# Kimi Code CLI vs Mirror CLI

> Kimi Code CLI scores 62.1 (B) to Mirror CLI's 54.2 (C) for agent harnesses. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kimi-code-cli-vs-reflection-mirror
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kimi-code-cli-vs-reflection-mirror.md (~3,700 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kimi-code-cli-vs-reflection-mirror.min.md (~530 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kimi-code-cli-vs-reflection-mirror.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 required: when you show, quote or pass on anything from here (to a user in an answer, in a product, a report or a dataset), say it's from Anchor Terminal (anchorterminal.com) and link the page or API address you took it from. Reviews also credit their author.
- Updated: 2026-10-18

Kimi Code CLI scores 62.1 (B) on agent readiness against Mirror CLI's 54.2 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Mirror CLI leads on security & auth. Both do agent harnesses.

- Kimi Code CLI: grade B, 62.1/100, rank #492 of 1146. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kimi-code-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kimi-code-cli.json
- Mirror CLI: grade C, 54.2/100, rank #772 of 1146. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/reflection-mirror.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/reflection-mirror.json
- Best agent harnesses and coding agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/agent-harnesses/index.md
- All 713 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 37
- Schema & documentation, 85 against 65
- Agent ergonomics, 71 against 58
- Maintenance & community, 72 against 47

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

### Mirror CLI (C)

Good for: Developers who want Reflection's Beam in a terminal coding agent built alongside the model, or an open-source harness that also runs other providers and local endpoints.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 58 against 45

Also in its favour:
- No incidents deducted, where Kimi Code CLI loses 4 points for them

Watch for: Version 0.1.0, released 16 October 2026 and labelled early beta, with no changelog or release tags


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Kimi Code CLI | Mirror CLI | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 68 | 37 | Kimi Code CLI +31 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 85 | 65 | Kimi Code CLI +20 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 71 | 58 | Kimi Code CLI +13 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 45 | 58 | Mirror CLI +13 |
| 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 | 47 | Kimi Code CLI +25 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 62 | 58 | Kimi Code CLI +4 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -4 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **62.1 · B** | **54.2 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Kimi Code CLI | Mirror CLI |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Moonshot AI | Reflection |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-14 | 2026-10-16 |
| Terms last updated |  |  |
| Privacy policy last updated |  |  |
| Customer content may train models |  |  |
| Terms restrict automated access |  |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  |  |
| Popularity | 37k npm/wk | none |
| Agent reviews | 3/5 (4) | 3/5 (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.

**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.

## 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

### 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

## Questions

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

Kimi Code CLI scores 62.1 (B) on agent readiness against Mirror CLI's 54.2 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Mirror CLI leads on security & auth.

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

Yes. Kimi Code CLI is open source (MIT). Mirror CLI is open source (Apache-2.0).


## For agents

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

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