opencode vs codex
Two of the top coding agents and assistants, side by side: score, setup, license, activity and what each review found.
opencode
Terminal coding agent with build and plan modes
codex
OpenAI's terminal coding agent that runs locally
| What we compare | opencode | codex |
|---|---|---|
| Score parts, out of 100 | ||
| Adoption | 99, widely used | 92, widely used |
| Freshness | 100, active | 100, active |
| Maintenance | 88, healthy | 72, fair |
| Easy to run | 50, easy | 50, easy |
| Agent-ready | 30, minimal | 0, none |
| Facts from GitHub and the README | ||
| Stars | 212.6k | 128.6k |
| License | MIT (permissive) | Apache-2.0 (permissive) |
| Last commit | Oct 2026 | Oct 2026 |
| Last release | Oct 2026 | Oct 2026 |
| Language | Not stated | Rust |
| Docker | No | No |
| GPU | Not needed | Not needed |
| arm64 or Apple Silicon | Mentioned | Mentioned |
opencode
Runs an AI coding agent in the terminal with two built-in agents: build (full access) and plan (read-only, asks before running bash), plus a general subagent for multi-step searches. Installs via a curl script, npm, Homebrew, Scoop, Chocolatey, pacman, mise or Nix, and ships a beta desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux. For developers who want an open, configurable coding agent.
Who it is for: Developers wanting an open terminal coding agent
Strengths
- MIT license; installable from npm, Homebrew, Scoop, Chocolatey, pacman, mise and Nix
- Plan agent denies file edits and asks before bash, for safe codebase exploration
- Desktop app (beta) for macOS, Windows and Linux alongside the terminal UI
Weaknesses
- README covers install only; providers, config and server mode are in external docs
- No Dockerfile or compose file in the repo
- Desktop app is still beta
- no GPU
codex
Codex CLI is a coding agent from OpenAI that runs in the terminal on your machine. It installs through a shell script, npm, Homebrew, or prebuilt release binaries for macOS and Linux, and it signs in with a ChatGPT plan or an API key. The same project also covers IDE extensions and a desktop app.
Who it is for: Developers who want a terminal coding agent tied to OpenAI
Strengths
- Prebuilt binaries for macOS and Linux on x86_64 and arm64
- Multiple install paths: script, npm, Homebrew, or release archive
- Sign-in with an existing ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, Edu, or Enterprise plan
- Apache-2.0 license, written in Rust
Weaknesses
- README documents only OpenAI sign-in or API key; other model providers are not mentioned
- API key use requires extra setup beyond the quickstart
- RAM and disk requirements are unknown
- Install scripts fetch from OpenAI-hosted release URLs by default
- no GPU
- Needs ChatGPT account or OpenAI API key
- Models: OpenAI models