# GitHub Copilot CLI vs Qwen Code

> Qwen Code scores 72.4 (BB) on agent readiness against GitHub Copilot CLI's 57.6 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. GitHub Copilot CLI leads on security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do agent harness. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

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- Updated: 2026-10-08

Qwen Code scores 72.4 (BB) on agent readiness against GitHub Copilot CLI's 57.6 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. GitHub Copilot CLI leads on security & auth and transparency & trust. Both do agent harness.

- GitHub Copilot CLI: grade C, 57.6/100, rank #415 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/github-copilot-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/github-copilot-cli.json
- Qwen Code: grade BB, 72.4/100, rank #88 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/qwen-code.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/qwen-code.json

## Which one, for what

### GitHub Copilot CLI (C)

Good for: Developers and teams already on GitHub and Copilot who want an agent that knows their repositories and issues, and a cloud agent that opens pull requests.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 60 against 53
- Transparency & trust, 68 against 63

Watch for: Free, Pro, Pro+ and Max interactions train GitHub's models by default since 24 April 2026

### Qwen Code (BB)

Good for: Developers and CI jobs that want an open-source harness tied to no single model vendor, with run budgets and SDKs.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 69 against 55
- Schema & documentation, 91 against 72
- Agent ergonomics, 85 against 72
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 40
- Maintenance & community, 88 against 77

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- Open source
- No incidents deducted, where GitHub Copilot CLI loses 5 points for them

Watch for: The default approval mode is Auto, where an LLM classifier approves tool calls, and sandboxing and folder trust are both off by default


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | GitHub Copilot CLI | Qwen Code | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 55 | 69 | Qwen Code +14 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 91 | Qwen Code +19 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 85 | Qwen Code +13 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 60 | 53 | GitHub Copilot CLI +7 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 60 | Qwen Code +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 77 | 88 | Qwen Code +11 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 68 | 63 | GitHub Copilot CLI +5 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -5 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **57.6 · C** | **72.4 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | GitHub Copilot CLI | Qwen Code |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | GitHub | Alibaba (Qwen team) |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary, under the licence in the repository's `LICENSE.md`. Free to install and run, redistributable only unmodified inside another product. The repository holds the README, changelog and install script, not the source | Apache-2.0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-10-05 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-04-27 | 2026-10-01 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-04-27 | 2026-10-01 |
| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 11k stars | 28k stars, 105k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 2.5/5 (2) | none |

## Verdicts

**GitHub Copilot CLI.** Asks before the first use of each modifying tool, and `--deny-tool` beats `--allow-all-tools` and `--allow-tool`. Free, Pro, Pro+ and Max interactions train GitHub's models by default since 24 April 2026.

**Qwen Code.** Apache-2.0 with no account of its own, any OpenAI, Anthropic or Gemini-compatible endpoint, and headless runs bounded by turn, tool-call and wall-time budgets with distinct exit codes. Out of the box, Auto mode lets an LLM classifier approve tool calls, with the sandbox and folder trust both off. Usage statistics are on by default.

## Before you call either

### GitHub Copilot CLI

1. Pass `--deny-tool` for anything destructive. It wins over `--allow-all-tools` and `--allow-tool`
2. Turn on the sandbox with `/sandbox enable` or `--sandbox`. It's off unless you opt in
3. Turn off model training in Copilot settings on Free, Pro, Pro+ and Max. It's on by default since 24 April 2026
4. Run 1.0.88 or later where enterprise policy matters. Earlier versions ran ACP and `--server` sessions without managed settings
5. Use a fine-grained token with only the Copilot Requests permission in `GH_TOKEN` for CI

### Qwen Code

1. Pass `--approval-mode` on every run. The settings default is `auto`, and one docs page says headless runs default to asking, so don't rely on either
2. Add `--max-session-turns`, `--max-wall-time` and `--max-tool-calls`. All three are unlimited by default. Exit 53 is the turn limit and 55 a budget
3. `--yolo` doesn't turn on a sandbox. Add `--sandbox`, or on Linux set `tools.executionSandbox` with `network` set to `closed`
4. Set `QWEN_USAGE_STATISTICS_ENABLED=false` to stop usage statistics
5. Authenticate with `OPENAI_API_KEY`, `OPENAI_BASE_URL` and `OPENAI_MODEL` in CI. The browser sign-in is discontinued

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, GitHub Copilot CLI or Qwen Code?

Qwen Code scores 72.4 (BB) on agent readiness against GitHub Copilot CLI's 57.6 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. GitHub Copilot CLI leads on security & auth and transparency & trust.

### Are GitHub Copilot CLI and Qwen Code open source?

No open-source release is listed for GitHub Copilot CLI. Qwen Code is open source (Apache-2.0).


## For agents

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

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