Kimi Code CLI vs Mirror CLI

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.

Mirror CLI

Mirror CLI is Apache-2.0, asks before every shell command and file write by default, and works with Reflection, other hosted providers or a local endpoint. It is a one-day-old 0.1.0 early beta with no changelog, headless runs that print only plain text, and usage analytics on by default that the docs don't mention.

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

Mirror CLI

1. Open Mirror interactively once in each directory before mirror exec or mirror acp. Both refuse to run until the usage and folder notices are accepted
2. Pass --approval-mode auto to mirror exec only inside a container or VM. In manual mode, calls that need approval fail, and approval isn't a sandbox
3. Set --max-iterations on unattended runs. Turns are unlimited by default
4. Check the result with your own tests. exec returns 0 whenever it prints an answer
5. Never share logs recorded with --log-level debug. The docs say they contain request headers with the API key