# Kimi Code CLI vs MiniMax Code

> MiniMax Code scores 67.5 (B) to Kimi Code CLI's 62.1 (B) for agent harnesses. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kimi-code-cli-vs-minimax-code
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kimi-code-cli-vs-minimax-code.md (~3,750 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kimi-code-cli-vs-minimax-code.min.md (~630 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kimi-code-cli-vs-minimax-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
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-10-19

MiniMax Code scores 67.5 (B) on agent readiness against Kimi Code CLI's 62.1 (B), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Kimi Code CLI leads on reliability. Both do agent harnesses.

- Kimi Code CLI: grade B, 62.1/100, rank #497 of 1175. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kimi-code-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kimi-code-cli.json
- MiniMax Code: grade B, 67.5/100, rank #277 of 1175. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-code.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/minimax-code.json
- Best agent harnesses and coding agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/agent-harnesses/index.md
- All 752 harnesses comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-harnesses/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Kimi Code CLI (B)

Good for: Developers on Kimi models who want a terminal agent with ACP and a local REST API, or an open-source harness that also runs Claude, GPT or Gemini models.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 68 against 63

Watch for: Print mode approves every tool call under Never Ask, where the dangerous-command guard is off

### MiniMax Code (B)

Good for: Scripted coding runs on MiniMax's models or any compatible model, driven by JSON output and exit codes.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 57 against 45
- Maintenance & community, 77 against 72

Also in its favour:
- Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 3.5 against 3.0 out of 5
- No incidents deducted, where Kimi Code CLI loses 4 points for them

Watch for: Pre-1.0 and labelled a source preview, with npm at 0.6.12 and the public source at 0.6.5


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Kimi Code CLI | MiniMax Code | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 68 | 63 | Kimi Code CLI +5 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 85 | 81 | Kimi Code CLI +4 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 71 | 75 | MiniMax Code +4 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 45 | 57 | MiniMax Code +12 |
| 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) | 72 | 77 | MiniMax Code +5 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 62 | 61 | Kimi Code CLI +1 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -4 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **62.1 · B** | **67.5 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Kimi Code CLI | MiniMax Code |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Moonshot AI | MiniMax |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT | MIT for first-party code, with the bundled sandbox runtime under Apache-2.0. The desktop app's source isn't published |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-14 | 2026-10-15 |
| Terms last updated |  | 2026-01-19 |
| Privacy policy last updated |  | 2026-01-19 |
| 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 | 37k npm/wk | 2k stars, 6.8k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3/5 (4) | 3.5/5 (4) |

## Verdicts

**Kimi Code CLI.** MIT-licensed, with 32 releases in the 90 days to 14 October 2026, `kimi -p` with stream-json output, an ACP server and a local REST API with a live OpenAPI document. Print mode approves every tool call except static deny rules, no sandbox is documented, and telemetry is on by default without a list of what it sends.

**MiniMax Code.** An MIT-licensed terminal coding agent with a headless mode that returns versioned JSON, documented exit codes and an ACP server, and telemetry off by default. It's pre-1.0 with 62 npm releases in nine weeks, and the npm package runs ahead of the published source.

## Before you call either

### Kimi Code CLI

1. `kimi -p` approves every tool call. Add `[[permission.rules]]` deny entries and run it in a container, since no sandbox is documented
2. Set `KIMI_LOOP_MAX_STEPS_PER_TURN` for unattended runs. Steps per turn are unlimited by default
3. Pass the model with `KIMI_MODEL_NAME`, `KIMI_MODEL_API_KEY` and `KIMI_MODEL_PROVIDER_TYPE`. `OPENAI_API_KEY` or `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` in the shell is ignored otherwise
4. Set `KIMI_DISABLE_TELEMETRY=1` and use 0.41.0 or later, since earlier print-mode runs ignored it
5. Install `@moonshot-ai/kimi-code` or the `kimi-code` formula. The `kimi-cli` and `kimi-code` packages on PyPI are the archived Python CLI

### MiniMax Code

1. Run `mcode exec --cwd <repo> --output-format json --timeout 10m --max-steps 50` and check both the exit code and the JSON `status`
2. Keep `--permission full` and `off` for a container or throwaway workspace. The default `smart` fails when it would need a person
3. Set `MCODE_PROVIDER_API_KEY` and add a provider for BYOK. M Plan models need a browser sign-in with `mcode login --region global`
4. Set `MINIMAX_DATA_DIR` per CI runner. Keys and sessions live in `~/.minimax` by default
5. Pin a version. npm published 62 releases in nine weeks and the public source trails it

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Kimi Code CLI or MiniMax Code?

MiniMax Code scores 67.5 (B) on agent readiness against Kimi Code CLI's 62.1 (B), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Kimi Code CLI leads on reliability.

### Are Kimi Code CLI and MiniMax Code open source?

Yes. Kimi Code CLI is open source (MIT). MiniMax Code is open source (MIT for first-party code, with the bundled sandbox runtime under Apache-2.0. The desktop app's source isn't published).


## For agents

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

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