# Pi vs Qoder CLI

> Pi scores 68.4 (B) to Qoder CLI's 59.3 (C) for agent harnesses. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
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- Updated: 2026-10-18

Pi scores 68.4 (B) on agent readiness against Qoder CLI's 59.3 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent harnesses.

- Pi: grade B, 68.4/100, rank #233 of 1146. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/earendil-pi.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/earendil-pi.json
- Qoder CLI: grade C, 59.3/100, rank #609 of 1146. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/qoder-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/qoder-cli.json
- Best agent harnesses and coding agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/agent-harnesses/index.md
- All 713 harnesses comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-harnesses/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Pi (B)

Good for: Developers and pipelines that want a small, scriptable coding agent they can extend in TypeScript and drive over JSONL or RPC, inside their own container.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 75 against 51
- Security & auth, 61 against 55
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 35
- Maintenance & community, 87 against 72

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

Watch for: No permission system or sandbox. Tool calls run with the user's rights and without an approval prompt

### Qoder CLI (C)

Good for: Developers already on Qoder who want the same agent in a terminal, in CI through a PAT, in Zed through ACP, or embedded through the Agent SDK.

Watch for: No local sandbox is documented, and `auto` mode approves read-only tools on any path


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Pi | Qoder CLI | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 75 | 51 | Pi +24 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 84 | 81 | Pi +3 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 76 | 80 | Qoder CLI +4 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 61 | 55 | Pi +6 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 35 | Pi +25 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 87 | 72 | Pi +15 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 64 | 64 | even |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -4 | -3 | |
| **Total** | | **68.4 · B** | **59.3 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Pi | Qoder CLI |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Earendil | Qoder (BRIGHT ZENITH PRIVATE LIMITED) |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | None | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Free | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT | Proprietary, under the Qoder Terms of Service (BRIGHT ZENITH PRIVATE LIMITED, last updated 29 April 2026). No source is published, and the Agent SDK's LICENSE file points to the same terms |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-07 | 2026-10-16 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked |  |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked |  |
| Customer content may train models |  |  |
| Terms restrict automated access |  |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  |  |
| Popularity | 113k stars, 5.2M npm/wk | 5k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3.3/5 (4) | 3.5/5 (4) |

## Verdicts

**Pi.** Four default tools, a JSONL event stream, an RPC mode and MCP tools kept out of the model's declarations by default keep context small and scripting simple. Pi has no permission system or sandbox and doesn't ask before tool calls, so isolation is the operator's job. Version 1.0.0 is dated 1 October 2026.

**Qoder CLI.** A closed-source terminal agent with a documented headless mode, an ACP server, typed TypeScript and Python SDKs and near-daily releases. Permission rules and modes are detailed, but no local sandbox is documented, usage statistics are on by default, and security fixes appear only as one-line release notes with no advisories or disclosure policy.

## Before you call either

### Pi

1. Run Pi inside a container or VM for unattended work. It has no sandbox and doesn't ask before running shell commands
2. Use `pi --mode json` and wait for `agent_settled`. A failed response doesn't set a nonzero exit code in JSON mode
3. Split the JSONL stream on LF only. Node's `readline` also splits on U+2028 and U+2029, which are valid inside JSON strings
4. Pass `--no-approve` or `--approve` in scripts to make the project trust decision explicit
5. Set `PI_TELEMETRY=0` and `PI_SKIP_VERSION_CHECK=1`, or `PI_OFFLINE=1`, to stop the default requests to pi.dev

### Qoder CLI

1. Set `QODER_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN` in CI. The browser sign-in can't complete in a headless run
2. Pass `--permission-mode` with `--allowed-tools` in headless runs. Every ask is denied, and `--yolo` removes all checks
3. Set `--max-turns` on unattended runs, and branch on exit codes 41 (authentication) and 53 (turn limit)
4. Set `privacy.usageStatisticsEnabled` and `aiCodeStatistics.enabled` to false in ~/.qoder/settings.json if usage data must stay local
5. Don't pass `--model lite`. The Lite tier was removed on 18 September 2026 and headless requests naming it fail

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Pi or Qoder CLI?

Pi scores 68.4 (B) on agent readiness against Qoder CLI's 59.3 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories.

### Are Pi and Qoder CLI open source?

Pi is open source (MIT). No open-source release is listed for Qoder CLI.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Pi or Qoder CLI

- [Agent Zero vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-earendil-pi.md)
- [Agent Zero vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-qoder-cli.md)
- [Aider vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-earendil-pi.md)
- [Aider vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-qoder-cli.md)
- [Amp vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-earendil-pi.md)
- [Amp vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-qoder-cli.md)
- [Antigravity CLI vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-earendil-pi.md)
- [Antigravity CLI vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-qoder-cli.md)
- [Auggie CLI vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/auggie-vs-earendil-pi.md)
- [Auggie CLI vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/auggie-vs-qoder-cli.md)
- [Claude Code vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-earendil-pi.md)
- [Claude Code vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-qoder-cli.md)
- [Cline vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-earendil-pi.md)
- [Cline vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-qoder-cli.md)
- [Crush vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crush-vs-earendil-pi.md)
- [Crush vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crush-vs-qoder-cli.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-earendil-pi.md)
- [Cursor CLI vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-qoder-cli.md)
- [DeepSeek Harness (dsh) vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-harness-vs-earendil-pi.md)
- [DeepSeek Harness (dsh) vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-harness-vs-qoder-cli.md)
- [Devin vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-earendil-pi.md)
- [Devin vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-qoder-cli.md)
- [Droid CLI vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-earendil-pi.md)
- [Droid CLI vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-qoder-cli.md)
- [Pi vs Gemini CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-gemini-cli.md)
- [Pi vs GitHub Copilot CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-github-copilot-cli.md)
- [Pi vs goose](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-goose.md)
- [Pi vs Harness²](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-harness2.md)
- [Pi vs HarnessRouter](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-harnessrouter.md)
- [Pi vs Jules](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-jules.md)
- [Pi vs Junie CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-junie.md)
- [Pi vs Kilo Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-kilo-code-cli.md)
- [Pi vs Kimi Code CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-kimi-code-cli.md)
- [Pi vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-kiro-cli.md)
- [Pi vs mini-swe-agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-mini-swe-agent.md)
- [Pi vs Mistral Vibe CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-mistral-vibe-cli.md)
- [Pi vs Muse Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-muse-code.md)
- [Pi vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-openai-codex.md)
- [Pi vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-opencode.md)
- [Pi vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-openhands.md)
- [Pi vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-prime-agent.md)
- [Pi vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-qwen-code.md)
- [Pi vs Mirror CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-reflection-mirror.md)
- [Pi vs Rovo Dev CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-rovo-dev-cli.md)
- [Pi vs Warp (Warp Agent CLI and the Oz Agent API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-warp.md)
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- [GitHub Copilot CLI vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-qoder-cli.md)
- [goose vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-qoder-cli.md)
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- [Kiro CLI vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-qoder-cli.md)
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- [OpenHands vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-qoder-cli.md)
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- [Qoder CLI vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qoder-cli-vs-qwen-code.md)
- [Qoder CLI vs Mirror CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qoder-cli-vs-reflection-mirror.md)
- [Qoder CLI vs Rovo Dev CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qoder-cli-vs-rovo-dev-cli.md)
- [Qoder CLI vs Warp (Warp Agent CLI and the Oz Agent API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qoder-cli-vs-warp.md)
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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp