# MiniMax Code vs Sculptor (slim)

> MiniMax Code scores 66.1 (B) to Sculptor's 53.1 (D) for agent harnesses. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-code-vs-sculptor.md (~5,500 tokens) · this version ~1,830 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-code-vs-sculptor.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-code-vs-sculptor
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-07
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)

MiniMax Code scores 66.1 (B) on agent readiness against Sculptor's 53.1 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent harnesses.

- MiniMax Code: B 66.1, rank #383 of 1510 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-code.min.md
- Sculptor: D 53.1, rank #966 of 1510 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/sculptor.min.md
- MiniMax Code, good for Scripted coding runs on MiniMax's models or any compatible model, driven by JSON output and exit codes. Ahead on Reliability, 51 against 43; Schema & documentation, 81 against 45; Agent ergonomics, 79 against 50; Transparency & trust, 63 against 57. Also Free to start without a card.
- Sculptor, good for Developers who want parallel coding agents in isolated workspaces and are fine with a research preview. Also No key needed to call it.

| Category | MiniMax Code | Sculptor |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 51 | 43 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 81 | 45 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 79 | 50 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 57 | 57 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 60 | 60 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 79 | 75 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 63 | 57 |

| Fact (where they differ) | MiniMax Code | Sculptor |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | MiniMax | Imbue, Inc. |
| Auth | OAuth or key | None |
| Licence | MIT for first-party code, with the bundled sandbox runtime under Apache-2.0. The desktop app's source isn't published | MIT |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-30 | 2026-11-06 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-01-19 | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-01-19 | no document linked |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not read yet |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not read yet |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not read yet |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not read yet |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not read yet |
| Popularity | 2k stars, 6.8k npm/wk | none |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (4) | none |

Why the edge:
- Schema & documentation, MiniMax Code +36: MiniMax Code 81 (Harness reading. `mcode exec` returns a versioned `ExecResult` JSON document (`schemaVersion` 1) or versioned stream-json events, takes `--output-schema` for the final answer, and `mcode acp` speaks the Agent Client Protocol. No OpenAPI, since there's no server API (20). llms.txt indexes the docs, and each page is served as Markdown (10). The security page says when to use each permission policy and to keep `full` and `off` to isolated workspaces, and the automation page gives a CI baseline (16). An options table with defaults and enums for permission, output and prompt modes (12). Examples for each mode, a nine-row exit-code table, five result statuses and a named error for invalid structured output (13). A dated CLI changelog in the docs, whose latest entry (0.7.0, 26 October) trails npm's 0.7.4 (10). Total 81.); Sculptor 45 (Harness reading. A README, specs and agent docs in the repository; no API reference (45).)
- Agent ergonomics, MiniMax Code +29: MiniMax Code 79 (Harness reading, for a pipeline driving the CLI. Lightweight mode sends no tool schemas, Plan mode is separate from permissions, `/btw` side chats run without blocking the main task, and since 0.7.0 MCP tools beyond 64, or with large schemas, load on demand through `tool_search`. No per-tool allow or deny list was found in the CLI docs (16). json and stream-json output, `--timeout`, `--max-steps`, `--output-schema` and `--output-last-message` (18). Exit codes per failure class, a status field and an interaction error when a run would need a person (17). `--session`, `--continue`, fork and rewind, and a model request is retried when the first response doesn't arrive within 300 seconds (16). One positional argument runs a task and BYOK needs no MiniMax login. The TypeScript SDK `@minimax-ai/code-sdk` 0.1.0 (npm, 29 October) drives `mcode exec`, and a Python SDK is in the repository with no published release found (12). Total 79.); Sculptor 50 (Harness reading. Workspaces as isolated copies, review and merge back, and built-in skills (50).)
- Reliability, MiniMax Code +8: MiniMax Code 51 (Local-package reading, for the CLI. An install script for macOS, Linux and WSL and one for Windows, and npm `@minimax-ai/code` with Node.js 22.19+, 24.2+, 25 or 26 stated. The installer doesn't support Alpine or musl (20). A public CI workflow runs on push and pull request with an Ubuntu, macOS and Windows matrix, beside release-audit, compatibility and Python SDK workflows. Whether it passes on main couldn't be read, since GitHub's pages answer 403 and this run doesn't use third-party copies of GitHub data. The repository's own records show passing runs on earlier revisions and mark fresh cross-platform acceptance as not run (15). Open issue counts and replies couldn't be read. The clone shows fixes that cite the issues they close (#159, #318, #393 to #395, #433), but which open issues are crashes or regressions isn't visible (8). A dated CLI changelog with Added, Improved and Fixed headings and no breaking-change label. Its latest entry is 0.7.0 (26 October) while npm's latest is 0.7.4 (30 October) (8). 0.7.x and called a source preview (0). Total 51.); Sculptor 43 (Local software. Desktop downloads for Mac (Apple Silicon), Linux and Linux ARM64 (20). checks.yml and a PR gate run on the repository; pass state not read (15). GitHub issues and pull requests weren't read (GitHub's pages refuse these sessions), so that line is scored absent (0). sculptor-v tags up to v0.49.0, no changelog file (8). 0.x and labelled a research preview (0). 20 + 15 + 0 + 8 + 0 = 43.)
- Transparency & trust, MiniMax Code +6: MiniMax Code 63 (First-party code is MIT, with the bundled sandbox runtime under Apache-2.0 and the desktop app closed. The repository says the published npm package isn't shown to be built from this source, and npm is at 0.7.4 while the source is at 0.7.2 (22 of 30). The MiniMax Agent terms (updated 19 January 2026) give MiniMax a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide licence over what users submit through the services and what the services generate from it. The privacy policy of the same date states no retention period and says nothing on training, and the telemetry doc says server-side retention isn't defined. BYOK runs that don't touch MiniMax's services aren't covered by either (8 of 30). No deprecation policy. Removed functions are listed in the changelog without dates ahead (6 of 20). Telemetry is off by default, with each field, each destination and two environment opt-outs documented (20). Total 56.); Sculptor 57 (MIT (30). Consent-based telemetry documented in the repository (18 of 30). The README warns of drastic changes during the research preview, with no deprecation policy (5). Opt-in telemetry (20). 30 + 18 + 5 + 20 = 73.)