Pi vs Mirror CLI

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.

Mirror CLI

Mirror CLI is Apache-2.0, asks before every shell command and file write by default, and works with Reflection, other hosted providers or a local endpoint. It is a one-day-old 0.1.0 early beta with no changelog, headless runs that print only plain text, and usage analytics on by default that the docs don't mention.

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

Mirror CLI

1. Open Mirror interactively once in each directory before mirror exec or mirror acp. Both refuse to run until the usage and folder notices are accepted
2. Pass --approval-mode auto to mirror exec only inside a container or VM. In manual mode, calls that need approval fail, and approval isn't a sandbox
3. Set --max-iterations on unattended runs. Turns are unlimited by default
4. Check the result with your own tests. exec returns 0 whenever it prints an answer
5. Never share logs recorded with --log-level debug. The docs say they contain request headers with the API key