# Kilo Code CLI vs Paperclip

> Kilo Code CLI scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Paperclip's 59 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Paperclip leads on payments & pricing. Both do agent multi agent. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-paperclip
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-paperclip.md (~2,450 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-paperclip.min.md (~630 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-paperclip.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: 2026-10-09

Kilo Code CLI scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Paperclip's 59 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Paperclip leads on payments & pricing. Both do agent multi agent.

- Kilo Code CLI: grade BB, 75.4/100, rank #47 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kilo-code-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kilo-code-cli.json
- Paperclip: grade C, 59/100, rank #510 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/paperclip.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/paperclip.json

## 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 66
- Schema & documentation, 90 against 81
- Maintenance & community, 87 against 78
- Transparency & trust, 76 against 65

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- No incidents deducted, where Paperclip loses 10 points for them

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

### Paperclip (C)

Good for: Someone running several coding or operations agents who wants one place for tasks, budgets, approvals and history across harnesses.

Ahead on:
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 50

Watch for: `claude_local` defaults `dangerouslySkipPermissions` to true and `codex_local` defaults to bypassing approvals and the sandbox, with agents running on the host


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Kilo Code CLI | Paperclip | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 85 | 66 | Kilo Code CLI +19 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 90 | 81 | Kilo Code CLI +9 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 70 | Kilo Code CLI +2 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 66 | 64 | Kilo Code CLI +2 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 50 | 60 | Paperclip +10 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 87 | 78 | Kilo Code CLI +9 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 76 | 65 | Kilo Code CLI +11 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -10 | |
| **Total** | | **75.4 · BB** | **59 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Kilo Code CLI | Paperclip |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Kilo Code Inc. | Paperclip Labs, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-07 | 2026-10-05 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-09-30 | 2026-07-23 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-05-29 | 2026-07-23 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | yes, with an opt-out |
| 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 | yes | yes |
| Popularity | 28k stars, 33k npm/wk | 99k stars, 60k 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.

**Paperclip.** Board approvals, budgets with a hard stop and an activity log sit above whichever harnesses do the work, and eleven stable versions shipped in 90 days. The Claude Code and Codex adapters skip permission prompts and the sandbox by default, and twelve security advisories, five of them critical, have been published since April 2026.

## 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

### Paperclip

1. Set `PAPERCLIP_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1` or `DO_NOT_TRACK=1` before the first start. Telemetry is on by default
2. Set `dangerouslySkipPermissions` and `dangerouslyBypassApprovalsAndSandbox` to false on agents that read untrusted input, or run them in a sandbox provider
3. Install with Node.js 24.11 or newer, and install and sign in to each harness CLI on the host first. Paperclip assumes they are there
4. Use `--bind lan` or `--bind tailnet` at onboarding for anything beyond one machine. The default `local_trusted` mode treats every request as the board admin
5. Treat 409 on task checkout as owned by another agent and pick different work. The API docs say not to retry

## Questions

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

Kilo Code CLI scores 75.4 (BB) on agent readiness against Paperclip's 59 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Paperclip leads on payments & pricing.

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

Yes. Kilo Code CLI is open source (MIT). Paperclip is open source (MIT).


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Kilo Code CLI or Paperclip

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- [GitHub Copilot CLI vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-paperclip.md)
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- [OpenHands vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-paperclip.md)
- [Paperclip vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperclip-vs-prime-agent.md)
- [Paperclip vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperclip-vs-qwen-code.md)