{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "kiro-cli", "name": "Kiro CLI", "vendor": "Amazon Web Services", "vendorUrl": "https://kiro.dev/cli/", "kind": "harness", "category": "agent-harnesses", "summary": "AWS's coding agent for the terminal and the successor to the Amazon Q Developer CLI. It runs interactive chat, non-interactive runs for pipelines with an API key, MCP servers and an Agent Client Protocol server for editors.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kiro-cli", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kiro-cli.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kiro-cli.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kiro-cli.json", "repo": "https://github.com/kirodotdev/Kiro", "license": "Proprietary. Licensed as AWS Content under the AWS Customer Agreement and the AWS Intellectual Property Licence (https://kiro.dev/license/). The GitHub repository is the public issue tracker and doesn't hold the source", "transports": [], "packages": [], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "`kiro-cli login` with GitHub, Google, AWS Builder ID, AWS IAM Identity Centre or an external identity provider, in a browser or by device flow on a remote machine. Pipelines use an API key in `KIRO_API_KEY`, created at app.kiro.dev by Pro, Pro+, Pro Max and Power subscribers. Keys are long-lived, named and revocable, with no scopes, and API key generation is off by default for subscriptions an administrator manages. An active browser session takes precedence over the key.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Kiro Free is $0 with 50 credits a month and a reduced model list. Pro is $20 a user a month with 1,000 credits, Pro+ $40 with 2,000, Pro Max $100 with 5,000 and Power $200 with 10,000, and extra credits cost $0.04 each. Models use credits at different rates (Auto is the 1.0x baseline). API keys for headless runs need a paid plan, and a paid plan needs a card. GovCloud prices are about 20 per cent higher with no free tier (checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "$20 / mo", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, the pricing page or the CLI changelog (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 4356, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://kiro.dev/docs/cli/", "llmsTxt": "https://kiro.dev/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "agent.harness", "agent.mcp-client", "agent.multi-agent" ], "tags": [ "official", "harness", "coding-agent", "cli", "closed-source", "mcp", "acp", "llms-txt", "free-tier", "no-card", "telemetry-default-on" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-05", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 59.9, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 419, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 722, "categoryRank": 11, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 67, "maintenance": 73, "payments": 40, "reliability": 57, "schema": 79, "security": 66, "transparency": 67 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": -4, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-08-04. CVE-2026-18656 and CVE-2026-18657 (bulletin 2026-074-AWS), an uncontrolled search path on Windows let a planted executable in a crafted project directory run when a user opened it. Kiro CLI for Windows before 2.10.0 and Kiro IDE 1.0.0 to 1.0.212. Fixed and published with credit to the reporters, inside six months (https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/2026-074-aws/). -2", "2026-05-22. CVE-2026-9255 (bulletin 2026-035-AWS), content piped to kiro-cli on stdin could answer the tool approval prompt, so a local actor could run tools and shell commands without the user's approval. kiro-cli before 1.28.0. Fixed and published, inside six months (https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/2026-035-aws/). -2" ], "verdict": "Permission rules follow deny over ask over allow, cloned repositories can't add rules, and a headless session treats every ask as a deny. Content from Free and individual paid accounts is used for service improvement, including model training, unless the user opts out, and API keys for pipelines need a paid plan.", "bestFor": "Teams on AWS that want one agent configuration across terminal, IDE and web, with central permission policy, prompt logging to their own S3 bucket and IAM Identity Centre sign-in.", "strengths": [ "Capability permissions with deny over ask over allow, stored outside the repository so a clone can't add rules", "An untrusted workspace doesn't load its own agents, steering files, MCP configuration or skills, and asks before every shell command", "Headless runs with `--no-interactive`, JSON Lines output, and exit codes 3 and 4 for MCP startup and missing-agent failures", "Eleven minor releases between 26 August and 5 October 2026 in a dated changelog", "Plan prices, the $0.04 credit price and per-model credit multipliers are public, with a free tier of 50 credits a month" ], "weaknesses": [ "Free and individual paid accounts have content used for service improvement, including model training, unless they opt out", "Closed source since it replaced the Apache 2.0 Amazon Q Developer CLI, with no public CI or test suite", "API keys for headless runs need a paid plan, are long-lived and carry no scopes", "No local sandbox in the CLI, and AWS says its managed permission policies are client-enforced and can be circumvented", "Two CVEs in 2026 (CVE-2026-9255 in May, CVE-2026-18656 and CVE-2026-18657 in August), both fixed" ], "agentNotes": [ "Set `KIRO_API_KEY` and pass `--no-interactive` with `--trust-tools=\u003clist\u003e` in pipelines. Keep `--trust-all-tools` for disposable environments", "Pass `--require-mcp-startup` when a run depends on MCP tools. Without it a failed server is logged and the run continues", "Pass `--no-interactive` whenever input is piped from a source you don't control, and run 2.10.0 or later on Windows", "Run `kiro-cli settings telemetry.enabled false` and turn off content collection on Free and individual plans. Both are on by default", "Export variables in the shell before starting. Since 2.24.0 a project `.env` file is no longer loaded into sessions, MCP servers or tools" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 59.9 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 67, "maintenance": 73, "payments": 40, "reliability": 57, "schema": 79, "security": 66, "transparency": 62 }, "provenanceScore": 72 }, "connect": { "install": "curl -fsSL https://cli.kiro.dev/install | bash", "headless": { "run": "KIRO_API_KEY=ksk_... kiro-cli chat --no-interactive --trust-tools=read,grep \"Find all TODO comments in src/\"" } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/agent.harness", "tool": "https://letme.dev/kiro-cli" }, "area": "frameworks", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Kiro Pro", "unit": "month", "usd": 20, "note": "per user, with 1,000 credits" }, { "item": "Add-on credit", "unit": "credit", "usd": 0.04, "note": "paid plans, beyond the plan's credits" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Amazon Web Services, Inc.", "domain": "kiro.dev", "domainRegistered": "2019-03-01", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "https://aws.amazon.com/agreement/", "privacy": "https://aws.amazon.com/privacy/", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://kiro.dev/changelog/cli/", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "Kiro's licence page says the Kiro IDE and CLI are licensed as AWS Content under the AWS Customer Agreement and the AWS Intellectual Property Licence. Section 50.14 of the AWS Service Terms names Amazon Web Services, Inc. as the contracting party for subscriptions bought through the Stripe portal.", "The AWS Customer Agreement (last updated 14 August 2026) governs use, with the AWS Service Terms sections 50.3 and 50.14 for Kiro. The AWS Privacy Notice (last updated 18 May 2026) is the privacy link in Kiro's footer.", "kiro.dev/.well-known/security.txt answers 404. aws.amazon.com publishes a security.txt whose Expires line reads 24 September 2026, which had passed when we read it.", "No status page for Kiro was found on kiro.dev or in its docs.", "RDAP (Google Registry) gives kiro.dev a registration date of 1 March 2019, before the product." ], "score": 72 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kiro-cli.json", "live": { "slug": "kiro-cli", "pages": [ { "url": "https://kiro.dev/changelog/cli/", "kind": "deprecations", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:21:05.911888808Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "f2b1951f0330" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T18:21:05.911888808Z" } }, "answer": "OpenAI Codex scores 73 (BB) on agent readiness against Kiro CLI's 59.9 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.", "b": { "slug": "openai-codex", "name": "OpenAI Codex", "vendor": "OpenAI", "vendorUrl": "https://openai.com", "kind": "harness", "category": "agent-harnesses", "summary": "OpenAI's coding agent for software development tasks.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-codex", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-codex.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-codex.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-codex.json", "repo": "https://github.com/openai/codex", "license": "Apache-2.0 (Codex CLI, its Rust crates and the TypeScript and Python SDKs). Codex cloud is a hosted service under OpenAI's terms", "transports": [], "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@openai/codex" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "Sign in with a ChatGPT account (Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Edu or Enterprise) or use an OpenAI API key. Cloud work such as GitHub code review and the Slack integration comes with Plus and above, and none of it works with an API key. `--oss` talks to a local Ollama or LM Studio server and needs no account.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Included in every ChatGPT plan. Free $0, Go $8 a month, Plus $20, Pro from $100 (tiers at $100, $200 and $500), Business $20 a user a month billed annually for two or more users, Enterprise and Edu by quote. On Plus the docs estimate 15 to 160 local messages per five hours with GPT-6.1 Sol, and Pro has no five-hour limit. Cloud tasks use more of the allowance. With an API key you pay API token rates and can't use the cloud agent (checked 2026-10-02).", "priceSummary": "$20 / mo", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, the pricing page or the source (checked 2026-10-02).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 126000, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-02" }, "docsUrl": "https://developers.openai.com/codex", "llmsTxt": "https://learn.chatgpt.com/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "agent.harness", "agent.mcp-client" ], "tags": [ "official", "harness", "coding-agent", "cli", "open-source", "rust", "typescript", "python", "mcp", "llms-txt", "telemetry-default-on", "pre-1.0", "free-tier", "no-card", "hosted", "status-page" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-01", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 73, "grade": "BB", "agentReady": true, "rank": 82, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 722, "categoryRank": 2, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 80, "maintenance": 87, "payments": 60, "reliability": 55, "schema": 90, "security": 82, "transparency": 79 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": -2, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-04-14. CVE-2025-61260 (GHSA-xrxf-jgv3-qmrm), critical (CVSS 