CursorAI code editor; Cursor 3 adds an agents window to run parallel agents.Claude CodeAnthropic's agentic coding tool: delegate engineering tasks from your terminal.LovableBuild and publish full-stack web apps by chatting with AI.Bolt.newPrompt, run, edit and deploy full-stack apps entirely in your browser.v0Vercel's prompt-to-app builder with Design Mode and one-click deploy.ReplitBrowser IDE whose Replit Agent builds and deploys apps from a description.WindsurfAgentic IDE with Cascade; now part of Cognition (Devin Desktop).ZedOpen-source Rust editor at 120fps with an agent panel and parallel agents.GitHub CopilotCopilot agent mode in VS Code: edits files, runs commands, fixes its own errors.Codex CLIOpenAI's open-source coding agent that runs locally in your terminal.Gemini CLIGoogle's open-source terminal agent; free tier moved to Antigravity CLI in 2026.Base44Describe an app, get a working app with auth, database and hosting. Owned by Wix.n8nVisual workflow automation with AI agent nodes; self-host free.LangSmith Agent BuilderLangChain's no-code agent builder: describe the job, it writes its own instructions.DifyOpen-source platform for LLM apps: visual workflows, RAG and agents.RunwayGen-4.5 video generation with consistent characters and worlds.Kling AIKuaishou's video model: 15s clips, native audio, multi-shot storyboards.Google VeoGoogle DeepMind's video model with native sound, in Flow and the Gemini app.PikaPlayful text/image-to-video with effects like Pikaffects.HeyGenTurn one recording into a realistic AI avatar that presents any script.MidjourneyDistinctive art-quality images, now animated with V1 video.IdeogramImage generator famous for clean, accurate text in logos and posters.RecraftDesign-grade images and real vector SVGs, logos and brand styles.ClineOpen-source coding agent in VS Code with Plan/Act modes; bring any model.DevinCognition's autonomous AI software engineer, in the cloud or locally.KiroSpec-driven agentic IDE: turns prompts into specs, then code.Google AntigravityGoogle's agent-first IDE: agents plan, build and verify apps in a browser.WarpAgentic development environment: a modern terminal with built-in coding agents.Luma Dream MachineRay3 video model with HDR and fast Draft Mode.Adobe FireflyAdobe's commercially-safe image, video and vector generator.
VibeCodePicks

Scenarios / Terminal coding agent

Terminal coding agent

What developers say about coding agents that run in your terminal. Right now the most-discussed pick is Aider.

Community sentiment snapshot, not an official review, not sponsored.
Updated: Oct 17, 2026 · Sentiment window: Aug 18, 2026 – Oct 17, 2026 · 52 tool mentions in sampled posts · Sources: X, Hacker News
Labels: Most = most sampled posts about that tool here; Split = people disagree; Some = 1–3 posts.

#1Aider

Open-source terminal agent · Free · free tier · open source · 8 mentions

Strengths here

  • MostRespected as the original terminal harness; its 'repo map' is widely credited and copied.

Weak spots here

  • SomeSome say it feels dated now and are switching to newer tools; one reported 2M tokens/day.

#2Claude Code

terminal / coding agent · from $20/mo · 14 mentions

Strengths here

  • SomeWidely called the strongest agentic coder with the latest models; several say it's still 'just better'.
  • SomeWorks with other model providers (e.g. DeepSeek via Anthropic-compatible endpoints) to cut cost.

Weak spots here

  • SomeSome HN devs call the harness bloated (≈500MB RAM per session) and say lighter open-source clones match it.
  • SomeHeavy users burn a $200 plan within a day.

#3Codex CLI

terminal / coding agent · from $20/mo · free tier · open source · 12 mentions

Strengths here

  • SomeMany find it high quality; some switched from Claude Code to avoid 'Claude-isms'.

Weak spots here

  • SomeComplaints: slowest of the major harnesses, a background daemon that breaks env assumptions, Windows terminal flashing.
  • SomeSeveral say Claude Code and OpenCode are better CLIs.

#4Google Antigravity

AI code editor · from $20/mo · free tier · 3 mentions

Strengths here

  • SomeSeveral say the Antigravity CLI is better than Gemini CLI was.

Weak spots here

  • SomeOthers call it early and missing features.

#5Cline

terminal / coding agent · Free · free tier · open source · 3 mentions

Strengths here

  • SomeWorks well across many models.

Weak spots here

  • SomeSome report it forgets plans after auto-compaction; one gave up over tool handling.

#6Gemini CLI

terminal / coding agent · from $20/mo · open source · 12 mentions

Strengths here

Nothing specific yet.

Weak spots here

  • MostGoogle ended Gemini CLI for free/individual users on Jun 18, 2026 (Antigravity CLI replaces it); many HN devs call the old harness poor.

Stopped serving free and individual (Google AI Pro/Ultra) accounts on Jun 18, 2026; Google points users to Antigravity CLI. Still works with paid Gemini API keys / enterprise.

#7Warp

terminal / coding agent · from $20/mo · free tier · no mentions in window

Not enough discussion yet in this scenario. Agentic development environment: a modern terminal with built-in coding agents.

#8Devin

terminal / coding agent · from $20/mo · free tier · no mentions in window

Not enough discussion yet in this scenario. Cognition's autonomous AI software engineer, in the cloud or locally.

#9Jules

Async coding agent · from $19.99/mo · free tier · no mentions in window

Not enough discussion yet in this scenario. Google's asynchronous coding agent that works on your GitHub repos.

#10Roo Code

Open-source VS Code agent · Free · free tier · open source · no mentions in window

Not enough discussion yet in this scenario. Open-source AI coding agent for VS Code with multiple modes.

Head-to-head

Claude Code vs CodexClaude Code Alternatives Free

Other scenarios

AI game developmentAI landing page builderAI mobile app builderAI code reviewAI agent builderAI automation toolsAI code completionAI image generatorAI video generatorFree AI coding toolsOpen-source AI coding agent

How we rank: tools are ordered by the balance of positive vs. negative recurring points in sampled posts, weighted by how many posts discuss them here. Tools with no posts are listed after, unranked. We show what people say, not who said it. Scenario name evidence: Google autocomplete: "free ai coding agent terminal", "ai coding agent built for the terminal".