# Muse Code vs Paperclip

> Muse Code scores 61.3 (C) to Paperclip's 59 (C) for multi-agent orchestration. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-code-vs-paperclip
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-code-vs-paperclip.md (~2,650 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-code-vs-paperclip.min.md (~680 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-code-vs-paperclip.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-12

Muse Code scores 61.3 (C) on agent readiness against Paperclip's 59 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Paperclip leads on reliability, payments & pricing and transparency & trust. Both do multi-agent orchestration.

- Muse Code: grade C, 61.3/100, rank #487 of 993. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/muse-code.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/muse-code.json
- Paperclip: grade C, 59/100, rank #580 of 993. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/paperclip.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/paperclip.json
- Best agent harnesses and coding agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/agent-harnesses/index.md
- All 226 harnesses comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-harnesses/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Muse Code (C)

Good for: Developers who want Meta's Muse models, Muse Wonder Full included, in a terminal or CI agent with the sandbox and approvals on from the first run.

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 79 against 70

Also in its favour:
- No incidents deducted, where Paperclip loses 10 points for them

Watch for: Closed source, with no public CI or issue tracker for the CLI found and release notes that carry no dates

### Paperclip (C)

Good for: Someone running several coding or operations agents who wants one place for tasks, budgets, approvals and history across harnesses.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 66 against 45
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 20
- Transparency & trust, 65 against 57

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

Watch for: `claude_local` defaults `dangerouslySkipPermissions` to true and `codex_local` defaults to bypassing approvals and the sandbox, with agents running on the host


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Muse Code | Paperclip | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 45 | 66 | Paperclip +21 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 84 | 81 | Muse Code +3 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 79 | 70 | Muse Code +9 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 67 | 64 | Muse Code +3 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 60 | Paperclip +40 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 75 | 78 | Paperclip +3 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 57 | 65 | Paperclip +8 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -10 | |
| **Total** | | **61.3 · C** | **59 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Muse Code | Paperclip |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |
| Vendor | Meta | Paperclip Labs, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports |  |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Paid | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary binary, used under the Meta Model API Terms of Service, which cover Meta's coding harness. Subscriptions are also under the Meta Subscription Terms of Service. The TypeScript and Python SDKs in the linked repository are MIT. | MIT |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-11 | 2026-10-05 |
| Terms last updated |  | 2026-07-23 |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | 2026-07-23 |
| Customer content may train models |  | yes, with an opt-out |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | yes |
| Popularity | 63k npm/wk | 99k stars, 60k npm/wk |

## Verdicts

**Muse Code.** Muse Code runs with approvals and an OS sandbox on by default, per-host network approval, an append-only event log and a headless mode with documented exit codes. It is the only route to Muse Wonder Full. It is closed source with undated release notes and no free route, and subscriptions allow training on code unless Contributor mode is turned off.

**Paperclip.** Board approvals, budgets with a hard stop and an activity log sit above whichever harnesses do the work, and eleven stable versions shipped in 90 days. The Claude Code and Codex adapters skip permission prompts and the sandbox by default, and twelve security advisories, five of them critical, have been published since April 2026.

## Before you call either

### Muse Code

1. Set `META_API_KEY` for headless runs. Browser sign-in isn't available in CI or for Meta Managed Accounts
2. Gate on your own test command, not the exit code. `muse exec` returns 0 when the turn completes even if tests still fail
3. Pass `--max-model-steps` on unattended runs so a stuck task can't loop
4. Prefer `--disable-approval` to `--yolo` in CI so the sandbox stays on. On Linux the runner needs a working bubblewrap and a non-musl build
5. Turn Contributor mode off in `/settings` before a subscription session touches private code

### Paperclip

1. Set `PAPERCLIP_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1` or `DO_NOT_TRACK=1` before the first start. Telemetry is on by default
2. Set `dangerouslySkipPermissions` and `dangerouslyBypassApprovalsAndSandbox` to false on agents that read untrusted input, or run them in a sandbox provider
3. Install with Node.js 24.11 or newer, and install and sign in to each harness CLI on the host first. Paperclip assumes they are there
4. Use `--bind lan` or `--bind tailnet` at onboarding for anything beyond one machine. The default `local_trusted` mode treats every request as the board admin
5. Treat 409 on task checkout as owned by another agent and pick different work. The API docs say not to retry

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Muse Code or Paperclip?

Muse Code scores 61.3 (C) on agent readiness against Paperclip's 59 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Paperclip leads on reliability, payments & pricing and transparency & trust.

### Are Muse Code and Paperclip open source?

No open-source release is listed for Muse Code. Paperclip is open source (MIT).


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Muse Code or Paperclip

- [Agent Zero vs Muse Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-muse-code.md)
- [Aider vs Muse Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aider-vs-muse-code.md)
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- [Antigravity CLI vs Muse Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-muse-code.md)
- [Claude Code vs Muse Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-muse-code.md)
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- [GitHub Copilot CLI vs Muse Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-muse-code.md)
- [goose vs Muse Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-muse-code.md)
- [Kilo Code CLI vs Muse Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-muse-code.md)
- [Kiro CLI vs Muse Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-muse-code.md)
- [Muse Code vs OpenAI Codex](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-code-vs-openai-codex.md)
- [Muse Code vs OpenCode](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-code-vs-opencode.md)
- [Muse Code vs OpenHands](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-code-vs-openhands.md)
- [Muse Code vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-code-vs-prime-agent.md)
- [Muse Code vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/muse-code-vs-qwen-code.md)
- [Amp vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/amp-vs-paperclip.md)
- [Antigravity CLI vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antigravity-cli-vs-paperclip.md)
- [Claude Code vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-code-vs-paperclip.md)
- [Cline vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cline-vs-paperclip.md)
- [Devin vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/devin-vs-paperclip.md)
- [Droid CLI vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/droid-cli-vs-paperclip.md)
- [Gemini CLI vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-cli-vs-paperclip.md)
- [GitHub Copilot CLI vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-copilot-cli-vs-paperclip.md)
- [goose vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/goose-vs-paperclip.md)
- [Kilo Code CLI vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kilo-code-cli-vs-paperclip.md)
- [Kiro CLI vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kiro-cli-vs-paperclip.md)
- [OpenCode vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/opencode-vs-paperclip.md)
- [OpenHands vs Paperclip](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openhands-vs-paperclip.md)
- [Paperclip vs Prime Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperclip-vs-prime-agent.md)
- [Paperclip vs Qwen Code](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/paperclip-vs-qwen-code.md)