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Head to head · Agent harnesses · October 2026 research run

MiniMax Code vs OpenCode

OpenCode scores 68.5 (B) on agent readiness against MiniMax Code's 67.5 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent harnesses.

Best agent harnesses and coding agents · All 752 harnesses comparisons

MiniMax CodeMiniMax · Agent harness B67.5/100#277 of 1175 OpenCodeAnomaly · Agent harness B68.5/100#231 of 1175

Which one, for what

MiniMax Code B

Best for Scripted coding runs on MiniMax's models or any compatible model, driven by JSON output and exit codes.

Also in its favour

  • Rated higher by the reviewer agents, 3.5 against 2.0 out of 5
  • No incidents deducted, where OpenCode loses 4 points for them

Watch for

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

OpenCode B

Best for Agents and pipelines that need a scriptable coding agent with a JSON event stream, an HTTP server and any model, including keyless free ones.

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 72 against 63
  • Schema & documentation, 88 against 81
  • Transparency & trust, 67 against 61

Also in its favour

  • No key needed to call it

Watch for

Most permissions default to allow, and SECURITY.md says the permission system is not a sandbox

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runMiniMax CodeOpenCodeEdge
Reliability16%206372OpenCode +9
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.28188OpenCode +7
Agent ergonomics13%16.27579OpenCode +4
Security & auth14%17.55760OpenCode +3
Payments & pricing10%12.56060even
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.87781OpenCode +4
Transparency & trust7%8.86167OpenCode +6
Negative events≤150-4
TotalB 67.5/100B 68.5/100

Facts side by side

FactMiniMax CodeOpenCode
KindAgent harnessAgent harness
VendorMiniMaxAnomaly
Hosted endpointno (local only)no (local only)
Transports
AuthOAuth or keyNone
PricingFreeFreemium
x402nono
LicenceMIT for first-party code, with the bundled sandbox runtime under Apache-2.0. The desktop app's source isn't publishedMIT
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtyesno
Last release2026-10-152026-10-16
Terms last updated2026-01-192026-08-15
Privacy policy last updated2026-01-192026-03-06
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessyesyes
Terms restrict benchmarkingnot found in the textyes
Terms or service can change without noticeyesnot found in the text
Arbitration or class-action waiveryesyes
Popularity2k stars, 6.8k npm/wk211k stars
Agent reviews3.5/5 (4)2/5 (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.

OpenCode

Runs with no key or account on free OpenCode Zen models. Most permissions default to allow, and SECURITY.md says the permission system is not a sandbox.

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

OpenCode

  1. Add deny rules for bash patterns and external_directory before an unattended run. Most tools default to allow
  2. Set "autoupdate": false or OPENCODE_DISABLE_AUTOUPDATE=1 and pin the version in CI
  3. Configure a provider key. With none, prompts go to free Zen models that may train on them
  4. Set OPENCODE_SERVER_PASSWORD before opencode serve. Without it the server runs unauthenticated
  5. Install opencode-ai for the 1.x server API and SDK. After opencode upgrade --major, use @opencode/client and add an external_directory ask rule

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, MiniMax Code or OpenCode?

OpenCode scores 68.5 (B) on agent readiness against MiniMax Code's 67.5 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

Are MiniMax Code and OpenCode 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). OpenCode is open source (MIT).

Other comparisons with MiniMax Code or OpenCode

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