9.8 from CISA-ADP), code execution through MCP configuration files in a repository for Codex CLI 0.23.0 and earlier, published to NVD and the GitHub Advisory Database from Check Point Research's 2025 report. Fixed in 2025 and documented by the researcher, with no advisory in OpenAI's own repository, so a small deduction (https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-61260; https://research.checkpoint.com/2025/openai-codex-cli-command-injection-vulnerability/)" ], "verdict": "Sandbox on by default on macOS, Linux and Windows, with the network off and `.git` and `.codex` read-only. Pre-1.0 at 0.160.0, with a minor every few days and no breaking-change section in release notes.", "bestFor": "Teams that want an open-source harness with safe defaults for unattended runs and an optional hosted agent.", "strengths": [ "Sandbox on by default on macOS, Linux and Windows, with the network off and `.git` and `.codex` read-only", "Apache-2.0, with public CI and a JSON Schema for config.toml", "`codex exec --json`, `--output-schema` and `exec resume` for pipelines, plus TypeScript and Python SDKs", "Codex cloud keeps the agent phase offline by default and can limit requests to GET, HEAD and OPTIONS", "Included in ChatGPT Free, and `--oss` runs local models through Ollama or LM Studio with no account" ], "weaknesses": [ "Pre-1.0 at 0.160.0, with a minor every few days and no breaking-change section in release notes", "Anonymous usage metrics and feedback collection on by default", "Over 5,000 open issues", "CVE-2025-61260 (critical) has no advisory in OpenAI's own repository", "Cloud tasks and code review need a ChatGPT plan, not an API key" ], "agentNotes": [ "Run `codex exec --json` in pipelines, with `--output-schema` when the final message has to parse", "Keep the default sandbox. `--yolo` removes both the sandbox and approvals", "Set `network_access = true` under `[sandbox_workspace_write]` only for tasks that need it. Network is off by default", "Set `[analytics] enabled = false` and `[feedback] enabled = false` in config.toml to keep usage data local", "Pin the npm version. A 0.x minor lands every few days" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 3, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "BB", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 73 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 80, "maintenance": 87, "payments": 60, "reliability": 55, "schema": 90, "security": 82, "transparency": 65 }, "provenanceScore": 93 }, "connect": { "install": "npm i -g @openai/codex # or: brew install --cask codex", "headless": { "run": "codex exec --json \"fix the failing test\"" } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/agent.harness", "tool": "https://letme.dev/openai-codex" }, "sameCompany": [ "openai-api", "openai-embeddings", "openai-moderation", "openai-image-api", "openai-sora", "openai-agents-sdk", "openai-decisions-api" ], "area": "frameworks", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "ChatGPT Plus", "unit": "month", "usd": 20, "note": "includes Codex local and cloud" }, { "item": "ChatGPT Pro", "unit": "month", "usd": 100, "note": "lowest Pro tier, no five-hour limit" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "OpenAI OpCo, LLC", "domain": "openai.com", "domainRegistered": "2007-01-19", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "https://openai.com/policies/services-agreement/", "privacy": "https://openai.com/policies/privacy-policy/", "statusPage": "https://status.openai.com", "changelog": "https://github.com/openai/codex/releases", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-10-01", "notes": [ "The Codex docs moved from developers.openai.com/codex to learn.chatgpt.com (302 redirects on 2 October 2026), and the installer is served from chatgpt.com.", "Legal entity, domain date and security.txt are from the openai-api listing's check of 26 September 2026." ], "score": 93 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-codex.json", "live": { "slug": "openai-codex", "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.openai.com", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T19:50:50.242749504Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "openai/codex", "version": "rust-v0.161.0", "released": "2026-10-07", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:23:35.402162465Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@openai/codex", "version": "0.161.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:23:35.110125025Z" } ], "githubStars": 128364, "npmWeekly": 25613321, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://openai.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T15:38:50.073851341Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://learn.chatgpt.com/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T14:00:42.986852051Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "openai.com", "registered": "2007-01-19", "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/openai.com", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:05:02.32020521Z" }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-08T19:50:50.242749504Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "Agent harness", "b": "Agent harness", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Amazon Web Services", "b": "OpenAI", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth or key", "b": "OAuth or key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Freemium", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Proprietary. Licensed as AWS Content under the AWS Customer Agreement and the AWS Intellectual Property Licence (https://kiro.dev/license/). The GitHub repository is the public issue tracker and doesn't hold the source", "b": "Apache-2.0 (Codex CLI, its Rust crates and the TypeScript and Python SDKs). Codex cloud is a hosted