{ "data": { "a": { "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" } }, "answer": "Kiro CLI and Droid CLI score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 59.9 (C) and 59.1 (C). Droid CLI leads on agent ergonomics and maintenance \u0026 community.", "b": { "slug": "kiro-cli", "name": "Kiro CLI", "vendor": "Amazon Web Services", "vendorUrl": "https://kiro.dev/cli/", "kind": "harness", "category": "agent-harnesses", "summary": "AWS's coding agent for the terminal and the successor to the Amazon Q Developer CLI. It runs interactive chat, non-interactive runs for pipelines with an API key, MCP servers and an Agent Client Protocol server for editors.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kiro-cli", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kiro-cli.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kiro-cli.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kiro-cli.json", "repo": "https://github.com/kirodotdev/Kiro", "license": "Proprietary. Licensed as AWS Content under the AWS Customer Agreement and the AWS Intellectual Property Licence (https://kiro.dev/license/). The GitHub repository is the public issue tracker and doesn't hold the source", "transports": [], "packages": [], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "`kiro-cli login` with GitHub, Google, AWS Builder ID, AWS IAM Identity Centre or an external identity provider, in a browser or by device flow on a remote machine. Pipelines use an API key in `KIRO_API_KEY`, created at app.kiro.dev by Pro, Pro+, Pro Max and Power subscribers. Keys are long-lived, named and revocable, with no scopes, and API key generation is off by default for subscriptions an administrator manages. An active browser session takes precedence over the key.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Kiro Free is $0 with 50 credits a month and a reduced model list. Pro is $20 a user a month with 1,000 credits, Pro+ $40 with 2,000, Pro Max $100 with 5,000 and Power $200 with 10,000, and extra credits cost $0.04 each. Models use credits at different rates (Auto is the 1.0x baseline). API keys for headless runs need a paid plan, and a paid plan needs a card. GovCloud prices are about 20 per cent higher with no free tier (checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "$20 / mo", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, the pricing page or the CLI changelog (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 4356, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://kiro.dev/docs/cli/", "llmsTxt": "https://kiro.dev/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "agent.harness", "agent.mcp-client", "agent.multi-agent" ], "tags": [ "official", "harness", "coding-agent", "cli", "closed-source", "mcp", "acp", "llms-txt", "free-tier", "no-card", "telemetry-default-on" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-05", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 59.9, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 536, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 950, "categoryRank": 12, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 67, "maintenance": 73, "payments": 40, "reliability": 57, "schema": 79, "security": 66, "transparency": 67 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": -4, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-08-04. CVE-2026-18656 and CVE-2026-18657 (bulletin 2026-074-AWS), an uncontrolled search path on Windows let a planted executable in a crafted project directory run when a user opened it. Kiro CLI for Windows before 2.10.0 and Kiro IDE 1.0.0 to 1.0.212. Fixed and published with credit to the reporters, inside six months (https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/2026-074-aws/). -2", "2026-05-22. CVE-2026-9255 (bulletin 2026-035-AWS), content piped to kiro-cli on stdin could answer the tool approval prompt, so a local actor could run tools and shell commands without the user's approval. kiro-cli before 1.28.0. Fixed and published, inside six months (https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/2026-035-aws/). -2" ], "verdict": "Permission rules follow deny over ask over allow, cloned repositories can't add rules, and a headless session treats every ask as a deny. Content from Free and individual paid accounts is used for service improvement, including model training, unless the user opts out, and API keys for pipelines need a paid plan.", "bestFor": "Teams on AWS that want one agent configuration across terminal, IDE and web, with central permission policy, prompt logging to their own S3 bucket and IAM Identity Centre sign-in.", "strengths": [ "Capability permissions with deny over ask over allow, stored outside the repository so a clone can't add rules", "An untrusted workspace doesn't load its own agents, steering files, MCP configuration or skills, and asks before every shell command", "Headless runs with `--no-interactive`, JSON Lines output, and exit codes 3 and 4 for MCP startup and missing-agent failures", "Eleven minor releases between 26 August and 5 October 2026 in a dated changelog", "Plan prices, the $0.04 credit price and per-model credit multipliers are public, with a free tier of 50 credits a month" ], "weaknesses": [ "Free and individual paid accounts have content used for service improvement, including model training, unless they opt out", "Closed source since it replaced the Apache 2.0 Amazon Q Developer CLI, with no public CI or test suite", "API keys for headless runs need a paid plan, are long-lived and carry no scopes", "No local sandbox in the CLI, and AWS says its managed permission policies are client-enforced and can be circumvented", "Two CVEs in 2026 (CVE-2026-9255 in May, CVE-2026-18656 and CVE-2026-18657 in August), both fixed" ], "agentNotes": [ "Set `KIRO_API_KEY` and pass `--no-interactive` with `--trust-tools=\u003clist\u003e` in pipelines. Keep `--trust-all-tools` for disposable environments", "Pass `--require-mcp-startup` when a run depends on MCP tools. Without it a failed server is logged and the run continues", "Pass `--no-interactive` whenever input is piped from a source you don't control, and run 2.10.0 or later on Windows", "Run `kiro-cli settings telemetry.enabled false` and turn off content collection on Free and individual plans. Both are on by default", "Export variables in the shell before starting. Since 2.24.0 a project `.env` file is no longer loaded into sessions, MCP servers or tools" ], "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": 59.9 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 67, "maintenance": 73, "payments": 40, "reliability": 57, "schema": 79, "security": 66, "transparency": 62 }, "provenanceScore": 72 }, "connect": { "install": "curl -fsSL https://cli.kiro.dev/install | bash", "headless": { "run": "KIRO_API_KEY=ksk_... kiro-cli chat --no-interactive --trust-tools=read,grep \"Find all TODO comments in src/\"" } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/agent.harness", "tool": "https://letme.dev/kiro-cli" }, "area": "frameworks", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Kiro Pro", "unit": "month", "usd": 20, "note": "per user, with 1,000 credits" }, { "item": "Add-on credit", "unit": "credit", "usd": 0.04, "note": "paid plans, beyond the plan's credits" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Amazon Web Services, Inc.", "domain": "kiro.dev", "domainRegistered": "2019-03-01", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "https://aws.amazon.com/agreement/", "privacy": "https://aws.amazon.com/privacy/", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://kiro.dev/changelog/cli/", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "Kiro's licence page says the Kiro IDE and CLI are licensed as AWS Content under the AWS Customer Agreement and the AWS Intellectual Property Licence. Section 50.14 of the AWS Service Terms names Amazon Web Services, Inc. as the contracting party for subscriptions bought through the Stripe portal.", "The AWS Customer Agreement (last updated 14 August 2026) governs use, with the AWS Service Terms sections 50.3 and 50.14 for Kiro. The AWS Privacy Notice (last updated 18 May 2026) is the privacy link in Kiro's footer.", "kiro.dev/.well-known/security.txt answers 404. aws.amazon.com publishes a security.txt whose Expires line reads 24 September 2026, which had passed when we read it.", "No status page for Kiro was found on kiro.dev or in its docs.", "RDAP (Google Registry) gives kiro.dev a registration date of 1 March 2019, before the product." ], "score": 72 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kiro-cli.json", "live": { "slug": "kiro-cli", "githubStars": 4355, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://kiro.dev/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T15:40:33.465949435Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://kiro.dev/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T14:02:12.07483824Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://kiro.dev/changelog/cli/", "kind": "deprecations", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:40:43.907763076Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "f2b1951f0330" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T18:40:43.907763076Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "Agent harness", "b": "Agent harness", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Factory", "b": "Amazon Web Services", "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": "Paid", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "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", "b": "Proprietary. Licensed as AWS Content under the AWS Customer Agreement and the AWS Intellectual Property Licence (https://kiro.dev/license/). The GitHub repository is the public issue tracker and doesn't hold the source", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-08", "b": "2026-10-05", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2026-07-14", "b": "2026-08-14", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2026-08-20", "b": "2026-05-18", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "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": "49 stars, 7.8k npm/wk", "b": "4.4k stars", "name": "Popularity" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Kiro CLI and Droid CLI score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 59.9 (C) and 59.1 (C). Droid CLI leads on agent ergonomics and maintenance \u0026 community.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Droid CLI or Kiro CLI?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Agent ergonomics, 72 against 67", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 79 against 73" ], "also": [ "No incidents deducted, where Kiro CLI loses 4 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" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 57 against 49", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 10" ], "also": [ "Free to start without a card" ], "goodFor": "Teams on AWS that want one agent configuration across terminal, IDE and web, with central permission policy, prompt logging to their own S3 bucket and IAM Identity Centre sign-in.", "slug": "kiro-cli", "watchFor": "Free and individual paid accounts have content used for service improvement, including model training, unless they opt out" } ], "job": { "capability": "agent.harness", "name": "Agent harnesses" }, "others": [ { "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/aider-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Aider vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-kiro-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/amp-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Amp vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-kiro-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/claude-code-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Claude Code vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-kiro-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/cline-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Cline vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-droid-cli.json", "title": "Cursor CLI vs Droid CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-droid-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/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/devin-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Devin vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-kiro-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-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/earendil-pi-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Pi vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Gemini CLI vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "GitHub Copilot CLI vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "goose vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-kiro-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/kiro-cli-vs-openai-codex.json", "title": "Kiro CLI vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-openai-codex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-opencode.json", "title": "Kiro CLI vs OpenCode", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-opencode" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-openhands.json", "title": "Kiro CLI vs OpenHands", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-openhands" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-prime-agent.json", "title": "Kiro CLI vs Prime Agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-prime-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-qwen-code.json", "title": "Kiro CLI vs Qwen Code", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-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" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-paperclip.json", "title": "Kiro CLI vs Paperclip", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-paperclip" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 8, "droid-cli": 49, "edge": "kiro-cli", "key": "reliability", "kiro-cli": 57, "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 0, "droid-cli": 79, "edge": "", "key": "schema", "kiro-cli": 79, "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 5, "droid-cli": 72, "edge": "droid-cli", "key": "ergonomics", "kiro-cli": 67, "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 3, "droid-cli": 63, "edge": "kiro-cli", "key": "security", "kiro-cli": 66, "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "by": 30, "droid-cli": 10, "edge": "kiro-cli", "key": "payments", "kiro-cli": 40, "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 6, "droid-cli": 79, "edge": "droid-cli", "key": "maintenance", "kiro-cli": 73, "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "by": 3, "droid-cli": 64, "edge": "kiro-cli", "key": "transparency", "kiro-cli": 67, "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Kiro CLI and Droid CLI score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 59.9 (C) and 59.1 (C). Droid CLI leads on agent ergonomics and maintenance \u0026 community. Both do agent harnesses.", "verdicts": { "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.", "kiro-cli": "Permission rules follow deny over ask over allow, cloned repositories can't add rules, and a headless session treats every ask as a deny. Content from Free and individual paid accounts is used for service improvement, including model training, unless the user opts out, and API keys for pipelines need a paid plan." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-kiro-cli", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-kiro-cli.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-kiro-cli.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-kiro-cli.min.md" }, "markdown": "Kiro CLI and Droid CLI score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 59.9 (C) and 59.1 (C). Droid CLI leads on agent ergonomics and maintenance \u0026 community. Both do agent harnesses.\n\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- Kiro CLI: grade C, 59.9/100, rank #536 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kiro-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kiro-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### 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- Agent ergonomics, 72 against 67\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 79 against 73\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No incidents deducted, where Kiro CLI loses 4 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### Kiro CLI (C)\n\nGood for: Teams on AWS that want one agent configuration across terminal, IDE and web, with central permission policy, prompt logging to their own S3 bucket and IAM Identity Centre sign-in.