AI coding agents for the terminal (CLI) (2026)

Coding agents that run in your terminal: they read files, run commands and propose changes from a prompt. Here are the top 25 of 64 from the AgentScout directory.

Updated October 20, 2026

How we picked and ranked: tools are matched by category, the pricing each maker states and what each tool says it does. They are ranked by GitHub stars as recorded on each listing (link checks 2026-10-21); tools without a tracked repo follow, by listing maturity. No paid placements.

1. 

   1. opencode

   codingOpen source★ 213,329 GitHub stars

   Open-source terminal coding agent that works with many model providers.

   Pricing (as stated): Open source · Active

2. 

   2. Claude Code

   codingPaid★ 150,707 GitHub stars

   Anthropic's terminal coding agent that edits code, runs commands and handles git.

   Pricing (as stated): Paid (Claude plan or API) · Mature

3. 

   3. CC Switch

   codingOpen source★ 145,685 GitHub stars

   Desktop manager for Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, OpenClaw and other coding agents that switches API providers in one click and manages MCP servers, skills and prompts.

   Pricing (as stated): Open source · Mature

4. 

   4. OpenAI Codex CLI

   codingOpen source★ 129,112 GitHub stars

   OpenAI's open-source coding agent for the terminal; also runs in the cloud.

   Pricing (as stated): Open source; uses ChatGPT plan or API · Mature

5. 

   5. Pi

   codingOpen source★ 116,073 GitHub stars

   Minimal, extensible open-source terminal coding agent and agent toolkit from Earendil, with a multi-provider LLM API, TypeScript SDK, RPC mode and installable extensions, skills and themes.

   Pricing (as stated): Open source (MIT); bring your own model provider or subscription · Mature

6. 

   6. Gemini CLI

   codingOpen source★ 107,334 GitHub stars

   Google's open-source terminal agent powered by Gemini.

   Pricing (as stated): Open source; free tier · Mature

7. 

   7. Understand-Anything

   codingOpen source★ 87,175 GitHub stars

   Turns any codebase, knowledge base or docs folder into an interactive knowledge graph you can explore and question, working inside Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot and Gemini CLI.

   Pricing (as stated): Open source · Mature

8. 

   8. rtk

   codingOpen source + cloud★ 84,058 GitHub stars

   A CLI proxy that sits between coding agents and your shell and trims noisy command output before it reaches the model, cutting token use on everyday commands like tests, builds and git. Free and open source, with an RTK Pro tier for teams.

   Pricing (as stated): Free and open source (Apache-2.0); RTK Pro adds team features. · Mature

9. 

   9. Open Interpreter

   codingOpen source★ 68,591 GitHub stars

   Terminal coding agent forked from OpenAI's Codex and tuned for low-cost and open-weight models, with switchable harness modes that imitate tools like Claude Code.

   Pricing (as stated): Open source · Mature

10. 

    10. Warp

    codingOpen source + cloud★ 65,511 GitHub stars

    Agentic development environment built from the terminal, now open source, for running coding agents and cloud software factories.

    Pricing (as stated): Open source + cloud · Mature

11. 

    11. Open Code Review

    codingOpen source★ 47,560 GitHub stars

    Alibaba's AI code review CLI that combines deterministic pipelines with an LLM agent to post line-level comments on Git diffs, using OpenAI or Anthropic models.

    Pricing (as stated): Open source · Mature

12. 

    12. Codewhale

    codingOpen source★ 41,093 GitHub stars

    Rust agent engine and terminal coding client with model choice, tool approvals and review flows.

    Pricing (as stated): Open source · Mature

13. 

    13. Oh My Pi

    codingOpen source★ 35,686 GitHub stars

    Terminal coding agent with IDE features wired in, from Stencil Labs.

    Pricing (as stated): Open source · Mature

14. 

    14. Repomix

    codingOpen source★ 28,881 GitHub stars

    CLI and web tool that packs an entire repository into a single AI-friendly file (with an MCP server) so coding agents and LLMs get full codebase context.

    Pricing (as stated): Open source · Mature

15. 

    15. Crush

    codingSource-available★ 28,674 GitHub stars

    Charm's terminal coding agent with a polished TUI, multiple models and MCP support.

    Pricing (as stated): Source-available · Mature

16. 

    16. Qwen Code

    codingOpen source★ 28,529 GitHub stars

    Open-source terminal coding agent from the Qwen team.

    Pricing (as stated): Open source · Mature

17. 

    17. Kilo Code

    codingOpen source + cloud★ 27,649 GitHub stars

    Open-source AI coding agent for VS Code, JetBrains, the CLI and the cloud that works with 500+ models at no markup.

    Pricing (as stated): Open source + cloud · Mature

18. 

    18. opcode

    codingOpen source★ 22,417 GitHub stars

    A desktop app for Claude Code that lets you manage sessions, build custom agents, track usage and browse project history from a GUI instead of the terminal.

    Pricing (as stated): Open source · Mature

19. 

    19. CloudCLI

    codingOpen source + cloud★ 14,189 GitHub stars

    A web and mobile interface for Claude Code, Codex and Gemini CLI, so you can run and steer coding sessions from a browser or phone. Self-host free or use the hosted CloudCLI service.

    Pricing (as stated): Free to self-host (AGPL); hosted CloudCLI from €7/month. · Mature

20. 

    20. MiMo Code

    codingOpen source★ 13,675 GitHub stars

    Xiaomi's terminal coding agent with persistent project memory across sessions; works with any major model provider and is tuned for Xiaomi's MiMo models.

    Pricing (as stated): Open source · Mature

21. 

    21. Qodo

    codingFreemium★ 13,415 GitHub stars

    AI code review and testing agents that work in the IDE, the terminal and pull requests to catch issues before merge.

    Pricing (as stated): Freemium · Mature

22. 

    22. Hunk

    codingOpen source★ 9,615 GitHub stars

    Review-first terminal diff viewer for checking what coding agents changed.

    Pricing (as stated): Open source · Mature

23. 

    23. Terax

    codingOpen source★ 9,324 GitHub stars

    Lightweight terminal-first AI development environment.

    Pricing (as stated): Open source · Mature

24. 

    24. Worktrunk

    codingOpen source★ 9,263 GitHub stars

    CLI for managing Git worktrees so several AI agents can work in parallel.

    Pricing (as stated): Open source · Mature

25. 

    25. Munder Difflin

    codingOpen source★ 8,802 GitHub stars

    Free, open-source harness that runs Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI and other terminal agents together like an office.

    Pricing (as stated): Open source · Mature

FAQ

What are the best terminal AI coding agents?

Ranked by tracked GitHub stars, the top terminal AI coding agents in our directory are opencode, Claude Code, CC Switch, OpenAI Codex CLI, Pi. Stars measure popularity, not fit, so compare a few against your own task.

How many terminal AI coding agents does AgentScout list?

64 tools match. This page shows the top 25. Pricing mix on this page: Open source (18), Open source + cloud (4), Paid (1), Source-available (1), Freemium (1).

How much do these tools cost?

Pricing is what each maker states on their site. Open-source tools are free to self-host but may need a paid model API key or offer paid cloud plans; freemium tools have a free plan with limits. Check each official site.

Where can I see every tool for coding in the terminal?

Our task page lists all 128 tools we match to coding in the terminal.

Related: All tools for coding in the terminal · Best AI Coding Agents · coding (64)

Similar searches: Free AI coding agents with a free plan · Open-source AI coding agents

By role: For developers

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Related categories: Coding

Facts come from our directory listings; pricing is as each maker states it and can change. Check official sites before you choose.