# Emdash vs Sculptor

> Emdash and Sculptor score within a point of each other for agent harnesses, 53.9 and 53.1 out of 100. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/emdash-vs-sculptor
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/emdash-vs-sculptor.md (~4,500 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

Emdash and Sculptor score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 53.9 (D) and 53.1 (D). Sculptor leads on security & auth and maintenance & community. Both do agent harnesses.

- Emdash: grade D, 53.9/100, rank #933 of 1510. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/emdash.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/emdash.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

### Emdash (D)

Good for: Developers who want parallel agents in worktrees, fed from their issue tracker, locally or over SSH.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 55 against 43
- Schema & documentation, 55 against 45
- Agent ergonomics, 55 against 50

Watch for: Telemetry on unless turned off in Settings or with TELEMETRY_ENABLED=false

### Sculptor (D)

Good for: Developers who want parallel coding agents in isolated workspaces and are fine with a research preview.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 57 against 38
- Maintenance & community, 75 against 70

Watch for: Labelled an experimental research preview that may change drastically


## Why the edge

### Security & auth: Sculptor +19

- Emdash (38): Harness reading. Telemetry is described as optional and disabled in Settings or with TELEMETRY_ENABLED=false, which reads as on by default (15 of 30). Worktree per task and remote machines over SSH (10 of 20). No prompt-injection guidance (5). No audit log (5). No security policy file found (3). 15 + 10 + 5 + 5 + 3 = 38.
- Sculptor (57): Harness reading. Product analytics, error reporting and session recording default to off in the user config, and the app asks for a telemetry level and privacy consent at first run; PostHog runs on the front end only for now (25 of 30). Each workspace is an isolated copy of the code (14 of 20). No prompt-injection guidance (5). No audit log (5). SECURITY.md (8). 25 + 14 + 5 + 5 + 8 = 57.

### Reliability: Emdash +12

- Emdash (55): Local software. Homebrew cask and installers for macOS, Windows and Linux (20). A code-consistency check and release workflows; no test workflow found (10). GitHub issues and pull requests weren't read (GitHub's pages refuse these sessions), so that line is scored absent (0). Stable tags to v1.2.11, release notes on GitHub (10). Version 1.2.11 (15). 20 + 10 + 0 + 10 + 15 = 55.
- 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.

### Schema & documentation: Emdash +10

- Emdash (55): Harness reading. Docs site and a workspace server package (55).
- Sculptor (45): Harness reading. A README, specs and agent docs in the repository; no API reference (45).

### Agent ergonomics: Emdash +5

- Emdash (55): Harness reading. Issue intake from Linear, GitHub, Jira and others, diff review, pull requests and CI checks in one place, local or over SSH (55).
- Sculptor (50): Harness reading. Workspaces as isolated copies, review and merge back, and built-in skills (50).

### Maintenance & community: Sculptor +5

- Emdash (70): v1.2.11 on 6 November 2026 (30). v1.2.9, v1.2.10 and v1.2.11 within two weeks (20). GitHub issues and pull requests weren't read (GitHub's pages refuse these sessions), so that line is scored absent (0). Current installers and Homebrew cask (15). Release workflows, no test CI (5). 30 + 20 + 0 + 15 + 5 = 70.
- 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.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Emdash | Sculptor | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 55 | 43 | Emdash +12 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 55 | 45 | Emdash +10 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 55 | 50 | Emdash +5 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 38 | 57 | Sculptor +19 |
| 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) | 70 | 75 | Sculptor +5 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 54 | 57 | Sculptor +3 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **53.9 · D** | **53.1 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Emdash | Sculptor |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | General Action, Inc. | Imbue, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | None | None |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | no |
| Last release | 2026-11-06 | 2026-11-06 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | no document linked |

## Verdicts

**Emdash.** A mature open-source app for parallel coding agents in Git worktrees, with issue intake from a dozen trackers and remote machines over SSH. Telemetry is on unless you turn it off, and no test workflow was found in the repository.

**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

### Emdash

1. Launch with TELEMETRY_ENABLED=false if you don't want telemetry
2. Use the SSH mode to keep agents on a remote machine

### 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, Emdash or Sculptor?

Emdash and Sculptor score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 53.9 (D) and 53.1 (D). Sculptor leads on security & auth and maintenance & community.

### Are Emdash and Sculptor open source?

Yes. Emdash is open source (Apache-2.0). Sculptor is open source (MIT).


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Emdash or Sculptor

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