Gauge CLI vs Laminar API + MCP

Gauge CLI 60

CLI reading. No machine-readable contract, -o json on read commands (10 of 25). No llms.txt; instructions bundled in the CLI for agents (5). The README says what it finds and when local or hosted fits (16 of 20). Commands with help text; typed flags (9 of 15). Worked examples, no error reference (8 of 15). Dated changelog and semver tags (12 of 15). 10 + 5 + 16 + 9 + 8 + 12 = 60.

Laminar API + MCP 88

OpenAPI in the docs, and the MCP tools take typed schemas generated from Rust structs (25). llms.txt and Markdown docs (10). The tool descriptions are among the best in the category. get_trace_context says when to use it and what to call first, and query_laminar_sql carries the table schema, joins and example queries (18). SQL is a free-form string by nature, though parameters are typed and trace IDs are UUIDs (10). The SQL API documents its 400, 401 and 429 bodies with examples (13). Monthly changelog without dates per entry, and a /v1 API (12).

Gauge CLI 55

Local tool. Agent credentials stay on your machine in local mode; hosted login with a device flow (20 of 30). Test agents run in fresh Docker sessions with injected inputs, and the gateway brokers credentials in hosted mode (12 of 20). Agents under test read your product's docs and outputs, with no prompt-injection guidance (5 of 15). Local transcripts and SQLite evidence per run (10 of 15). No security policy found (8 of 20). 20 + 12 + 5 + 10 + 8 = 55.

Laminar API + MCP 44

One project API key as a Bearer token, revocable, scoped to one project, with no read-only key type (20). MCP still has three tools and no write tools, and SQL is SELECT-only on a read-only database client (16). Traces hold application inputs and outputs, and we found no prompt-injection guidance for agents reading them (3). No audit log found (0). SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA are claimed for Pro and Enterprise on the pricing page per the 1 October check, with no report, no SECURITY.md in any of the three repositories, no security.txt per the 1 October check and no advisories in OSV for lmnr or Laminar. A bare SOC 2 claim with no disclosure route takes 5 in this run (5). 20+16+3+0+5 = 44.

Gauge CLI 53

MIT (30). Local data stays in .gauge/ and telemetry fields are listed; hosted data handling wasn't read (18 of 30). Dated changelog, no deprecation policy (10 of 20). Telemetry on by default, disclosed with an opt-out (20). 30 + 18 + 10 + 20 = 78.

Laminar API + MCP 64

Apache-2.0, with Signals and Slack alerts held back from the open-source images behind a licence key (28). The privacy policy covers account data in general terms with no retention period for trace data, no subprocessor list and no DPA link we could find. Retention per plan is on the pricing page and PII redaction is documented (12). No deprecation policy. The move from lmnr.ai to laminar.sh while the API stayed on api.lmnr.ai wasn't dated in the changelog (5). Self-hosted telemetry, on by default since 8 June 2026, is disclosed in the README as anonymised, with LAMINAR_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=true to switch it off. The code sends a per-deployment UUID, version, environment and row counts, with the source IP dropped. Until v0.3.2 (16 October) the documented opt-out didn't reach the Compose frontend containers (7280cc17). No subprocessor or data-location list for the cloud (12).

Gauge CLI 40

Scored on the hosted option. No payment protocol (0). Credit prices weren't found on the pages read (0). Local mode is free with no card (20). Local mode needs no sign-up (20). 0 + 0 + 20 + 20 = 40.

Laminar API + MCP 30

No x402 (0). Per-GB prices and Signals token prices published without login (20). The Free plan exists with 1 GB and 7 days, but the pricing page doesn't say whether a card is needed, so half (10). A person signs up in a browser to create a project key (0).

Gauge CLI 60

Local package. Installs from npm as @withgauge/cli with Node 22.13 or later and Docker stated (20). checks.yml runs npm run check on push and pull request across a matrix, and the repository has 76 test files; whether main passes wasn't read (20 of 25). Issues weren't read (5, unchecked). A dated changelog with Added sections per release (15). Version 0.28.0 (0). 20 + 20 + 5 + 15 + 0 = 60.

Laminar API + MCP 52

Laminar's terms (last updated 11 August 2026) bar any spider, robot or scraper that accesses the Services other than its documented APIs, SDKs and CLI, so status.laminar.sh was not re-read on 4 November and the 1 October readings are kept. Better Stack page whose only components are the homepage and an API echo probe, with nothing for ingestion, SQL or MCP, kept at 12 as partly met. Per the 1 October check the window from 6 August to 1 October shows only one planned 30-minute Postgres upgrade on 8 August, and no unread stretch is credited beyond it (20). The SQL docs still say queries are rate limited per project with no numbers (0). The SQL API documents 429 as 'Project rate limit exceeded. Retry with backoff', which is backoff guidance alone. Annotation queue items take an idempotencyKey, but no retry guidance covers ingestion (10). No SLA found (0). API, SQL and MCP are GA (10). 12+20+0+10+0+10 = 52.

Gauge CLI 75

CLI reading for an agent driving it. Bundled instructions match the installed version, and output is filterable with -o json (20 of 25). Run summaries and Findings with queryable fields (15 of 20). Errors not documented as a reference (10 of 20). Reruns from checkpoints and a recheck command with a confirm step (15 of 20). Four commands to start, Node only (15 of 15). 20 + 15 + 10 + 15 + 15 = 75.

Laminar API + MCP 80

Three MCP tools, but the SQL tool's description embeds the whole table schema, so the list costs more context than the count suggests (18). Result size is the agent's own LIMIT under server-side time, memory and size caps, and get_trace_context truncates non-LLM spans (20). Tool failures come back with isError and a message. HTTP errors are a single error field (17). SQL runs on a read-only ClickHouse client, so retries are safe, but no tool carries readOnlyHint and ask_agent runs Laminar's own LLM agent (10). One required argument per tool. Python and TypeScript SDKs and a CLI (15).