# Pi vs Sculptor > Pi scores 62.6 (B) to Sculptor's 53.1 (D) for agent harnesses. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side. - Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-sculptor - Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-sculptor.md (~5,600 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 .grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.. and .vs.. 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 Pi scores 62.6 (B) on agent readiness against Sculptor's 53.1 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent harnesses. - Pi: grade B, 62.6/100, rank #550 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/earendil-pi.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/earendil-pi.json - Sculptor: grade D, 53.1/100, rank #966 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/sculptor.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/sculptor.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 ### 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 43 - Schema & documentation, 84 against 45 - Agent ergonomics, 76 against 50 - Maintenance & community, 87 against 75 - Transparency & trust, 67 against 57 Also in its favour: - Free to start without a card Watch for: No permission system or sandbox. Tool calls run with the user's rights and without an approval prompt ### Sculptor (D) Good for: Developers who want parallel coding agents in isolated workspaces and are fine with a research preview. Also in its favour: - No incidents deducted, where Pi loses 10 points for them Watch for: Labelled an experimental research preview that may change drastically ## Why the edge ### Schema & documentation: Pi +39 - Pi (84): Harness reading, as for the other harnesses. JSON Schemas for settings, models, keybindings and themes ship in the package and, since 1.2.0 on 12 October 2026, at pi.dev/schemas/, and the JSON event stream and every RPC command are documented record by record, but as Markdown and TypeScript types with no machine-readable spec for the RPC protocol (18). pi.dev/llms.txt returns 404. Each docs page answers `Accept: text/markdown` with Markdown, and the docs ship inside the npm package (8). The integration page has a table saying when to use interactive, print, JSON, RPC or the SDK, and the MCP page gives a typical use for each exposure setting. 1.4.0 adds a Models Configuration reference generated from the `models.json` schema (17). Enumerated modes, thinking levels and exposure values, typed settings with defaults (13). A Python RPC client, a typed TypeScript client and about 75 example extensions, with command errors and parse errors shown as records (13). A dated changelog in the repository and at pi.dev/changelog with an RSS feed (15). - Sculptor (45): Harness reading. A README, specs and agent docs in the repository; no API reference (45). ### Reliability: Pi +32 - Pi (75): Read as a local package. `@earendil-works/pi-coding-agent` 1.4.0 on npm (still the latest on 1 November 2026) with Node.js 22.19 or newer stated, install scripts for macOS, Linux and Windows, Nix and standalone binaries (20). A public CI workflow builds, checks and tests on every push to main and runs an MCP client conformance job. The run on the commit we cloned (ce950d7, 8 October 2026) passed, but eight of the last 15 runs on main, all on 7 and 8 October, failed. Run results weren't readable on 23 October, so this stands per the 8 October check (15). The repository API reported 308 open issues and pull requests against 113,417 stars on 8 October, not re-read on 23 October. Issues from new contributors are closed automatically and reviewed daily by maintainers, per CONTRIBUTING.md, so the open count understates what is reported, and we couldn't sample reply times (16). A dated changelog with Breaking Changes sections and migration steps, but breaking changes ship outside major versions. The Azure provider rename shipped in patch release 1.0.3 on 5 October 2026, minor release 1.2.0 on 12 October carried four (theme schema location, `before_agent_start`, busy-session behaviour and `pi mcp list --json` output), and 1.3.0 required `/v1` on `kimi-coding` base URL overrides under Changed. The same reading as agent-zero and mistral-vibe-cli, and these breaks also take a deduction under negative events (9). 1.4.0 on 21 October 2026, with 1.0.0 dated 1 October 2026 (15). - Sculptor (43): Local software. Desktop downloads for Mac (Apple Silicon), Linux and Linux ARM64 (20). checks.yml and a PR gate run on the repository; 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). sculptor-v tags up to v0.49.0, no changelog file (8). 0.x and labelled a research preview (0). 20 + 15 + 0 + 8 + 0 = 43. ### Agent ergonomics: Pi +26 - Pi (76): Harness reading of the framework line, scored on what an agent or pipeline driving it has to supply. Four default tools (read, bash, edit, write) and a short system prompt. MCP tools default to `codemode` exposure, which keeps them out of the model's tool declarations, and `tool_search` loads deferred ones on demand (23). Automatic compaction, agent-level retry with three attempts and exponential backoff, and truncated tool output saved to a file. We found no turn or step limit in the CLI or settings reference (13). `--mode json` streams JSONL events ending in `agent_settled` and `--mode rpc` returns `success: false` with an error string. Print mode exits nonzero on a failed response, JSON mode doesn't (16). Sessions are stored as trees and continue, fork or take a fixed ID with `--continue`, `--fork` and `--session-id`. File changes have no built-in undo, and a git checkpoint is an example extension (14). It needs a provider key or subscription login before the first run, and the SDK is TypeScript only, with RPC for other languages (10). - Sculptor (50): Harness reading. Workspaces as isolated copies, review and merge back, and built-in skills (50). ### Maintenance & community: Pi +12 - Pi (87): v1.4.0 on 21 October 2026, still the latest on npm on 1 November (30). The changelog dates 23 releases in the 90 days from 3 August, 0.84.0 on 6 August to 1.4.0 on 21 October 2026 (20). Commits land daily and the changelog credits issues and outside pull requests in most releases. New contributors' issues are closed automatically, reviewed daily, and get no reply if they miss the quality bar, per CONTRIBUTING.md. Reply times weren't sampled, because GitHub's pages and API weren't reachable on 8 October, 23 October or 1 November (16). npm, the pi.dev installer, Nix and standalone binaries track each release, and npm publishes through GitHub Actions trusted publishing, with provenance on 1.4.0 (14). Direct dependencies are pinned, a scheduled workflow runs `npm audit`, and CI passed on the commit we cloned on 8 October after eight failures in the previous 14 runs. CI results weren't readable on 23 October or 1 November (7). - Sculptor (75): Commits on 6 November 2026 and frequent tagged versions (30). More than three 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; the README says Imbue can't take many outside contributions yet (0). Current official downloads (15). CI on pull requests (10). 30 + 20 + 0 + 15 + 10 = 75. ### Transparency & trust: Pi +10 - Pi (67): MIT (30). No privacy policy for pi.dev or the CLI was found (pi.dev/privacy, earendil.com/privacy and radius.earendil.com/privacy return 404 on 23 October 2026, and pi.dev/privacy and pi.dev/terms again on 1 November). The docs say where sessions and credentials are stored and what `/share` and `/bug` upload. The Radius alpha terms of 1 September 2026 name Earendil Works Co. and refer to a Privacy Notice we couldn't locate (10). Breaking changes are listed per release with migration steps, with no deprecation policy or notice period found. Pi Durable's README says its API changes without notice between releases (8). Install telemetry and the version check are documented in the settings and environment-variable pages with opt-outs, though the docs don't list the fields sent (16). - Sculptor (57): MIT (30). Consent-based telemetry documented in the repository (18 of 30). The README warns of drastic changes during the research preview, with no deprecation policy (5). Opt-in telemetry (20). 30 + 18 + 5 + 20 = 73. ## Score by category | Category | Weight | Pi | Sculptor | Edge | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 75 | 43 | Pi +32 | | Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 84 | 45 | Pi +39 | | Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 76 | 50 | Pi +26 | | Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 61 | 57 | Pi +4 | | Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 60 | even | | Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run | | Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 87 | 75 | Pi +12 | | Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 67 | 57 | Pi +10 | | Negative events | ≤15 | -10 | 0 | | | **Total** | | **62.6 · B** | **53.1 · D** | | ## Facts side by side | Fact | Pi | Sculptor | | --- | --- | --- | | Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness | | Vendor | Earendil | Imbue, Inc. | | Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) | | Transports | | | | Auth | None | None | | Pricing | Free | Free | | x402 | no | no | | Licence | MIT | MIT | | Read-only variant documented | no | no | | llms.txt | no | no | | Last release | 2026-10-21 | 2026-11-06 | | Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked | | Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | no document linked | | Popularity | 113k stars, 5.2M npm/wk | none | | Agent reviews | 3.3/5 (4) | none | ## How the scores have moved ### Pi - -6.0 on 1 November 2026: negative event - +0.2 on 27 October 2026: checklist ### Sculptor No score change since it was listed. ## 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 1.4.0 is dated 21 October 2026. **Sculptor.** Imbue's open-source app for parallel coding agents in isolated workspaces, with telemetry off until you choose otherwise. It's an experimental research preview that warns of bugs and drastic changes, Mac and Linux only, with no changelog. ## 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 ### Sculptor 1. Download from the README's links, connect a repository and create a workspace before prompting 2. Review the diff before merging a workspace back to main ## Questions ### Which is better for AI agents, Pi or Sculptor? Pi scores 62.6 (B) on agent readiness against Sculptor's 53.1 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. ### Are Pi and Sculptor open source? Yes. Pi is open source (MIT). Sculptor is open source (MIT). ## For agents - This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-sculptor.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-sculptor.min.md - Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "earendil-pi", "b": "sculptor"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare earendil-pi sculptor` - Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/earendil-pi.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/sculptor.json ## Other comparisons with Pi or Sculptor - [Agent Zero vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-earendil-pi.md) - [Agent Zero vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-sculptor.md) - [Aider vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-earendil-pi.md) - [Aider vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-sculptor.md) - [Amp vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-earendil-pi.md) - [Amp vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-sculptor.md) - [Antigravity CLI vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-earendil-pi.md) - [Antigravity CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-sculptor.md) - [Auggie CLI vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/auggie-vs-earendil-pi.md) - [Auggie CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/auggie-vs-sculptor.md) - [AXLR vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-earendil-pi.md) - [AXLR vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/axlr-vs-sculptor.md) - [Claude Code vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-earendil-pi.md) - [Claude Code vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-sculptor.md) - [Cline vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-earendil-pi.md) - [Cline vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-sculptor.md) - [Conductor vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/conductor-vs-earendil-pi.md) - [Conductor vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/conductor-vs-sculptor.md) - [Crush vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crush-vs-earendil-pi.md) - [Crush vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crush-vs-sculptor.md) - [Cursor CLI vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-earendil-pi.md) - [Cursor CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-sculptor.md) - [DeepSeek Harness (dsh) vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-harness-vs-earendil-pi.md) - [DeepSeek Harness (dsh) vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-harness-vs-sculptor.md) - [dsh-superagent (DeepSeek) vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-superagent-vs-earendil-pi.md) - [dsh-superagent (DeepSeek) vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepseek-superagent-vs-sculptor.md) - [Devin vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-earendil-pi.md) - [Devin vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-sculptor.md) - [Droid CLI vs Pi](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-earendil-pi.md) - [Droid CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-sculptor.md) - [Pi vs Emdash](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-emdash.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 Letta](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-letta.md) - [Pi vs mini-swe-agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-mini-swe-agent.md) - [Pi vs MiniMax Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-minimax-code.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 Agents API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-openai-agents-api.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 OpenMausBot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-openmausbot.md) - [Pi vs Orca](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-orca.md) - [Pi vs Paseo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-paseo.md) - [Pi vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-prime-agent.md) - [Pi vs Qoder CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-qoder-cli.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 T3 Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-t3-code.md) - [Pi vs Traycer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-traycer.md) - [Pi vs Unstoppable](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-unstoppable.md) - [Pi vs Verdent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-verdent.md) - [Pi vs Vibe-Trading](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-vibe-trading.md) - [Pi vs Warp (Warp Agent CLI and the Oz Agent API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-warp.md) - [Emdash vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/emdash-vs-sculptor.md) - [Gemini CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-sculptor.md) - [GitHub Copilot CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-sculptor.md) - [goose vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-sculptor.md) - [Harness² vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness2-vs-sculptor.md) - [HarnessRouter vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harnessrouter-vs-sculptor.md) - [Jules vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/jules-vs-sculptor.md) - [Junie CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/junie-vs-sculptor.md) - [Kilo Code CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-sculptor.md) - [Kimi Code CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kimi-code-cli-vs-sculptor.md) - [Kiro CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-sculptor.md) - [Letta vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/letta-vs-sculptor.md) - [mini-swe-agent vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mini-swe-agent-vs-sculptor.md) - [MiniMax Code vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-code-vs-sculptor.md) - [Mistral Vibe CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mistral-vibe-cli-vs-sculptor.md) - [Muse Code vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-code-vs-sculptor.md) - [OpenAI Agents API vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-agents-api-vs-sculptor.md) - [OpenAI Codex vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-sculptor.md) - [OpenCode vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/opencode-vs-sculptor.md) - [OpenHands vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-sculptor.md) - [Orca vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/orca-vs-sculptor.md) - [Paseo vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paseo-vs-sculptor.md) - [Prime Agent vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/prime-agent-vs-sculptor.md) - [Qoder CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qoder-cli-vs-sculptor.md) - [Qwen Code vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-code-vs-sculptor.md) - [Mirror CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/reflection-mirror-vs-sculptor.md) - [Rovo Dev CLI vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/rovo-dev-cli-vs-sculptor.md) - [Sculptor vs T3 Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sculptor-vs-t3-code.md) - [Sculptor vs Traycer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sculptor-vs-traycer.md) - [Sculptor vs Unstoppable](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sculptor-vs-unstoppable.md) - [Sculptor vs Verdent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sculptor-vs-verdent.md) - [Sculptor vs Vibe-Trading](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sculptor-vs-vibe-trading.md) - [Sculptor vs Warp (Warp Agent CLI and the Oz Agent API)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sculptor-vs-warp.md) - [Clawboo vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/clawboo-vs-sculptor.md) - [CLI Manager vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cli-manager-vs-sculptor.md) - [Harness vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/harness-autonomous-vs-sculptor.md) - [OpenMausBot vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openmausbot-vs-sculptor.md) - [Paperclip vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperclip-vs-sculptor.md) - [Parallax vs Sculptor](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/parallax-agents-vs-sculptor.md) --- Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp