# Kilo Code CLI vs Muse Code

> Kilo Code CLI scores 75.4 (BB) to Muse Code's 61.3 (C) for agent harnesses. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-muse-code
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-muse-code.md (~2,800 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-muse-code.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-muse-code.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-12

Kilo Code CLI scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Muse Code's 61.3 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Muse Code leads on agent ergonomics. Both do agent harnesses.

- Kilo Code CLI: grade BB, 75.4/100, rank #48 of 993. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kilo-code-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kilo-code-cli.json
- Muse Code: grade C, 61.3/100, rank #487 of 993. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/muse-code.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/muse-code.json
- Best agent harnesses and coding agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/agent-harnesses/index.md
- All 226 harnesses comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-harnesses/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Kilo Code CLI (BB)

Good for: Developers who want an open-source terminal agent with per-tool permission rules, an optional sandbox and a choice of provider, and the same engine in VS Code and JetBrains.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 85 against 45
- Schema & documentation, 90 against 84
- Payments & pricing, 50 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 87 against 75
- Transparency & trust, 76 against 57

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

Watch for: Telemetry to PostHog is on by default, and the privacy policy and PRIVACY.md don't mention it

### Muse Code (C)

Good for: Developers who want Meta's Muse models, Muse Wonder Full included, in a terminal or CI agent with the sandbox and approvals on from the first run.

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 79 against 72

Watch for: Closed source, with no public CI or issue tracker for the CLI found and release notes that carry no dates


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Kilo Code CLI | Muse Code | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 85 | 45 | Kilo Code CLI +40 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 90 | 84 | Kilo Code CLI +6 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 79 | Muse Code +7 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 66 | 67 | Muse Code +1 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 50 | 20 | Kilo Code CLI +30 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 87 | 75 | Kilo Code CLI +12 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 76 | 57 | Kilo Code CLI +19 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **75.4 · BB** | **61.3 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Kilo Code CLI | Muse Code |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Kilo Code Inc. | Meta |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT | Proprietary binary, used under the Meta Model API Terms of Service, which cover Meta's coding harness. Subscriptions are also under the Meta Subscription Terms of Service. The TypeScript and Python SDKs in the linked repository are MIT. |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-07 | 2026-10-11 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-09-30 |  |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-05-29 | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text |  |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes |  |
| Popularity | 28k stars, 33k npm/wk | 63k npm/wk |

## Verdicts

**Kilo Code CLI.** Shell commands ask before running by default, and an optional operating-system sandbox blocks writes outside the workspace and outbound network. Telemetry to PostHog is on by default and the sandbox is off, so an unattended `kilo run --auto` approves everything not denied unless both are configured first.

**Muse Code.** Muse Code runs with approvals and an OS sandbox on by default, per-host network approval, an append-only event log and a headless mode with documented exit codes. It is the only route to Muse Wonder Full. It is closed source with undated release notes and no free route, and subscriptions allow training on code unless Contributor mode is turned off.

## Before you call either

### Kilo Code CLI

1. Set `sandbox.enabled` to true in the global `kilo.jsonc` before `kilo run --auto`. `--auto` approves every permission request not explicitly denied
2. Set `experimental.openTelemetry` to false, or `KILO_TELEMETRY_LEVEL` to a value other than `all`, to stop telemetry
3. Add needed hosts to `sandbox.allowed_hosts` in global config. MCP tool calls are unavailable while network restriction is on
4. Without `--auto` a non-interactive run rejects every permission prompt and exits 1
5. Put provider keys in global config or the environment. `{env:VAR}` in a project `kilo.json` is ignored

### Muse Code

1. Set `META_API_KEY` for headless runs. Browser sign-in isn't available in CI or for Meta Managed Accounts
2. Gate on your own test command, not the exit code. `muse exec` returns 0 when the turn completes even if tests still fail
3. Pass `--max-model-steps` on unattended runs so a stuck task can't loop
4. Prefer `--disable-approval` to `--yolo` in CI so the sandbox stays on. On Linux the runner needs a working bubblewrap and a non-musl build
5. Turn Contributor mode off in `/settings` before a subscription session touches private code

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Kilo Code CLI or Muse Code?

Kilo Code CLI scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Muse Code's 61.3 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Muse Code leads on agent ergonomics.

### Are Kilo Code CLI and Muse Code open source?

Kilo Code CLI is open source (MIT). No open-source release is listed for Muse Code.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Kilo Code CLI or Muse Code

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- [Agent Zero vs Muse Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-muse-code.md)
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