{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "cursor-cli", "name": "Cursor CLI", "vendor": "Cursor", "vendorUrl": "https://cursor.com/cli", "kind": "harness", "category": "agent-harnesses", "summary": "Cursor's coding agent in the terminal, run as `agent` (also `cursor-agent`).", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cursor-cli", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cursor-cli.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cursor-cli.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cursor-cli.json", "license": "Proprietary, under Cursor's terms of service (Anysphere, Inc., updated 3 September 2026). No source is published", "transports": [], "packages": [], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "`agent login` through a browser, or an API key passed with `--api-key` or `CURSOR_API_KEY` for headless runs.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Hobby is free with limited Agent requests and needs no card. Individual is $20 a month, Teams $40 a user a month and Enterprise by quote. Every plan includes a set amount of model usage, with on-demand usage billed in arrears, and the pricing page gives no dollar or request figure for either (checked 2026-10-02).", "priceSummary": "$20 / mo", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs or the pricing page (checked 2026-10-02).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-02" }, "docsUrl": "https://cursor.com/docs/cli/overview", "llmsTxt": "https://cursor.com/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "agent.harness", "agent.mcp-client" ], "tags": [ "official", "harness", "coding-agent", "cli", "closed-source", "mcp", "llms-txt", "free-tier", "no-card", "status-page" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-28", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 35.3, "grade": "F", "agentReady": false, "rank": 935, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 950, "categoryRank": 19, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 42, "maintenance": 62, "payments": 25, "reliability": 27, "schema": 39, "security": 46, "transparency": 59 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "low", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": -5, "negativeNotes": [ "2025-10-02 and 2025-11-03. Four high advisories that name the CLI, all fixed. Remote code execution in Cursor CLI through Cursor Agent MCP OAuth2 communication (GHSA-wj33-264c-j9cq), arbitrary code execution through a permissive CLI config (GHSA-v64q-396f-7m79), a sensitive-file overwrite bypass in the CLI agent (GHSA-x2vq-h6v6-jhc6) and command injection through an untrusted MCP configuration in Cursor CLI Beta (GHSA-4hwr-97q3-37w2). All older than six months, so 1 point each (https://github.com/cursor/cursor/security/advisories)", "2026-01-14. GHSA-82wg-qcm4-fp2w, high, terminal tool allowlist bypass through environment variables. It doesn't name the CLI, which runs the same terminal tool and allowlist idea. Fixed and published, 1 point. Judgement call. We left out the 2026 sandbox escapes titled for Cursor Desktop and Cloud Agents (https://github.com/cursor/cursor/security/advisories)" ], "verdict": "Allow and deny rules for shell, reads, writes, web fetches and MCP tools, with deny taking precedence. No CLI changelog, and versions are dates.", "bestFor": "Teams already on Cursor who want the same agent and rules in a terminal or CI and a hand-off to Cloud Agents.", "strengths": [ "Allow and deny rules for shell, reads, writes, web fetches and MCP tools, with deny taking precedence", "Print mode with text, json and stream-json output, plus `--resume` and `--continue`", "Plan and ask (read-only) modes alongside the default agent mode", "Hands a task to Cloud Agents by prefixing the message with `\u0026`", "A free Hobby plan with no card, and a status page with a CLI component" ], "weaknesses": [ "No CLI changelog, and versions are dates", "The install script checks no checksum or signature", "No documentation of CLI telemetry or of what runs without approval by default", "Four high advisories named the CLI in October and November 2025", "Closed source, with no public issue tracker" ], "agentNotes": [ "Pass `--trust` in headless runs, or the workspace prompt stops a run with no terminal", "Write deny rules in .cursor/cli.json before using `--force`. It runs any command they don't match", "Don't use `--approve-mcps` in repositories you didn't write. Two 2025 CLI advisories came through MCP", "Set `CURSOR_API_KEY` in CI. `agent login` opens a browser", "Record `agent --version` with each run. Versions are dates and there's no CLI changelog to compare against" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 1.5, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "low", "grade": "F", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 35.3 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 42, "maintenance": 62, "payments": 25, "reliability": 27, "schema": 39, "security": 46, "transparency": 27 }, "provenanceScore": 91 }, "connect": { "install": "curl https://cursor.com/install -fsS | bash", "headless": { "run": "agent -p \"fix the failing test\" --output-format json --trust" } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/agent.harness", "tool": "https://letme.dev/cursor-cli" }, "area": "frameworks", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Individual plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 20, "note": "includes a set amount of model usage" }, { "item": "Teams", "unit": "seat-month", "usd": 40, "note": "per user" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Anysphere, Inc.", "domain": "cursor.com", "domainRegistered": "1995-12-20", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "https://cursor.com/terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://cursor.com/privacy", "statusPage": "https://status.cursor.com", "changelog": "https://cursor.com/changelog", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-10-01", "notes": [ "The terms of service (updated 3 September 2026) name Anysphere, Inc.", "RDAP (Verisign) gives cursor.com a registration date of 1995-12-20, long before Anysphere.", "cursor.com/.well-known/security.txt has a Contact line pointing to Cursor's GitHub security advisories and no Expires line, which RFC 9116 requires. The site's tracker reads a file with a Contact and no Expires as valid.", "The changelog covers all of Cursor, and we found no CLI-only changelog." ], "score": 91 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cursor-cli.json", "live": { "slug": "cursor-cli", "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.cursor.com", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-10-10T01:33:35.28015637Z" }, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://cursor.