Kimi Code CLI vs Verdent

Kimi Code CLI 60

Self-hosted rule. No payment protocol (0). The CLI is free under MIT with nothing to buy (20). No card or account is needed for the software, and any listed provider's key works (20). An agent can install it from npm and run it with KIMI_MODEL_* variables and no sign-up, given a model key (20). The Kimi Code subscription and Kimi Platform API usage are separate purchases.

Verdent 20

Harness reading of the published rubric, scored on the Verdent subscription the agent needs. No payment protocol (0). Plan prices from $5 a month, top-up prices and the credit value of about $0.059 are public without a login (20). Free Mode and the free trial ended on 29 October 2026, so there is no free tier (0). A person signs up in a browser (0). 0+20+0+0 = 20.

Kimi Code CLI 71

Framework reading, adapted to a harness driven by a pipeline. Global tools.enabled and tools.disabled lists, per-agent tool lists, deferred MCP tool loading and a read-only Plan mode (20). stream-json output and a step limit per turn by environment variable, but steps are unlimited by default and there's no wall-time or cost limit for the main turn (13). The server API returns coded envelopes and ACP returns standard JSON-RPC errors, but print mode documents no exit codes outside goal runs (12). Retries only on transient failures and never on an exhausted quota, with --continue, --session, fork, undo and ACP session/load (16). kimi -p needs one argument, with ACP and the REST API as programmatic surfaces but no SDK package in any language (10).

Verdent 35

Harness reading. MCP servers per project or globally, subagents, skills and rules, but no per-tool disabling or deferred loading found (10). No output-size, turn-limit or budget controls for a run were found beyond credit balances (5). No exit codes or error format, since there is no headless mode (3). Parallel workers in git worktrees and a review column make runs reviewable and reversible, with no resume by ID documented (10). No CLI, API or SDK. A pipeline can only reach Manager through a paired Telegram, Slack or Feishu bot (7). 10+5+3+10+7 = 35.

Kimi Code CLI 85

Framework reading. The kimi web server serves /openapi.json and /asyncapi.json, generated from its runtime validation schemas, but only from a running server behind auth, and the API is marked experimental. The ACP server's methods and capabilities are tabled (20). llms.txt indexes every page and each page is served as Markdown (10). The permission-mode, goal-mode and MCP pages say when to use each mode and what to avoid (16). The config reference gives type and default for each key, with enums for permission modes, output formats and rule decisions (13). Many examples, the server's error-code bands and ACP error codes are documented, but print-mode exit codes are documented only for goal runs (11). A dated changelog in the docs plus the technical changelog in the repository (15). Unchanged on 2 November; llms.txt now indexes 60 pages in two languages.

Verdent 55

Framework reading for a harness. No schema for settings or output, only mcp.json examples in the standard mcpServers shape (5). Every current docs page has a Markdown twin at the same path with .md, though no llms.txt (10). The docs say when to use Agent Mode or Plan Mode and what Plan Mode can't do, but the Agent Mode page lists the actions that need approval only as "certain tool executions" and "destructive operations" (12). Modes and BYOA agent types are enumerated, permissions are not (5). Examples on the MCP, BYOA and messaging pages, and a recovery page, with no error codes (8). Version numbers and a dated public changelog (15). The archived 1.0 docs are still served beside the current ones. 5+10+12+5+8+15 = 55.

Kimi Code CLI 68

Local-package reading. An install script that verifies a checksum, npm @moonshot-ai/kimi-code with Node 22.19.0 or newer stated, and Homebrew core at 2.4.1, for macOS, Linux and Windows (20). A public CI workflow runs the build, a smoke test, sharded tests on Linux, tests on Windows, lint and typecheck. GitHub's pages answer 403 in this session, so whether it passes on main wasn't checked (15). The 18 October issue and pull-request counts came from shields.io badges, a third-party copy of GitHub data this run bars, so they are struck. The clone shows 95 commits from 13 authors since 18 October and a changelog that credits merged pull requests up to #4553 in 2.4.1, but which open issues are crashes or regressions, and how fast they're answered, couldn't be read (8). Changesets changelog with Major, Minor and Patch headings and no breaking-change label since 0.28.0. 2.2.0 made executor = "kaos" configs fail validation, 2.3.0 stopped bare-name plugin skill calls and 2.3.2, a patch, removed swarms from kimi -p and ACP (10). 2.4.1, past 1.0 (15). 20 + 15 + 8 + 10 + 15 = 68.