service under OpenAI's terms", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-05", "b": "2026-10-01", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2026-08-14", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2026-05-18", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "couldn't be read", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "4.4k stars", "b": "126k stars", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "none", "b": "3/5 (2)", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "OpenAI Codex scores 73 (BB) on agent readiness against Kiro CLI's 59.9 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Kiro CLI or OpenAI Codex?" }, { "answer": "No open-source release is listed for Kiro CLI. OpenAI Codex is open source (Apache-2.0 (Codex CLI, its Rust crates and the TypeScript and Python SDKs). Codex cloud is a hosted service under OpenAI's terms).", "question": "Are Kiro CLI and OpenAI Codex open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": null, "also": null, "goodFor": "Teams on AWS that want one agent configuration across terminal, IDE and web, with central permission policy, prompt logging to their own S3 bucket and IAM Identity Centre sign-in.", "slug": "kiro-cli", "watchFor": "Free and individual paid accounts have content used for service improvement, including model training, unless they opt out" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Schema \u0026 documentation, 90 against 79", "Agent ergonomics, 80 against 67", "Security \u0026 auth, 82 against 66", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 40", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 87 against 73", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 79 against 67" ], "also": [ "Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better", "Open source" ], "goodFor": "Teams that want an open-source harness with safe defaults for unattended runs and an optional hosted agent.", "slug": "openai-codex", "watchFor": "Pre-1.0 at 0.160.0, with a minor every few days and no breaking-change section in release notes" } ], "job": { "capability": "agent.harness", "name": "Agent harness" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Aider vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-openai-codex.json", "title": "Aider vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-openai-codex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Amp vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-openai-codex.json", "title": "Amp vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-openai-codex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Claude Code vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-openai-codex.json", "title": "Claude Code vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-openai-codex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Cline vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openai-codex.json", "title": "Cline vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openai-codex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Cursor CLI vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-openai-codex.json", "title": "Cursor CLI vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-openai-codex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Devin vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-openai-codex.json", "title": "Devin vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-openai-codex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Pi vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-openai-codex.json", "title": "Pi vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-openai-codex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "Gemini CLI vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-openai-codex.json", "title": "Gemini CLI vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-openai-codex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "GitHub Copilot CLI vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-openai-codex.json", "title": "GitHub Copilot CLI vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-openai-codex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-kiro-cli.json", "title": "goose vs Kiro CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-kiro-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-openai-codex.json", "title": "goose vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-openai-codex" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-opencode.json", "title": "Kiro CLI vs OpenCode", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-opencode" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-openhands.json", "title": "Kiro CLI vs OpenHands", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-openhands" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-prime-agent.json", "title": "Kiro CLI vs Prime Agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-prime-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-qwen-code.json", "title": "Kiro CLI vs Qwen Code", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-qwen-code" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-opencode.json", "title": "OpenAI Codex vs OpenCode", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-opencode" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-openhands.json", "title": "OpenAI Codex vs OpenHands", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-openhands" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-prime-agent.json", "title": "OpenAI Codex vs Prime Agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-prime-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-qwen-code.json", "title": "OpenAI Codex vs Qwen Code", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-qwen-code" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-paperclip.json", "title": "Kiro