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T15:40:30.306046637Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://cursor.com/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T14:01:46.566886628Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "cursor.com", "registered": "1995-12-20", "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/cursor.com", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:09:09.510989819Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://cursor.com/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:34:32.693018632Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-07T18:03:43.356086965Z", "fingerprint": "ff1c429484e4" }, { "url": "https://cursor.com/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:34:34.871362485Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "a5f74b5510f1" }, { "url": "https://cursor.com/terms-of-service", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:34:36.744302008Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "5db93dae47db" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-10T01:33:35.28015637Z" } }, "answer": "Droid CLI scores 59.1 (C) on agent readiness against Cursor CLI's 35.3 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Cursor CLI leads on payments \u0026 pricing.", "b": { "slug": "droid-cli", "name": "Droid CLI", "vendor": "Factory", "vendorUrl": "https://factory.com", "kind": "harness", "category": "agent-harnesses", "summary": "Droid CLI is Factory's closed-source coding agent for the terminal. It runs interactively or headless through `droid exec`, connects MCP servers, runs multi-agent Missions, and can be driven by TypeScript and Python SDKs. A paid Factory plan is required.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/droid-cli", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/droid-cli.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/droid-cli.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/droid-cli.json", "repo": "https://github.com/Factory-AI/factory", "license": "Proprietary, under Factory's Terms and Conditions. The `droid` npm package is marked `UNLICENSED` and the public repository holds documentation only. The Python SDK is Apache-2.0", "transports": [], "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "droid" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@factory/droid-sdk" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "droid-sdk" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "A Factory account is required. The interactive CLI signs in through a browser with OAuth, and the docs say stored tokens rotate every 30 days. Headless runs set `FACTORY_API_KEY` to a key starting `fk-` created on the API keys page in Factory settings. Organisations can use service accounts whose keys can be rotated and revoked through an API.", "pricing": "paid", "pricingNotes": "Pro is $20 a month, Plus $100 and Max $200, each with the CLI, the Factory App and the SDK. Teams is $60 a month per team plus $40 a seat, and Business and Enterprise are by quote. Usage is capped by rolling 5-hour, 7-day and 30-day rate limits stated without numbers. Extra usage is prepaid credit from $10. No free tier or trial was found (checked 2026-10-09).", "priceSummary": "$20 / mo", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs index, the pricing pages or the terms (checked 2026-10-09).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 49, "npmWeekly": 7766, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-09" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.factory.com/droid-cli/overview", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.factory.com/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "agent.harness", "agent.mcp-client", "agent.multi-agent" ], "tags": [ "harness", "coding-agent", "cli", "closed-source", "mcp", "acp", "llms-txt", "sdk", "sandbox", "telemetry-default-on" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-08", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 59.1, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 560, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 950, "categoryRank": 13, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 72, "maintenance": 79, "payments": 10, "reliability": 49, "schema": 79, "security": 63, "transparency": 64 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-09" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "`droid exec` is read-only unless `--auto` raises the autonomy level, with command rules, an optional kernel-enforced sandbox, JSON output and documented exit codes. No free tier, status page or security.txt was found, the source is closed, and usage metrics go to Factory by default.", "bestFor": "Teams that want a terminal coding agent with tiered autonomy, command rules and an optional sandbox, and that will pay for a Factory plan.", "strengths": [ "`droid exec` is read-only by default. `--auto low`, `medium` or `high` opens edits and commands by risk tier, and a run that exceeds its level exits non-zero", "Optional OS sandbox using Seatbelt on macOS and bubblewrap with seccomp on Linux, with writes limited to the working directory and network limited to allowed domains", "Text, JSON and JSON-RPC output, exit codes 0, 1 and 2, session resume and fork, and tool lists that can be restricted per run", "llms.txt with a Markdown copy of every docs page, and a dated changelog with 62 entries between 