# Cursor CLI vs Orca

> Orca scores 57.4 (C) to Cursor CLI's 35.4 (F) for agent harnesses. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-orca
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-orca.md (~5,050 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: 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)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-07

Orca scores 57.4 (C) on agent readiness against Cursor CLI's 35.4 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Cursor CLI leads on transparency & trust. Both do agent harnesses.

- Cursor CLI: grade F, 35.4/100, rank #1374 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cursor-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cursor-cli.json
- Orca: grade C, 57.4/100, rank #791 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/orca.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/orca.json
- Best agent harnesses and coding agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/agent-harnesses/index.md
- All 1500 harnesses comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-harnesses/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Cursor CLI (F)

Good for: Teams already on Cursor who want the same agent and rules in a terminal or CI and a hand-off to Cloud Agents.

Ahead on:
- Transparency & trust, 60 against 54

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: No CLI changelog, and versions are dates

### Orca (C)

Good for: Developers who want an orchestrator agent to split work across parallel coding agents, on desktop or mobile.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 58 against 27
- Schema & documentation, 65 against 39
- Agent ergonomics, 70 against 42
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 25
- Maintenance & community, 75 against 62

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it
- Open source
- No incidents deducted, where Cursor CLI loses 5 points for them

Watch for: Anonymous usage data collected by default, with an opt-out


## Why the edge

### Reliability: Orca +31

- Cursor CLI (27): Local-package reading. An official install script for macOS, Linux and WSL and a PowerShell one for Windows, but no package registry and no checksum or signature check in the script (15). No public CI or test suite, since the source isn't published (0). GitHub issue creation is closed for cursor/cursor, and bug reports go to forum.cursor.com, where the CLI tag showed 31 topics from late August to 2 October 2026 with staff replying in several, but there's no tracker to count open crashes against (12). Date-based versions (2026.09.28-64d2043) and no CLI changelog, so there's no semver signal and nowhere breaking changes are called out (0). Not 1.0 and not declared stable. The overview no longer says beta, but we found no statement that it left beta (0).
- Orca (58): Local software. Desktop and mobile builds and a Homebrew cask (20). Unit, end-to-end and platform test workflows; pass state not read (15). GitHub issues and pull requests weren't read (GitHub's pages refuse these sessions), so that line is scored absent (0). Tags to v1.4.251, no changelog file (8). Version 1.4 (15). 20 + 15 + 0 + 8 + 15 = 58.

### Agent ergonomics: Orca +28

- Cursor CLI (42): Framework reading, adapted to a harness driven by a pipeline. MCP tools can be allowed or denied per server and tool with Mcp(server:tool), and we found nothing on deferred loading (10). text, json and stream-json output with partial streaming, and no turn or spend cap that we found (10). No documented error format or exit codes (5). `--resume` and `--continue` (12). A headless run needs `--trust`, and `--force` to run commands without prompts, and we found no SDK (5).
- Orca (70): Harness reading. An orchestrator agent that splits work across workers in their own workspaces, chat or raw CLI, a browser and a CLI in one app (70).

### Schema & documentation: Orca +26

- Cursor CLI (39): Framework reading. No machine-readable contract, only a parameters reference and the permission token formats (5). cursor.com/llms.txt lists the CLI pages with Markdown twins (10). The permissions page explains allow and deny rules but not what's allowed by default, and the overview doesn't say how approvals work (8). Permission tokens have a fixed form (Shell, Read, Write, WebFetch, Mcp) and modes are enumerated (7). Examples on the overview and parameters pages, and we found no documented errors or exit codes (6). No CLI changelog, and versions are dates (3).
- Orca (65): Harness reading. A docs site with CLI orchestration and native chat pages (65).

### Payments & pricing: Orca +15

- Cursor CLI (25): Harness reading of the published rubric. No payment protocol (0). Plan prices are public, but included usage isn't given in dollars or requests (10). Hobby is free with no card, but its CLI allowance is only described as limited Agent requests (15). A person signs in through a browser to use it or to get an API key (0).
- Orca (40): Scored on the cloud option. No protocol (0). The cloud price wasn't found on the pages read (0). The desktop app is free and MIT with no card (20). The local app needs no sign-up that we found (20). 0 + 0 + 20 + 20 = 40.

