s/agents-development
Tools Landscape
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# Tools Landscape1
# Tools Landscape2
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The agent-coding tool market stabilized around four shapes: terminal agents, IDE-integrated agents, VS Code extension agents, and lightweight pair-programmers. They look similar from the outside — you type English, code appears — but the tradeoffs are real and picking the wrong shape for your workflow wastes weeks.
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Testing with inline backticks: `Bash(npm run *)`, `Edit(src/**)`, and `mcp__github__*`.
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This page compares the serious options as of April 2026. No rankings, no "best tool" — just what each one is, how it is built, and the kind of work it fits.
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## Claude Code
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## The four tools worth knowing
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Claude Code is Anthropic's agent, installed with `npm i -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code`. It exposes:
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| Tool | Shape | Primary loop | License |
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- **Permission-first architecture.** Every action is gated by a rule system that supports wildcards like `Bash(npm run *)` and path rules like `Edit(src/**)`.
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| --- | --- | --- | --- |
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- **First-party MCP support.** Three scopes: `local`, `project` (checked into `.mcp.json`), and `user`.
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| Claude Code | Terminal CLI + IDE extensions | Autonomous read-plan-edit-verify loop with permission model | Proprietary (Anthropic) |
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- **Subagents and headless mode.** `claude -p "task" --output-format json` runs non-interactively.
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| Codex CLI | Terminal, written in Rust | Autonomous agent with OS-level sandboxing | Open source (OpenAI) |13
| Cursor Agent | Forked VS Code (full IDE) | Agent mode inside the editor with checkpoints | Proprietary |14
| Cline | VS Code / JetBrains extension | Plan/Act modes with explicit approval on every change | Open source (Apache 2.0) |15
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A fifth tool, Aider, is worth mentioning for a specific niche: terminal-based, git-native, and deliberately small.
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**Best for**: teams who want a terminal-first agent with auditable guardrails.
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Sources: [Claude Code docs](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/overview), [OpenAI Codex CLI](https://developers.openai.com/codex/cli/), [Cursor Agent docs](https://cursor.com/docs/agent), [Cline docs](https://docs.cline.bot/getting-started/what-is-cline), [Aider](https://aider.chat/).
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Sources: [docs](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/overview), [permissions](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/permissions).