11 July and 8 October 2026", "The install script verifies a SHA-256 checksum, and the `droid` npm package is published from GitHub Actions through a trusted publisher" ], "weaknesses": [ "No free tier or trial was found. Plans start at $20 a month and included usage is stated only as rolling rate limits without numbers", "The sandbox is off until `sandbox.enabled` is set, and `--skip-permissions-unsafe` skips every permission prompt", "Usage metrics go to Factory's collector by default. The pages read give no opt-out outside an airgapped deployment", "Closed source on a 0.x version line with near-daily releases. The public tracker had 33 open issues on 9 October 2026, most with no reply", "No status page and no security.txt were found. The trust centre is drawn by script and was not read", "The individual terms forbid using the service for benchmarking or competitive analysis, which matters before any probe is run" ], "agentNotes": [ "Set `FACTORY_API_KEY` (starts `fk-`) from the API keys page in Factory settings for headless runs. Interactive use signs in through a browser", "Start with `droid exec` and no flags for analysis. Add `--auto low` for edits and `--auto medium` for installs, tests and local commits", "Use `--output-format json` and read `is_error`, `num_turns` and `session_id`. Treat a non-zero exit code as failure", "Set `sandbox.enabled` to true before running on untrusted code. In `droid exec` a sandbox violation is denied without a prompt", "Pin the version in CI with `npm install -g droid@\u003cversion\u003e`, or set `FACTORY_DROID_AUTO_UPDATE_ENABLED=false` on standalone installs, which update themselves" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 59.1 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 72, "maintenance": 79, "payments": 10, "reliability": 49, "schema": 79, "security": 63, "transparency": 55 }, "provenanceScore": 72 }, "connect": { "install": "curl -fsSL https://app.factory.ai/cli | sh # or: npm install -g droid", "headless": { "command": "droid exec --auto low --output-format json \"$TASK\"", "env": { "FACTORY_API_KEY": "fk-..." } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/agent.harness", "tool": "https://letme.dev/droid-cli" }, "area": "frameworks", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Pro plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 20, "note": "rolling rate limits, numbers not published" }, { "item": "Plus plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 100, "note": "about 5 times Pro usage" }, { "item": "Max plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 200, "note": "about 10 times Pro usage" }, { "item": "Teams seat", "unit": "seat-month", "usd": 40, "note": "plus $60 a month per team, up to 10 seats" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "The San Francisco AI Factory, Inc.", "domain": "factory.com", "domainRegistered": "1999-03-09", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "https://factory.com/legal/terms-individual", "privacy": "https://factory.com/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://docs.factory.com/changelog/release-notes", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-09", "notes": [ "The Terms and Conditions for Individual Plans (last updated 14 July 2026) name The San Francisco AI Factory, Inc., a Delaware corporation in San Francisco. The privacy policy (last updated 20 August 2026) names the same company.", "RDAP (Verisign) gives factory.com a registration date of 1999-03-09, long before the company.", "The CLI installs from app.factory.ai and downloads.factory.ai and signs in to app.factory.ai, a second domain of the vendor's.", "factory.com/.well-known/security.txt answered 404 on 9 October 2026.", "No status page is linked from the home page, the docs support page or the other pages read. factory.com/sla states a 99 per cent availability target.", "The terms linked are those for individual plans. Organisation plans are sold under separate orders, which we did not read." ], "score": 72 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/droid-cli.json", "live": { "slug": "droid-cli", "versions": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@factory/droid-sdk", "version": "0.9.1", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:50:37.734856262Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "droid", "version": "0.237.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:50:36.904664611Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "droid-sdk", "version": "0.5.0", "released": "2026-09-24", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:50:39.131992485Z" } ], "githubStars": 49, "npmWeekly": 7766, "pypiWeekly": 8371, "pages": [ { "url": "https://docs.factory.com/changelog/release-notes", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:37:19.435901865Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "79ac0e23f836" }, { "url": "https://factory.com/privacy-policy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:39:19.155213369Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "5ef46e9f3c4f" }, { "url": "https://factory.com/legal/terms-individual", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:39:16.902019177Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "ebfbb9d9f0ab" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T18:39:19.155213369Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "Agent harness", "b": "Agent harness", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Cursor", "b": "Factory", "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": "Freemium", "b": "Paid", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Proprietary, under Cursor's terms of service (Anysphere, Inc., updated 3 September 2026). No source is published", "b": "Proprietary, under Factory's Terms and Conditions. The `droid` npm package is marked `UNLICENSED` and the public repository holds documentation only. The Python SDK is Apache-2.0", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-09-28", "b": "2026-10-08", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2026-09-03", "b": "2026-07-14", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2026-09-29", "b": "2026-08-20", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "none", "b": "49 stars, 7.8k npm/wk", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "1.5/5 (2)", "b": "none", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Droid CLI scores 59.1 (C) on agent readiness against Cursor CLI's 35.3 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Cursor CLI leads on payments \u0026 pricing.