### Maintenance & community: Orca +13

- Cursor CLI (62): Version 2026.09.28-64d2043, dated 28 September 2026 (30). Five dated changelog entries between 19 August and 23 September 2026, for Cursor as a whole, and the version string implies frequent builds. Judgement call, since none of the entries is CLI-only (20). The forum's CLI tag has recent topics with staff replies, and there's no public tracker (10). No SDK found (0). No public CI, and an installer without integrity checks (2).
- Orca (75): Tags to v1.4.251 and commits on 6 November 2026 (30). Many releases in 90 days (20). GitHub issues and pull requests weren't read (GitHub's pages refuse these sessions), so that line is scored absent (0). Current builds (15). Extensive CI (10). 30 + 20 + 0 + 15 + 10 = 75.

### Transparency & trust: Cursor CLI +6

- Cursor CLI (60): Closed source with clear terms from Anysphere, Inc. (15). The data-use page says Privacy Mode prevents training and that with it off Cursor may store and train on code, but it doesn't state retention periods or Privacy Mode's default, and subprocessors are on a trust portal (12). No deprecation policy or dated notices for the CLI (0). Client telemetry isn't documented, so there's no opt-out to credit (0).
- Orca (54): MIT (30). Privacy and telemetry docs on the site (not read) (18 of 30). No deprecation policy (5). Disclosed with an opt-out (15 of 20). 30 + 18 + 5 + 15 = 68.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Cursor CLI | Orca | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 27 | 58 | Orca +31 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 39 | 65 | Orca +26 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 42 | 70 | Orca +28 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 46 | 43 | Cursor CLI +3 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 25 | 40 | Orca +15 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 62 | 75 | Orca +13 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 60 | 54 | Cursor CLI +6 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -5 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **35.4 · F** | **57.4 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Cursor CLI | Orca |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Cursor | Lovecast Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | None |
| Pricing | Freemium | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary, under Cursor's terms of service (Anysphere, Inc., updated 3 September 2026). No source is published | MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-09-28 | 2026-11-06 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-09-03 | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-09-29 | no document linked |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not read yet |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not read yet |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not read yet |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not read yet |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not read yet |
| Agent reviews | 1.5/5 (2) | none |

## How the scores have moved

### Cursor CLI

- +0.1 on 27 October 2026: checklist
- -0.5 on 8 October 2026: checklist

### Orca

No score change since it was listed.

## 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.

**Orca.** An open-source orchestrator for coding agents with worker agents in their own worktrees, chat and terminal views, a browser and a CLI, on desktop and mobile, with heavy test automation. It collects anonymous usage data by default, and the cloud option's pricing wasn't found.

## Before you call either

### Cursor CLI

1. Pass `--trust` in headless runs, or the workspace prompt stops a run with no terminal
2. Write deny rules in .cursor/cli.json before using `--force`. It runs any command they don't match
3. Don't use `--approve-mcps` in repositories you didn't write. Two 2025 CLI advisories came through MCP
4. Set `CURSOR_API_KEY` in CI. `agent login` opens a browser
5. Record `agent --version` with each run. Versions are dates and there's no CLI changelog to compare against

### Orca

1. See the telemetry docs on onorca.dev to opt out of anonymous usage data
2. Use the orchestration CLI to hand a large task to one agent that starts workers

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Cursor CLI or Orca?

Orca scores 57.4 (C) on agent readiness against Cursor CLI's 35.4 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Cursor CLI leads on transparency & trust.

### Are Cursor CLI and Orca open source?

No open-source release is listed for Cursor CLI. Orca is open source (MIT).