CLI vs Paperclip", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-paperclip" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 2, "edge": "kiro-cli", "key": "reliability", "kiro-cli": 57, "name": "Reliability", "openai-codex": 55, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 11, "edge": "openai-codex", "key": "schema", "kiro-cli": 79, "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "openai-codex": 90, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 13, "edge": "openai-codex", "key": "ergonomics", "kiro-cli": 67, "name": "Agent ergonomics", "openai-codex": 80, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 16, "edge": "openai-codex", "key": "security", "kiro-cli": 66, "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "openai-codex": 82, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 20, "edge": "openai-codex", "key": "payments", "kiro-cli": 40, "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "openai-codex": 60, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 14, "edge": "openai-codex", "key": "maintenance", "kiro-cli": 73, "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "openai-codex": 87, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 12, "edge": "openai-codex", "key": "transparency", "kiro-cli": 67, "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "openai-codex": 79, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "OpenAI Codex scores 73 (BB) on agent readiness against Kiro CLI's 59.9 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent harness.", "verdicts": { "kiro-cli": "Permission rules follow deny over ask over allow, cloned repositories can't add rules, and a headless session treats every ask as a deny. Content from Free and individual paid accounts is used for service improvement, including model training, unless the user opts out, and API keys for pipelines need a paid plan.", "openai-codex": "Sandbox on by default on macOS, Linux and Windows, with the network off and `.git` and `.codex` read-only. Pre-1.0 at 0.160.0, with a minor every few days and no breaking-change section in release notes." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-openai-codex", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-openai-codex.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-openai-codex.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-openai-codex.min.md" }, "markdown": "OpenAI Codex scores 73 (BB) on agent readiness against Kiro CLI's 59.9 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent harness.\n\n- Kiro CLI: grade C, 59.9/100, rank #419 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kiro-cli.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kiro-cli.json\n- OpenAI Codex: grade BB, 73/100, rank #82 of 722. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-codex.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-codex.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Kiro CLI (C)\n\nGood for: Teams on AWS that want one agent configuration across terminal, IDE and web, with central permission policy, prompt logging to their own S3 bucket and IAM Identity Centre sign-in.\n\nWatch for: Free and individual paid accounts have content used for service improvement, including model training, unless they opt out\n\n### OpenAI Codex (BB)\n\nGood for: Teams that want an open-source harness with safe defaults for unattended runs and an optional hosted agent.\n\nAhead on:\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 90 against 79\n- Agent ergonomics, 80 against 67\n- Security \u0026 auth, 82 against 66\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 40\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 87 against 73\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 79 against 67\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better\n- Open source\n\nWatch for: Pre-1.0 at 0.160.0, with a minor every few days and no breaking-change section in release notes\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Kiro CLI | OpenAI Codex | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 57 | 55 | Kiro CLI +2 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 79 | 90 | OpenAI Codex +11 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 67 | 80 | OpenAI Codex +13 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 66 | 82 | OpenAI Codex +16 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 60 | OpenAI Codex +20 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 73 | 87 | OpenAI Codex +14 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 67 | 79 | OpenAI Codex +12 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -4 | -2 | |\n| **Total** | | **59.9 · C** | **73 · BB** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Kiro CLI | OpenAI Codex |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |\n| Vendor | Amazon Web Services | OpenAI |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | | |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Proprietary. Licensed as AWS Content under the AWS Customer Agreement and the AWS Intellectual Property Licence (https://kiro.dev/license/). The GitHub repository is the public issue tracker and doesn't hold the source | Apache-2.0 (Codex CLI, its Rust crates and the TypeScript and Python SDKs). Codex cloud is a hosted service under OpenAI's terms |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-10-05 | 2026-10-01 |\n| Terms last updated | 2026-08-14 | couldn't be read |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-05-18 | couldn't be read |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | couldn't be read |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | couldn't be read |\n| Popularity | 4.4k stars | 126k stars |\n| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (2) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Kiro CLI.