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 57 against 49\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 40 against 10\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Free to start without a card\n\nWatch for: Free and individual paid accounts have content used for service improvement, including model training, unless they opt out\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Droid CLI | Kiro CLI | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 49 | 57 | Kiro CLI +8 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 79 | 79 | even |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 67 | Droid CLI +5 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 63 | 66 | Kiro CLI +3 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 10 | 40 | Kiro CLI +30 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 79 | 73 | Droid CLI +6 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 64 | 67 | Kiro CLI +3 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -4 | |\n| **Total** | | **59.1 · C** | **59.9 · C** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Droid CLI | Kiro CLI |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |\n| Vendor | Factory | Amazon Web Services |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | | |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Paid | Freemium |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | 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 | Proprietary. Licensed as AWS Content under the AWS Customer Agreement and the AWS Intellectual Property Licence (https://kiro.dev/license/). The GitHub repository is the public issue tracker and doesn't hold the source |\n| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-10-08 | 2026-10-05 |\n| Terms last updated | 2026-07-14 | 2026-08-14 |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-08-20 | 2026-05-18 |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |\n| Popularity | 49 stars, 7.8k npm/wk | 4.4k stars |\n\n## Verdicts\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**Kiro CLI.** Permission rules follow deny over ask over allow, cloned repositories can't add rules, and a headless session treats every ask as a deny. Content from Free and individual paid accounts is used for service improvement, including model training, unless the user opts out, and API keys for pipelines need a paid plan.\n\n## Before you call either\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### Kiro CLI\n\n1. Set `KIRO_API_KEY` and pass `--no-interactive` with `--trust-tools=\u003clist\u003e` in pipelines. Keep `--trust-all-tools` for disposable environments\n2. Pass `--require-mcp-startup` when a run depends on MCP tools. Without it a failed server is logged and the run continues\n3. Pass `--no-interactive` whenever input is piped from a source you don't control, and run 2.10.0 or later on Windows\n4. Run `kiro-cli settings telemetry.enabled false` and turn off content collection on Free and individual plans. Both are on by default\n5. Export variables in the shell before starting. Since 2.24.0 a project `.env` file is no longer loaded into sessions, MCP servers or tools\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Droid CLI or Kiro CLI?\n\nKiro CLI and Droid CLI score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 59.9 (C) and 59.1 (C). Droid CLI leads on agent ergonomics and maintenance \u0026 community.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-kiro-cli.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-kiro-cli.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"droid-cli\", \"b\": \"kiro-cli\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare droid-cli kiro-cli`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/droid-cli.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kiro-cli.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Droid CLI or Kiro CLI\n\n- [Aider vs Droid CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-droid-cli.md)\n- [Aider vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Amp vs Droid CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-droid-cli.md)\n- [Amp vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Claude Code vs Droid CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-droid-cli.md)\n- [Claude Code vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Cline vs Droid CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-droid-cli.md)\n- [Cline vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Cursor CLI vs Droid CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-droid-cli.md)\n- [Cursor CLI vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Devin vs Droid CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-droid-cli.md)\n- [Devin vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-kiro-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 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- [Pi vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Gemini CLI vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [GitHub Copilot CLI vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [goose vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Kilo Code CLI vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Kiro CLI vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [Kiro CLI vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-opencode.md)\n- [Kiro CLI vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-openhands.md)\n- [Kiro CLI vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-prime-agent.md)\n- [Kiro CLI vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-qwen-code.md)\n- [Droid CLI vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-paperclip.md)\n- [Kiro CLI vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-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": "Droid CLI vs Kiro CLI", "url": "" } ], "description": "Kiro CLI and Droid CLI score within a point of each other for agent harnesses, 59.9 and 59.1 out of 100. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Droid CLI C 59.1", "Kiro CLI C 59.9", "scores" ], "h1": "Droid CLI vs Kiro CLI", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-droid-cli-vs-kiro-cli.png", "path": "/compare/droid-cli-vs-kiro-cli", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Droid CLI vs Kiro CLI for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-kiro-cli" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2650, "slim": 680 }, "version": 1 }