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Cursor CLI or Droid CLI?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Payments \u0026 pricing, 25 against 10" ], "also": [ "Free to start without a card" ], "goodFor": "Teams already on Cursor who want the same agent and rules in a terminal or CI and a hand-off to Cloud Agents.", "slug": "cursor-cli", "watchFor": "No CLI changelog, and versions are dates" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 49 against 27", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 79 against 39", "Agent ergonomics, 72 against 42", "Security \u0026 auth, 63 against 46", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 79 against 62", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 64 against 59" ], "also": [ "No incidents deducted, where Cursor CLI loses 5 points for them" ], "goodFor": "Teams that want a terminal coding agent with tiered autonomy, command rules and an optional sandbox, and that will pay for a Factory plan.", "slug": "droid-cli", "watchFor": "No free tier or trial was found. Plans start at $20 a month and included usage is stated only as rolling rate limits without numbers" } ], "job": { "capability": "agent.harness", "name": "Agent harnesses" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-cursor-cli.json", "title": "Aider vs Cursor CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-cursor-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-droid-cli.json", "title": "Aider vs Droid CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-droid-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-cursor-cli.json", "title": "Amp vs Cursor CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-cursor-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-droid-cli.json", "title": "Amp vs Droid CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-droid-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-cursor-cli.json", "title": "Claude Code vs Cursor CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-cursor-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-droid-cli.json", "title": "Claude Code vs Droid CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-droid-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-cursor-cli.json", "title": "Cline vs Cursor CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-cursor-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-droid-cli.json", "title": "Cline vs Droid CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-droid-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-devin.json", "title": "Cursor CLI vs Devin", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-devin" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-earendil-pi.json", "title": "Cursor CLI vs Pi", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-earendil-pi" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-gemini-cli.json", "title": "Cursor CLI vs Gemini CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-gemini-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-github-copilot-cli.json", "title": "Cursor CLI vs GitHub Copilot CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-github-copilot-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-goose.json", "title": "Cursor CLI vs goose", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-goose" }, { "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/cursor-cli-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Cursor CLI vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-openai-codex.json", "title": "Cursor CLI vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-openai-codex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-opencode.json", "title": "Cursor CLI vs OpenCode", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-opencode" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-openhands.json", "title": "Cursor CLI vs OpenHands", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-openhands" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-prime-agent.json", "title": "Cursor CLI vs Prime Agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-prime-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-qwen-code.json", "title": "Cursor CLI vs Qwen Code", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-qwen-code" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-droid-cli.json", "title": "Devin vs Droid CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-droid-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-earendil-pi.json", "title": "Droid CLI vs Pi", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-earendil-pi" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-gemini-cli.json", "title": "Droid CLI vs Gemini CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-gemini-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-github-copilot-cli.json", "title": "Droid CLI vs GitHub Copilot CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-github-copilot-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-goose.json", "title": "Droid CLI vs goose", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-goose" }, { "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/droid-cli-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Droid CLI vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-openai-codex.json", "title": "Droid CLI vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-openai-codex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-opencode.json", "title": "Droid CLI vs OpenCode", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-opencode" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-openhands.json", "title": "Droid