** Permission rules follow deny over ask over allow, cloned repositories can't add rules, and a headless session treats every ask as a deny. Content from Free and individual paid accounts is used for service improvement, including model training, unless the user opts out, and API keys for pipelines need a paid plan.\n\n**OpenAI Codex.** Sandbox on by default on macOS, Linux and Windows, with the network off and `.git` and `.codex` read-only. Pre-1.0 at 0.160.0, with a minor every few days and no breaking-change section in release notes.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Kiro CLI\n\n1. Set `KIRO_API_KEY` and pass `--no-interactive` with `--trust-tools=\u003clist\u003e` in pipelines. Keep `--trust-all-tools` for disposable environments\n2. Pass `--require-mcp-startup` when a run depends on MCP tools. Without it a failed server is logged and the run continues\n3. Pass `--no-interactive` whenever input is piped from a source you don't control, and run 2.10.0 or later on Windows\n4. Run `kiro-cli settings telemetry.enabled false` and turn off content collection on Free and individual plans. Both are on by default\n5. Export variables in the shell before starting. Since 2.24.0 a project `.env` file is no longer loaded into sessions, MCP servers or tools\n\n### OpenAI Codex\n\n1. Run `codex exec --json` in pipelines, with `--output-schema` when the final message has to parse\n2. Keep the default sandbox. `--yolo` removes both the sandbox and approvals\n3. Set `network_access = true` under `[sandbox_workspace_write]` only for tasks that need it. Network is off by default\n4. Set `[analytics] enabled = false` and `[feedback] enabled = false` in config.toml to keep usage data local\n5. Pin the npm version. A 0.x minor lands every few days\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Kiro CLI or OpenAI Codex?\n\nOpenAI Codex scores 73 (BB) on agent readiness against Kiro CLI's 59.9 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.\n\n### Are Kiro CLI and OpenAI Codex open source?\n\nNo open-source release is listed for Kiro CLI. OpenAI Codex is open source (Apache-2.0 (Codex CLI, its Rust crates and the TypeScript and Python SDKs). Codex cloud is a hosted service under OpenAI's terms).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-openai-codex.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-openai-codex.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"kiro-cli\", \"b\": \"openai-codex\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare kiro-cli openai-codex`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kiro-cli.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-codex.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Kiro CLI or OpenAI Codex\n\n- [Aider vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Aider vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [Amp vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Amp vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [Claude Code vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Claude Code vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [Cline vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Cline vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [Cursor CLI vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Cursor CLI vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-cli-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [Devin vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Devin vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [Pi vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Pi vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/earendil-pi-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [Gemini CLI vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [Gemini CLI vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [GitHub Copilot CLI vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [GitHub Copilot CLI vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [goose vs Kiro CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-kiro-cli.md)\n- [goose vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-openai-codex.md)\n- [Kiro CLI vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-opencode.md)\n- [Kiro CLI vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-openhands.md)\n- [Kiro CLI vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-prime-agent.md)\n- [Kiro CLI vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-qwen-code.md)\n- [OpenAI Codex vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-opencode.md)\n- [OpenAI Codex vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-openhands.md)\n- [OpenAI Codex vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-prime-agent.md)\n- [OpenAI Codex vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-codex-vs-qwen-code.md)\n- [Kiro CLI vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-paperclip.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-08", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Kiro CLI vs OpenAI Codex", "url": "" } ], "description": "OpenAI Codex scores 73 (BB) on agent readiness against Kiro CLI's 59.9 (C), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent harness. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Kiro CLI C 59.9", "OpenAI Codex BB 73", "scores" ], "h1": "Kiro CLI vs OpenAI Codex", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-kiro-cli-vs-openai-codex.png", "path": "/compare/kiro-cli-vs-openai-codex", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Kiro CLI vs OpenAI Codex for AI agents, C 59.9 vs BB 73", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-08", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-openai-codex" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2450, "slim": 730 }, "version": 1 }