I love Claude Code, but I hate being locked into Anthropic models. What if I want to use GPT5 or whatever comes out next week? So I went on a quest to find a terminal-based coding agent that works with different models and doesn't suck compared to Claude Code.

I tested every terminal agent I could find: Codex CLI from OpenAI, Charm Crush, OpenCode, and Cursor CLI. My requirements were simple - intuitive interface, MCP servers support, saved prompts, and actual functionality for coding and operations. The results were... disappointing. From agents that couldn't even fetch their own documentation to beautiful UIs that prioritized looks over functionality, each had critical flaws that made them unusable for real work. Even GPT5, hyped as the best coding model ever, couldn't shine through these broken wrappers. By the end, you'll understand why having a great model isn't enough - you need the complete package, and right now, that's still painfully rare in the terminal agent space.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
👉 Grab your free seat to the 2-Day AI Mastermind: https://link.outskill.com/AIDOS2
🔐 100% Discount for the first 1000 people
💥 Dive deep into AI and Learn Automations, Build AI Agents, Make videos & images – all for free!
🎁 Bonuses worth $5100+ if you join and attend
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

#TerminalAgents #CodingAI #GPT5

Consider joining the channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/devopstoolkit/join

▬▬▬▬▬▬ 🔗 Additional Info 🔗 ▬▬▬▬▬▬ 
➡ Transcript and commands: https://devopstoolkit.live/ai/terminal-agents-codex-vs.-crush-vs.-opencode-vs.-cursor-cli-vs.-claude-code

▬▬▬▬▬▬ 💰 Sponsorships 💰 ▬▬▬▬▬▬ 
If you are interested in sponsoring this channel, please visit https://devopstoolkit.live/sponsor for more information. Alternatively, feel free to contact me over Twitter or LinkedIn (see below).

▬▬▬▬▬▬ 👋 Contact me 👋 ▬▬▬▬▬▬ 
➡ BlueSky: https://vfarcic.bsky.social
➡ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/viktorfarcic/

▬▬▬▬▬▬ 🚀 Other Channels 🚀 ▬▬▬▬▬▬
🎤 Podcast: https://www.devopsparadox.com/
💬 Live streams: https://www.youtube.com/c/DevOpsParadox

▬▬▬▬▬▬ ⏱ Timecodes ⏱ ▬▬▬▬▬▬
00:00 Terminal-Based Coding Agents
01:09 Outskill (sponsor)
02:31 Why Terminal AI Agents Matter
06:54 Codex CLI - OpenAI's Terminal Agent
12:03 Charm Crush - Beautiful Terminal UI Agent
17:18 OpenCode - SST's Terminal Agent
20:13 Cursor CLI - From Cursor IDE Makers
24:10 Terminal AI Agents - Final Verdict

DevOps Toolkit's resource offers insights, tutorials, and resources for DevOps engineers and practitioners. Readers can learn about DevOps best practices, automation techniques, and tools for continuous integration and deployment. With articles, guides, and case studies, DevOps Toolkit provides  guidance and expertise for streamlining software delivery pipelines and improving collaboration between development and operations teams.

DevOps Toolkit

A comprehensive comparison of terminal-based AI coding agents including Codex CLI, Charm Crush, OpenCode, and Cursor CLI, testing their ability to work with GPT-5 and support essential features like MCP servers and saved prompts. The evaluation reveals significant shortcomings across all tested agents, with most failing basic functionality requirements, while Claude Code remains the only fully functional option despite being limited to Anthropic models.

Terminal Agents: Codex vs. Crush vs. OpenCode vs. Cursor CLI vs. Claude Code