CLI vs OpenHands", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-openhands" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-prime-agent.json", "title": "Droid CLI vs Prime Agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-prime-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-qwen-code.json", "title": "Droid CLI vs Qwen Code", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-qwen-code" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-paperclip.json", "title": "Droid CLI vs Paperclip", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-paperclip" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 22, "cursor-cli": 27, "droid-cli": 49, "edge": "droid-cli", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 40, "cursor-cli": 39, "droid-cli": 79, "edge": "droid-cli", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 30, "cursor-cli": 42, "droid-cli": 72, "edge": "droid-cli", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 17, "cursor-cli": 46, "droid-cli": 63, "edge": "droid-cli", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "by": 15, "cursor-cli": 25, "droid-cli": 10, "edge": "cursor-cli", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 17, "cursor-cli": 62, "droid-cli": 79, "edge": "droid-cli", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "by": 5, "cursor-cli": 59, "droid-cli": 64, "edge": "droid-cli", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Droid CLI scores 59.1 (C) on agent readiness against Cursor CLI's 35.3 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Cursor CLI leads on payments \u0026 pricing. Both do agent harnesses.", "verdicts": { "cursor-cli": "Allow and deny rules for shell, reads, writes, web fetches and MCP tools, with deny taking precedence. No CLI changelog, and versions are dates.", "droid-cli": "`droid exec` is read-only unless `--auto` raises the autonomy level, with command rules, an optional kernel-enforced sandbox, JSON output and documented exit codes. No free tier, status page or security.txt was found, the source is closed, and usage metrics go to Factory by default." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-droid-cli", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-droid-cli.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-droid-cli.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-droid-cli.min.md" }, "markdown": "Droid CLI scores 59.1 (C) on agent readiness against Cursor CLI's 35.3 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Cursor CLI leads on payments \u0026 pricing. Both do agent harnesses.\n\n- Cursor CLI: grade F, 35.3/100, rank #935 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cursor-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cursor-cli.json\n- Droid CLI: grade C, 59.1/100, rank #560 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/droid-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/droid-cli.json\n- Best agent harnesses and coding agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/agent-harnesses/index.md\n- All 167 harnesses comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-harnesses/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Cursor CLI (F)\n\nGood for: Teams already on Cursor who want the same agent and rules in a terminal or CI and a hand-off to Cloud Agents.\n\nAhead on:\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 25 against 10\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Free to start without a card\n\nWatch for: No CLI changelog, and versions are dates\n\n### Droid CLI (C)\n\nGood for: Teams that want a terminal coding agent with tiered autonomy, command rules and an optional sandbox, and that will pay for a Factory plan.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 49 against 27\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 79 against 39\n- Agent ergonomics, 72 against 42\n- Security \u0026 auth, 63 against 46\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 79 against 62\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 64 against 59\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No incidents deducted, where Cursor CLI loses 5 points for them\n\nWatch for: No free tier or trial was found. Plans start at $20 a month and included usage is stated only as rolling rate limits without numbers\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Cursor CLI | Droid CLI | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 27 | 49 | Droid CLI +22 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 39 | 79 | Droid CLI +40 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 42 | 72 | Droid CLI +30 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 46 | 63 | Droid CLI +17 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 25 | 10 | Cursor CLI +15 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 62 | 79 | Droid CLI +17 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 59 | 64 | Droid CLI +5 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -5 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **35.3 · F** | **59.1 · C** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Cursor CLI | Droid CLI |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |\n| Vendor | Cursor | Factory |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | | |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Paid |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Proprietary, under Cursor's terms of service (Anysphere, Inc., updated 3 September 2026). No source is published | Proprietary, under Factory's Terms and Conditions. The `droid` npm package is marked `UNLICENSED` and the public repository holds documentation only. The Python SDK is Apache-2.0 |\n| Read-only variant documented | yes | yes |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-09-28 | 2026-10-08 |\n| Terms last updated | 2026-09-03 | 2026-07-14 |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-09-29 | 2026-08-20 |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | yes |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not found in the text |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |\n| Popularity | none | 49 stars, 7.8k npm/wk |\n| Agent reviews | 1.5/5 (2) | none |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Cursor CLI.