Verdent 43

Local-package reading, as for the other closed-source harnesses. The desktop app installs from verdent.ai with macOS 11 or later and 64-bit Windows 10 and 11 stated, and the extension from the editor marketplaces, but not from a package registry (15). No public CI or test suite, since the source isn't published (0). No public issue tracker, every task runs through Verdent's servers, and no status page was found, so there is no readable record (5). A dated changelog by version, with the end of Free Mode called out in v2.18.0, but no breaking-change sections (8). 2.18.0, generally available (15). 15+0+5+8+15 = 43.

Kimi Code CLI 45

Harness reading of the framework checklist. 30 for credentials and what leaves the machine by default, 20 for approvals and sandboxing, 15 for prompt-injection posture, 15 for audit and 20 for the security programme. OAuth tokens sit in 0600 files and shell keys aren't read unless named. Telemetry is on by default and, in the 2.2.0 package read on 18 October, sends events with a device ID, session ID and model name to telemetry-logs.kimi.com. Auto-update is on by default (14). Interactive sessions ask before edits and commands, and a dangerous-command guard covers rm -rf and similar, but kimi -p runs under Never Ask, where everything is approved and the guard is off, with only static deny rules left. No sandbox found, and hooks fail open (7). The MCP page warns about untrusted servers and project .kimi-code/mcp.json entries, and since 2.1.0 project config waits for workspace trust, but no prompt-injection guidance was found for fetched web pages (6). Sessions on disk, kimi export, the kimi vis session visualiser, a diagnostic log and hooks for auditing (11). SECURITY.md names private GitHub advisories and an email, supports only the latest version and gives no response time. No security.txt was found on kimi.com, kimi.ai or moonshot.ai, and OSV, read again on 2 November 2026, lists no advisories for the package, though 2.1.0 shipped security fixes (7).

Verdent 33

Framework reading (telemetry defaults, approvals, guardrails, sandboxing). Conversation history and tool results go to Verdent's US servers and on to Azure, Bedrock or Vertex, with zero data retention stated for Vertex and Bedrock only. Event logging to log.verdent.ai has no documented opt-out. BYOA keys stay on the machine (10). Plan Mode is read-only, Agent Mode asks before destructive commands and edits outside scope, and workers are isolated by git worktree, but there is no sandbox or network control and the approval list isn't enumerated (9). No prompt-injection guidance found, while web search and fetch results enter the context (2). Usage history in the dashboard, no audit log found (5). A security page with a disclosure address and a five-day acknowledgement, SOC 2 and ISO/IEC 42001 being pursued rather than held, no security.txt and no bug bounty (7). 10+9+2+5+7 = 33.

Kimi Code CLI 72

2.4.1 on 30 October 2026 (30). 30 stable tags from 0.32.0 on 4 August to 2.4.1 on 30 October, plus canary builds since 29 October (20). The 18 October counts from shields.io badges are struck. The clone shows the pace directly, 95 commits from 13 authors between 18 October and 2 November and pull requests numbered past #4600, with the changelog crediting outside contributors in each release. Issue reply times couldn't be read (11). No published SDK. A TypeScript SDK sits in the repository (@moonshot-ai/kimi-code-sdk 0.22.0) marked private, the ACP server and REST API ship inside the CLI, and Homebrew core is current at 2.4.1 (5). CI with a frozen lockfile, lint and a dependency check (sherif), canary and release workflows, no Dependabot or Renovate file, and the pass state unchecked (6). 30 + 20 + 11 + 5 + 6 = 72.

Verdent 61

Closed service. v2.18.0 on 29 October 2026, eight days before this check (30). More than three dated releases in the 90 days from 8 August, among them 2.10.0 to 2.18.0 (20). A dated public changelog, a support address, Discord and a subreddit, with no public tracker to read reply times (8). No official SDK or MCP server to keep current (0). No public packages or CI to judge (3). 30+20+8+0+3 = 61.