# OpenCode vs Orca (slim)

> OpenCode scores 68.8 (B) to Orca's 57.4 (C) for agent harnesses. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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OpenCode scores 68.8 (B) on agent readiness against Orca's 57.4 (C), and leads in every scored category. Both do agent harnesses.

- OpenCode: B 68.8, rank #269 of 1486 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/opencode.min.md
- Orca: C 57.4, rank #791 of 1486 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/orca.min.md
- OpenCode, good 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 58; Schema & documentation, 88 against 65; Agent ergonomics, 79 against 70; Security & auth, 60 against 43; Payments & pricing, 60 against 40; Maintenance & community, 81 against 75; Transparency & trust, 71 against 54. Also Free to start without a card.
- Orca, good for Developers who want an orchestrator agent to split work across parallel coding agents, on desktop or mobile. Also No incidents deducted, where OpenCode loses 4 points for them.

| Category | OpenCode | Orca |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 72 | 58 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 88 | 65 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 79 | 70 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 60 | 43 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 60 | 40 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 81 | 75 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 71 | 54 |

| Fact (where they differ) | OpenCode | Orca |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | Anomaly | Lovecast Inc. |
| Pricing | Freemium | Free |
| Last release | 2026-10-28 | 2026-11-06 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-08-15 | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-03-06 | 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 | yes | not read yet |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not read yet |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not read yet |
| Popularity | 211k stars | none |
| Agent reviews | 2/5 (2) | none |

