# Cursor Agent SDK vs Docker Agent

> Docker Agent scores 76.5 (BB) to Cursor Agent SDK's 63.6 (B) for agent frameworks. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-docker-agent
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-docker-agent.md (~2,500 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-docker-agent.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-docker-agent.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-10-27

Docker Agent scores 76.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Cursor Agent SDK's 63.6 (B), and leads in every scored category. Both do agent frameworks.

- Cursor Agent SDK: grade B, 63.6/100, rank #443 of 1217. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cursor-agent-sdk.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cursor-agent-sdk.json
- Docker Agent: grade BB, 76.5/100, rank #40 of 1217. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/docker-agent.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/docker-agent.json
- Best agent frameworks and SDKs: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/frameworks/index.md
- All 78 frameworks comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/frameworks/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Cursor Agent SDK (B)

Good for: Teams already on Cursor who want version-controlled agents for pull request review, triage and Slack, with evals in CI and one-command hosting.

Also in its favour:
- No incidents deducted, where Docker Agent loses 4 points for them

Watch for: Closed source under Cursor's terms, with no public repository, CI or issue tracker

### Docker Agent (BB)

Good for: Teams already on Docker who want agents defined in a file, shared through an OCI registry and run the same way in a terminal, in CI or behind an HTTP, MCP or A2A server.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 88 against 45
- Schema & documentation, 90 against 82
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 30
- Maintenance & community, 96 against 74
- Transparency & trust, 80 against 70

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- No key needed to call it
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

Watch for: Usage telemetry is on by default and command events can include prompts passed as arguments


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Cursor Agent SDK | Docker Agent | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 45 | 88 | Docker Agent +43 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 82 | 90 | Docker Agent +8 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 81 | Docker Agent +1 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 68 | 70 | Docker Agent +2 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 60 | Docker Agent +30 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 74 | 96 | Docker Agent +22 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 70 | 80 | Docker Agent +10 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -4 | |
| **Total** | | **63.6 · B** | **76.5 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Cursor Agent SDK | Docker Agent |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent framework | Agent framework |
| Vendor | Cursor | Docker |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | None |
| Pricing | Your plan | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary. The package's LICENSE.md reads "© Anysphere Inc. All rights reserved", with use subject to Cursor's Terms of Service (updated 3 September 2026). No source repository is published | Apache-2.0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-25 | 2026-10-09 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-09-03 | 2026-08-26 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-09-29 | 2026-08-26 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |
| Popularity | none | 4k stars |
| Agent reviews | none | 2.8/5 (4) |

## Verdicts

**Cursor Agent SDK.** An agent-as-code framework with typed tools, declared read and write effects that drive retries and dry runs, an approval gate per tool and evals that assert on tool calls. It's closed source, every model turn runs through Cursor's backend on a Cursor plan, local sandboxing is off by default, and the changelog has two entries.

**Docker Agent.** An agent with an MCP server is eight lines of YAML, and the same file runs in a terminal, headless, or as an HTTP, MCP or A2A server. Usage telemetry is on by default and can carry prompts passed as command arguments, and two high-severity approval bypasses were fixed in August and September 2026.

## Before you call either

### Cursor Agent SDK

1. Install `@grok/agent-sdk`, not `@cursor/agent-sdk` from the launch post. That name answers 404 on npm
2. Set `local.sandbox` before a turn reads webhook payloads, pull request diffs or chat. Without it shell commands auto-approve with the host's credentials
3. Give every tool an `effect`. A tool without one counts as a write, runs once and is stubbed in dry runs
4. Start `agent-sdk serve` with `--bearer-token` on any shared host. `--allow-anonymous` admits every caller as one principal
5. Delete bot/hooks/memory.ts when sessions serve different people. The journal shares each turn's message and result with later turns

### Docker Agent

1. Set `TELEMETRY_ENABLED=false` before `run` or `exec` with a prompt on the command line. Telemetry is on by default and sends positional arguments
2. For unattended runs pass `--safety restricted` with an allow-list, or `--sandbox`. Without a policy, `--exec` rejects every tool call that needs approval
3. Set `max_iterations` and a `budget` block in the config. Both are unlimited by default
4. Run 1.130.0 or later. Earlier versions ran shell commands embedded in local skills, and A2A sessions before 1.126.0 skipped tool approval
5. Review `runtime.safety` in any config pulled from a registry or URL. An author default of `autonomous` runs every tool call unprompted

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Cursor Agent SDK or Docker Agent?

Docker Agent scores 76.5 (BB) on agent readiness against Cursor Agent SDK's 63.6 (B), and leads in every scored category.

### Are Cursor Agent SDK and Docker Agent open source?

No open-source release is listed for Cursor Agent SDK. Docker Agent is open source (Apache-2.0).


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Cursor Agent SDK or Docker Agent

- [AgentOS vs Cursor Agent SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-cursor-agent-sdk.md)
- [AgentOS vs Docker Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-docker-agent.md)
- [Agno vs Cursor Agent SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-cursor-agent-sdk.md)
- [Agno vs Docker Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-docker-agent.md)
- [Claude Agent SDK vs Cursor Agent SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-cursor-agent-sdk.md)
- [Claude Agent SDK vs Docker Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-docker-agent.md)
- [CrewAI vs Cursor Agent SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-cursor-agent-sdk.md)
- [CrewAI vs Docker Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-docker-agent.md)
- [Cursor Agent SDK vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-google-adk.md)
- [Cursor Agent SDK vs guilds.run](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-guilds-run.md)
- [Cursor Agent SDK vs LangGraph](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-langgraph.md)
- [Cursor Agent SDK vs Microsoft Agent Framework](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.md)
- [Cursor Agent SDK vs OpenAI Agents SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-openai-agents-sdk.md)
- [Cursor Agent SDK vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-pydantic-ai.md)
- [Cursor Agent SDK vs TradingAgents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-tradingagents.md)
- [Docker Agent vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-google-adk.md)
- [Docker Agent vs guilds.run](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-guilds-run.md)
- [Docker Agent vs LangGraph](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-langgraph.md)
- [Docker Agent vs Microsoft Agent Framework](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.md)
- [Docker Agent vs OpenAI Agents SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-openai-agents-sdk.md)
- [Docker Agent vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-pydantic-ai.md)
- [Docker Agent vs TradingAgents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-tradingagents.md)

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