** Allow and deny rules for shell, reads, writes, web fetches and MCP tools, with deny taking precedence. No CLI changelog, and versions are dates.\n\n**Droid CLI.** `droid exec` is read-only unless `--auto` raises the autonomy level, with command rules, an optional kernel-enforced sandbox, JSON output and documented exit codes. No free tier, status page or security.txt was found, the source is closed, and usage metrics go to Factory by default.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Cursor CLI\n\n1. Pass `--trust` in headless runs, or the workspace prompt stops a run with no terminal\n2. Write deny rules in .cursor/cli.json before using `--force`. It runs any command they don't match\n3. Don't use `--approve-mcps` in repositories you didn't write. Two 2025 CLI advisories came through MCP\n4. Set `CURSOR_API_KEY` in CI. `agent login` opens a browser\n5. Record `agent --version` with each run. Versions are dates and there's no CLI changelog to compare against\n\n### Droid CLI\n\n1. Set `FACTORY_API_KEY` (starts `fk-`) from the API keys page in Factory settings for headless runs. Interactive use signs in through a browser\n2. Start with `droid exec` and no flags for analysis. Add `--auto low` for edits and `--auto medium` for installs, tests and local commits\n3. Use `--output-format json` and read `is_error`, `num_turns` and `session_id`. Treat a non-zero exit code as failure\n4. Set `sandbox.enabled` to true before running on untrusted code. In `droid exec` a sandbox violation is denied without a prompt\n5. Pin the version in CI with `npm install -g droid@\u003cversion\u003e`, or set `FACTORY_DROID_AUTO_UPDATE_ENABLED=false` on standalone installs, which update themselves\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Cursor CLI or Droid CLI?\n\nDroid CLI scores 59.1 (C) on agent readiness against Cursor CLI's 35.3 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Cursor CLI leads on payments \u0026 pricing.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-droid-cli.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-droid-cli.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"cursor-cli\", \"b\": \"droid-cli\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare cursor-cli droid-cli`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cursor-cli.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/droid-cli.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Cursor CLI or Droid CLI\n\n- [Aider vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-cursor-cli.md)\n- [Aider vs Droid CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-droid-cli.md)\n- [Amp vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-cursor-cli.md)\n- [Amp vs Droid CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-droid-cli.md)\n- [Claude Code vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-cursor-cli.md)\n- [Claude Code vs Droid CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-droid-cli.md)\n- [Cline vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-cursor-cli.md)\n- [Cline vs Droid CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-droid-cli.md)\n- [Cursor CLI vs Devin](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-devin.md)\n- [Cursor CLI vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-earendil-pi.md)\n- [Cursor CLI vs Gemini CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-gemini-cli.md)\n- [Cursor CLI vs GitHub Copilot CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-github-copilot-cli.md)\n- [Cursor CLI vs goose](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-goose.md)\n- [Cursor CLI vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Cursor CLI vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Cursor CLI vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [Cursor CLI vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-opencode.md)\n- [Cursor CLI vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-openhands.md)\n- [Cursor CLI vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-prime-agent.md)\n- [Cursor CLI vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-qwen-code.md)\n- [Devin vs Droid CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-droid-cli.md)\n- [Droid CLI vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-earendil-pi.md)\n- [Droid CLI vs Gemini CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-gemini-cli.md)\n- [Droid CLI vs GitHub Copilot CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-github-copilot-cli.md)\n- [Droid CLI vs goose](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-goose.md)\n- [Droid CLI vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)\n- [Droid CLI vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Droid CLI vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [Droid CLI vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-opencode.md)\n- [Droid CLI vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-openhands.md)\n- [Droid CLI vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-prime-agent.md)\n- [Droid CLI vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-qwen-code.md)\n- [Droid CLI vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-paperclip.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-10", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Cursor CLI vs Droid CLI", "url": "" } ], "description": "Droid CLI scores 59.1 (C) to Cursor CLI's 35.3 (F) for agent harnesses. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Cursor CLI F 35.3", "Droid CLI C 59.1", "scores" ], "h1": "Cursor CLI vs Droid CLI", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-cursor-cli-vs-droid-cli.png", "path": "/compare/cursor-cli-vs-droid-cli", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Cursor CLI vs Droid CLI for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-droid-cli" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2500, "slim": 680 }, "version": 1 }