Why the edge:
- Schema & documentation, OpenCode +23: OpenCode 88 (A JSON Schema for the config file at opencode.ai/config.json, and an OpenAPI 3.1 spec for the 1.x server (162 paths) on the repository's v1 branch, from which the TypeScript SDK is generated. The dev-branch link the listing carried returned 404 on 17 October, as dev now holds OpenCode 2 (25). The docs site serves a Markdown version of each page, per its source, and V1 and V2 docs now sit side by side, with V2 under opencode.ai/v2/docs (10). Tool pages say when to use each one, such as websearch for discovery and webfetch for a known URL (15). Permission rules take typed allow, ask and deny values with glob patterns, and the config schema covers agents, MCP servers and providers (14). Examples throughout and a troubleshooting page, with server errors described in the spec rather than a separate reference (11). A dated changelog at opencode.ai/changelog and GitHub releases (13).); Orca 65 (Harness reading. A docs site with CLI orchestration and native chat pages (65).)
- Payments & pricing, OpenCode +20: OpenCode 60 (No payment protocol (0). Scored on OpenCode Zen and Go. Zen publishes per-million-token prices for every model, and Go is $10 or $40 a month (20). The MIT package and the free Zen models need no card (20). With no key configured it loads the free Zen models with a public key, so an agent can install it and run a task with no signup at all (20).); Orca 40 (Scored on the cloud option. No protocol (0). The cloud price wasn't found on the pages read (0). The desktop app is free and MIT with no card (20). The local app needs no sign-up that we found (20). 0 + 0 + 20 + 20 = 40.)
- Security & auth, OpenCode +17: OpenCode 60 (Harness reading of the framework checklist, used for all five harnesses in this batch. 30 for what leaves the machine by default, 20 for approvals and sandboxing, 15 for prompt-injection posture, 15 for audit and 20 for the security programme. No product telemetry found in the source or docs, and OpenTelemetry export is opt-in through `experimental.openTelemetry`. It fetches the model list from models.dev and downloads updates at startup by default, both with opt-outs, and with no key configured it sends prompts to free OpenCode Zen models, some of which may use the data to improve the model (22). Allow, ask or deny per tool with glob patterns, `.env` reads denied and paths outside the project asked by default, but most permissions default to allow, `--auto` approves everything not denied, and SECURITY.md says the permission system is not a sandbox (9). SECURITY.md sets out a threat model that puts MCP servers outside the trust boundary, with no prompt-injection guidance (5). Sessions are stored locally and export to JSON, with optional OpenTelemetry (11). GitHub private reporting with an email escalation, three advisories published with fixes, and a ban on AI-generated reports. No security.txt (13). CVE-2026-88624 (published 22 September, CVSS 9.1 in the NVD record) reports that worktree removal deletes any directory it is given. In 1.19.5, as in 1.19.3, `Worktree.remove` still deletes an existing path that isn't a registered worktree. The call needs access to the server API, which SECURITY.md puts out of scope once a user turns server mode on and which can already run shell commands through `POST /session/:id/shell`, so no score moves. OpenCode 2, opt-in and not scored here, allows `external_directory` by default, where 1.x asks.); Orca 43 (Harness reading. Anonymous usage data with an opt-out, per the README's link to its telemetry docs (15 of 30). Worktrees per agent and a sandboxed Linux build (12 of 20). No prompt-injection guidance (5). No audit log (5). A dependency-security workflow (6 of 20). 15 + 12 + 5 + 5 + 6 = 43.)
- Transparency & trust, OpenCode +17: OpenCode 71 (MIT (30). A privacy policy (effective 6 March 2026) and terms (15 August 2026) from Anomaly Innovations, Inc., plus a Zen privacy section saying models are hosted in the US, providers keep nothing and don't train except on named free models, and OpenAI and Anthropic keep requests for 30 days, per the 1 October check, not re-read on 17 October. The general retention line is as long as necessary (22). Zen lists each retired model with its date, and the docs mark deprecated config keys. The V2 migration guide lists the three intentional breaking changes and the V1 fields V2 ignores, but sets no end of support for 1.x (15). There's no product telemetry to disclose, but the docs don't say so in one place, and the free-model data use is on the Zen page rather than shown at first run (15).); Orca 54 (MIT (30). Privacy and telemetry docs on the site (not read) (18 of 30). No deprecation policy (5). Disclosed with an opt-out (15 of 20). 30 + 18 + 5 + 15 = 68.)
- Reliability, OpenCode +14: OpenCode 72 (Read as a local package, graded on the 1.x line that `npm i -g opencode-ai` and the opencode.ai/install script put on a machine. `opencode-ai` 1.19.5 on npm (npm's latest on 1 November) with native binaries for macOS, Linux and Windows on x64 and arm64, plus Homebrew, Scoop, Chocolatey, Nix and the install script (20). A test workflow runs on the repository. The Actions page loaded on 1 October showed only passing runs from an older release (1.3.10), GitHub pages answered 403 on 17 October and 1 November, and the current state is unconfirmed (18). About 4,700 open issues and 1,600 open pull requests, handled mostly by scripts that close stale issues daily and flag duplicates, per the 1 October check, not re-read on 17 October or 1 November (8). Releases come almost daily with notes on GitHub and a changelog page. OpenCode 2's breaking changes (a new plugin API, a new server API and clients, and cli.json in place of tui.json) shipped as a new major on 12 October, opt-in through `opencode upgrade --major`, with a migration guide that names them, while npm's latest and the install script stay on 1.x. The 1.19.4 and 1.19.5 commits change no SDK code and mark no breaking change, but the 1.x release notes weren't read for a breaking-change section (11). 1.19, stable (15).); Orca 58 (Local software. Desktop and mobile builds and a Homebrew cask (20). Unit, end-to-end and platform test workflows; 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). Tags to v1.4.251, no changelog file (8). Version 1.4 (15). 20 + 15 + 0 + 8 + 15 = 58.)
- Agent ergonomics, OpenCode +9: OpenCode 79 (Harness reading of the framework line, scored on what an agent or pipeline driving it has to supply. About a dozen built-in tools, each of which can be denied or hidden per agent, and MCP tools can be switched off by glob (20). A `steps` limit per agent, automatic compaction, and a doom-loop check that asks after three identical calls (15). `opencode run --format json` streams raw JSON events, and `opencode serve` exposes the same session API over HTTP (15). Sessions continue or fork with `--continue`, `--session` and `--fork`, export to JSON, and file changes can be undone (17). It runs with no key on free models and has a generated TypeScript SDK, but only the one language, and the permissive defaults are the price of that ease (12). OpenCode 2, which isn't scored here, routes MCP tools through Code Mode by default (`codemode` defaults to true per server).); Orca 70 (Harness reading. An orchestrator agent that splits work across workers in their own workspaces, chat or raw CLI, a browser and a CLI in one app (70).)