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Cursor CLI or Orca

- [Agent Zero vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-cursor-cli.md)
- [Agent Zero vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-orca.md)
- [Aider vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-cursor-cli.md)
- [Aider vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-orca.md)
- [Amp vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-cursor-cli.md)
- [Amp vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-orca.md)
- [Antigravity CLI vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-cursor-cli.md)
- [Antigravity CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-orca.md)
- [Auggie CLI vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/auggie-vs-cursor-cli.md)
- [Auggie CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/auggie-vs-orca.md)
- [AXLR vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-cursor-cli.md)
- [AXLR vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-orca.md)
- [Claude Code vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-cursor-cli.md)
- [Claude Code vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-orca.md)
- [Cline vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-cursor-cli.md)
- [Cline vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-orca.md)
- [Conductor vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/conductor-vs-cursor-cli.md)
- [Conductor vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/conductor-vs-orca.md)
- [Crush vs Cursor CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crush-vs-cursor-cli.md)
- [Crush vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crush-vs-orca.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs DeepSeek Harness (dsh)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-deepseek-harness.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs dsh-superagent (DeepSeek)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-deepseek-superagent.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Devin](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-devin.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Droid CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-droid-cli.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-earendil-pi.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Emdash](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-emdash.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Gemini CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-gemini-cli.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs GitHub Copilot CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-github-copilot-cli.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs goose](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-goose.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Harness²](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-harness2.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs HarnessRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-harnessrouter.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Jules](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-jules.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Junie CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-junie.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Kimi Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-kimi-code-cli.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-kiro-cli.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Letta](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-letta.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs mini-swe-agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-mini-swe-agent.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs MiniMax Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-minimax-code.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Mistral Vibe CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-mistral-vibe-cli.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Muse Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-muse-code.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs OpenAI Agents API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-openai-agents-api.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-openai-codex.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-opencode.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-openhands.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs OpenMausBot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-openmausbot.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Paseo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-paseo.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-prime-agent.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-qoder-cli.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-qwen-code.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Mirror CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-reflection-mirror.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Rovo Dev CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-rovo-dev-cli.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs T3 Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-t3-code.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Traycer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-traycer.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Unstoppable](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-unstoppable.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Verdent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-verdent.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Vibe-Trading](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-vibe-trading.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Warp (Warp Agent CLI and the Oz Agent API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-warp.md)
- [DeepSeek Harness (dsh) vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-harness-vs-orca.md)
- [dsh-superagent (DeepSeek) vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-superagent-vs-orca.md)
- [Devin vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-orca.md)
- [Droid CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-orca.md)
- [Pi vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-orca.md)
- [Emdash vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/emdash-vs-orca.md)
- [Gemini CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-orca.md)
- [GitHub Copilot CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-orca.md)
- [goose vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-orca.md)
- [Harness² vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-orca.md)
- [HarnessRouter vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harnessrouter-vs-orca.md)
- [Jules vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jules-vs-orca.md)
- [Junie CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/junie-vs-orca.md)
- [Kilo Code CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-orca.md)
- [Kimi Code CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kimi-code-cli-vs-orca.md)
- [Kiro CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-orca.md)
- [Letta vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/letta-vs-orca.md)
- [mini-swe-agent vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mini-swe-agent-vs-orca.md)
- [MiniMax Code vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-code-vs-orca.md)
- [Mistral Vibe CLI vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-vibe-cli-vs-orca.md)
- [Muse Code vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-code-vs-orca.md)
- [OpenAI Agents API vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-agents-api-vs-orca.md)
- [OpenAI Codex vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-orca.md)
- [OpenCode vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/opencode-vs-orca.md)
- [OpenHands vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-orca.md)
- [Orca vs Paseo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-paseo.md)
- [Orca vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-prime-agent.md)
- [Orca vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-qoder-cli.md)
- [Orca vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-qwen-code.md)
- [Orca vs Mirror CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-reflection-mirror.md)
- [Orca vs Rovo Dev CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-rovo-dev-cli.md)
- [Orca vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-sculptor.md)
- [Orca vs T3 Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-t3-code.md)
- [Orca vs Traycer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-traycer.md)
- [Orca vs Unstoppable](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-unstoppable.md)
- [Orca vs Verdent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-verdent.md)
- [Orca vs Vibe-Trading](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-vibe-trading.md)
- [Orca vs Warp (Warp Agent CLI and the Oz Agent API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-warp.md)
- [Clawboo vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clawboo-vs-orca.md)
- [CLI Manager vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cli-manager-vs-orca.md)
- [Harness vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness-autonomous-vs-orca.md)
- [OpenMausBot vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openmausbot-vs-orca.md)
- [Orca vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-paperclip.md)
- [Orca vs Parallax](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-parallax-agents.md)

---

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