# MiniMax Code vs OpenAI Codex

> OpenAI Codex scores 73.4 (BB) to MiniMax Code's 67.5 (B) for agent harnesses. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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- Updated: 2026-10-19

OpenAI Codex scores 73.4 (BB) on agent readiness against MiniMax Code's 67.5 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. MiniMax Code leads on reliability. Both do agent harnesses.

- 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
- OpenAI Codex: grade BB, 73.4/100, rank #95 of 1175. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openai-codex.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openai-codex.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

### 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:
- Reliability, 63 against 55

Also in its favour:
- Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 3.5 against 3.0 out of 5

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

### OpenAI Codex (BB)

Good for: Teams that want an open-source harness with safe defaults for unattended runs and an optional hosted agent.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 90 against 81
- Agent ergonomics, 80 against 75
- Security & auth, 82 against 57
- Maintenance & community, 87 against 77
- Transparency & trust, 84 against 61

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better

Watch for: Pre-1.0 at 0.163.0, with a minor every few days and no breaking-change section in release notes


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | MiniMax Code | OpenAI Codex | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 63 | 55 | MiniMax Code +8 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 81 | 90 | OpenAI Codex +9 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 75 | 80 | OpenAI Codex +5 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 57 | 82 | OpenAI Codex +25 |
| 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) | 77 | 87 | OpenAI Codex +10 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 61 | 84 | OpenAI Codex +23 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -2 | |
| **Total** | | **67.5 · B** | **73.4 · BB** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | MiniMax Code | OpenAI Codex |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | MiniMax | OpenAI |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Free | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT for first-party code, with the bundled sandbox runtime under Apache-2.0. The desktop app's source isn't published | Apache-2.0 (Codex CLI, its Rust crates and the TypeScript and Python SDKs). Codex cloud is a hosted service under OpenAI's terms |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-15 | 2026-10-15 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-01-19 | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-01-19 | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | 2k stars, 6.8k npm/wk | 126k stars |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (4) | 3/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**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.

**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 0.163.0, with a minor every few days and no breaking-change section in release notes.

## Before you call either

### 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

### OpenAI Codex

1. Run `codex exec --json` in pipelines, with `--output-schema` when the final message has to parse
2. Keep the default sandbox, which has the network off. `--yolo` removes both the sandbox and approvals
3. Replace `gpt-5.5` with `gpt-6.1-sol` in saved configs, custom agents and scripts under ChatGPT sign-in. GPT-5.5 retired there on 14 October 2026
4. Set `[analytics] enabled = false` and `[feedback] enabled = false` in config.toml to keep usage data local
5. Pin the npm version. A 0.x minor lands every few days

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, MiniMax Code or OpenAI Codex?

OpenAI Codex scores 73.4 (BB) on agent readiness against MiniMax Code's 67.5 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. MiniMax Code leads on reliability.

### Are MiniMax Code and OpenAI Codex open source?

Yes. 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). 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).


## For agents

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

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