-code-cli.md)\n- [AXLR vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [AXLR vs mini-swe-agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-mini-swe-agent.md)\n- [AXLR vs MiniMax Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-minimax-code.md)\n- [AXLR vs Mistral Vibe CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-mistral-vibe-cli.md)\n- [AXLR vs Muse Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-muse-code.md)\n- [AXLR vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [AXLR vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-opencode.md)\n- [AXLR vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-openhands.md)\n- [AXLR vs OpenMausBot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-openmausbot.md)\n- [AXLR vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-prime-agent.md)\n- [AXLR vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-qoder-cli.md)\n- [AXLR vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-qwen-code.md)\n- [AXLR vs Mirror CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-reflection-mirror.md)\n- [AXLR vs Rovo Dev CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-rovo-dev-cli.md)\n- [AXLR vs Unstoppable](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-unstoppable.md)\n- [AXLR vs Vibe-Trading](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-vibe-trading.md)\n- [AXLR vs Warp (Warp Agent CLI and the Oz Agent API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-warp.md)\n- [Claude Code vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Cline vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Crush vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crush-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Cursor CLI vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [DeepSeek Harness (dsh) vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-harness-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [dsh-superagent (DeepSeek) vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-superagent-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Devin vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Droid CLI vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Pi vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Gemini CLI vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [GitHub Copilot CLI vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [goose vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Harness² vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [HarnessRouter vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harnessrouter-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Jules vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jules-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Junie CLI vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/junie-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs Kimi Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-kimi-code-cli.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs mini-swe-agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-mini-swe-agent.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs MiniMax Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-minimax-code.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs Mistral Vibe CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-mistral-vibe-cli.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs Muse Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-muse-code.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-opencode.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-openhands.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs OpenMausBot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-openmausbot.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-prime-agent.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-qoder-cli.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-qwen-code.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs Mirror CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-reflection-mirror.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs Rovo Dev CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-rovo-dev-cli.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs Unstoppable](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-unstoppable.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs Vibe-Trading](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-vibe-trading.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs Warp (Warp Agent CLI and the Oz Agent API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-warp.md)\n- [AXLR vs Clawboo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-clawboo.md)\n- [AXLR vs CLI Manager](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-cli-manager.md)\n- [AXLR vs Harness](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-harness-autonomous.md)\n- [AXLR vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-paperclip.md)\n- [AXLR vs Parallax](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-parallax-agents.md)\n- [Clawboo vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clawboo-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [CLI Manager vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cli-manager-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Harness vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness-autonomous-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-paperclip.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs Parallax](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-parallax-agents.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "attributionRequired": true, "credit": "CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link the page or API address you took it from (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-11-01", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.7", "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": "AXLR vs Kilo Code CLI", "url": "" } ], "description": "AXLR scores 70.6 (BB) to Kilo Code CLI's 68 (B) for agent harnesses. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "AXLR BB 70.6", "Kilo Code CLI B 68", "scores" ], "h1": "AXLR vs Kilo Code CLI", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/default.png", "path": "/compare/axlr-vs-kilo-code-cli", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "AXLR vs Kilo Code CLI for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-11-01", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-kilo-code-cli" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 7150, "slim": 3680 }, "version": 1 }