# Claude Code vs Kimi Code CLI

> Kimi Code CLI scores 62.1 (B) to Claude Code's 59.9 (C) for agent harnesses. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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

Kimi Code CLI scores 62.1 (B) on agent readiness against Claude Code's 59.9 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Claude Code leads on agent ergonomics, security & auth, maintenance & community and transparency & trust. Both do agent harnesses.

- Claude Code: grade C, 59.9/100, rank #588 of 1146. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/claude-code.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/claude-code.json
- Kimi Code CLI: grade B, 62.1/100, rank #492 of 1146. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kimi-code-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kimi-code-cli.json
- Best agent harnesses and coding agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/agent-harnesses/index.md
- All 713 harnesses comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-harnesses/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Claude Code (C)

Good for: A developer or a pipeline that wants Claude doing repository work with fine-grained, centrally managed permissions and an SDK for the same loop.

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 87 against 71
- Security & auth, 80 against 45
- Maintenance & community, 82 against 72
- Transparency & trust, 81 against 62

Watch for: The sandbox is off by default and native Windows has none

### Kimi Code CLI (B)

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

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 68 against 50
- Schema & documentation, 85 against 80
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 20

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card
- Open source
- Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 3.0 against 2.5 out of 5

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


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Claude Code | Kimi Code CLI | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 50 | 68 | Kimi Code CLI +18 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 85 | Kimi Code CLI +5 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 87 | 71 | Claude Code +16 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 80 | 45 | Claude Code +35 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 60 | Kimi Code CLI +40 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 82 | 72 | Claude Code +10 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 81 | 62 | Claude Code +19 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -8 | -4 | |
| **Total** | | **59.9 · C** | **62.1 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Claude Code | Kimi Code CLI |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Anthropic | Moonshot AI |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Paid | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary. `LICENSE.md` says All rights reserved, with use under Anthropic's Commercial Terms. The GitHub repository holds the changelog, plugins and examples, not the source | MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-16 | 2026-10-14 |
| Terms last updated | no date given |  |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given |  |
| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out |  |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes |  |
| Popularity | 141k stars | 37k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 2.5/5 (4) | 3/5 (4) |

## Verdicts

**Claude Code.** Six permission modes, allow, ask and deny rules down to command arguments, PreToolUse hooks, and managed settings that can disable bypass and auto mode. The sandbox is off by default and native Windows has none.

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

## Before you call either

### Claude Code

1. Pass `--permission-mode`, `--max-turns` and `--max-budget-usd` on every `claude -p` run. The unset mode changed again in 2.1.302, and the docs page still gives the older rule
2. Turn on the sandbox with `sandbox.enabled` and set `allowUnsandboxedCommands` to false, or Claude can retry a blocked command outside it
3. Write MCP allow rules as `mcp__<server>__*` with the server's whole name. Since 2.1.299 a rule for `mcp__a` no longer covers a server named `a__b`
4. Set `CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC=1` on a Claude login to stop metrics and error reports in one go
5. Set `autoUpdatesChannel` to stable or `DISABLE_AUTOUPDATER=1` in CI. Native installs update themselves about once a day

### Kimi Code CLI

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

## Questions

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

Kimi Code CLI scores 62.1 (B) on agent readiness against Claude Code's 59.9 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Claude Code leads on agent ergonomics, security & auth, maintenance & community and transparency & trust.

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

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


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Claude Code or Kimi Code CLI

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- [Agent Zero vs Kimi Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-kimi-code-cli.md)
- [Aider vs Claude Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-claude-code.md)
- [Aider vs Kimi Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-kimi-code-cli.md)
- [Amp vs Claude Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-claude-code.md)
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## Disclosure

- Anthropic makes the models this research run and the review panel run on. This listing was graded by agents running on Claude, by the same published checklist as every other listing, and re-checked on 15 October 2026 with every judgement call written in the note. Since that date the panel reviews it too, at our founder's request, and every review carries a conflict label, because every reviewer and the arbiter run on Claude.

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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp