Codex CLIvsQwen Code
Generated from the two spec rows. Green marks the better value where a spec has a clear direction. Everything else is just different.
Codex CLI
OpenAI · Terminal agent
#1OSSMCP
Panel
7.12 spec wins
- Reliability
- 7.3
- Usefulness
- 7.0
- Cost
- 6.8
- Longevity
- 7.2
“Apache-2.0, so you can read every line except the one that lets you pick a model that is not OpenAI's.”
Qwen Code
Alibaba Cloud (Qwen) · Terminal agent
#19OSSMCP
Panel
6.81 spec wins
- Reliability
- 6.5
- Usefulness
- 6.8
- Cost
- 7.3
- Longevity
- 6.3
“Ships a Java SDK, which tells you precisely which enterprises Alibaba expects to pay for it.”
Spec by spec
| Spec | Codex CLI | Qwen Code |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | ||
| Category | Terminal agent | Terminal agent |
| Runs | local | local |
| Platforms | macos, linux, windows | macos, linux, windows |
| Context window | not documented | not documented |
| Protocols | ||
| MCP client | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | No | No |
| Capabilities | ||
| Runs terminal commands | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-file edits | Yes | Yes |
| Git operations | Yes | Yes |
| Browser control | NoThe shared Codex codebase carries a browser-use configuration with Chrome DevTools Protocol access, but OpenAI's documentation states browser is not available in the Codex CLI or the IDE extension; it runs in ChatGPT on the web and in the desktop app. The CLI's --search flag adds live web search only. | YesThe first-party @qwen-code/chrome-bridge extension tunnels cdp_* frames from the `qwen serve` daemon into chrome.debugger so the agent drives a real Chrome tab, but console/network/screenshot/click tools need an external CDP MCP adapter set via QWEN_CDP_MCP_COMMAND, since none is bundled. |
| Sandboxed execution | Yes | YesTwo real isolation modes - macOS Seatbelt via sandbox-exec (default `permissive-open` profile) and container-based Docker/Podman with a published sandbox image (https://qwenlm.github.io/qwen-code-docs/en/users/features/sandbox/). |
| Multi-agent orchestration | Yes | Yes |
| Headless / CI mode | Yes | Yes |
| Models | ||
| Backbone | OpenAI GPT-5.x, GPT-5.x-Codex | Qwen3-Coder, OpenAI-compatible, Claude, Gemini |
| Bring your own model | Yes | Yes |
| Local models | Yes | Yes |
| Cost | ||
| Pricing model | mixed | byok |
| Starts at | $8/mo | n/a |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Bring your own key | Yes | Yes |
| Openness | ||
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| GitHub stars | 127,563 | 28,271 |
Which one would each critic pick
| Critic | Codex CLI | Qwen Code | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Juez | — | — | not enough reviews |
| El Amigo | 8.0 | 7.0 | Codex CLI — If you already pay for ChatGPT, this is the terminal agent you have and it is a good one; open source, MCP, headless, and pointed at OpenAI until you configure it otherwise. |
| El Crítico | 7.0 | 6.3 | Codex CLI — A sandbox mode you choose once is the only barrier between the agent and your shell, the free tier is a taste, and the defaults point at one vendor. |
| El Profesor | 6.3 | 6.0 | Codex CLI — An open-source scaffold for one vendor's models, with a documented instruction file and a headless mode; the scaffold is inspectable, the capability is unmeasured. |
| La Inversora | 8.3 | 6.8 | Codex CLI — A lab's terminal agent bundled into a $20 subscription with 121,000 stars on the repo; the distribution is ChatGPT, and that is the whole thesis. |
| La Jefa | 7.3 | 5.8 | Codex CLI — Business at $20 a seat with SAML SSO and no default training, Enterprise for SCIM and audit logs; if the org is on ChatGPT already, this is a line item, not a project. |
| El Hacker | 5.8 | 8.8 | Qwen Code — Apache-2.0, OPENAI_BASE_URL pointed at my own box, modelProviders in settings.json, and MCP servers with a command or an httpUrl; the whole thing is mine to fork. |
Picks are derived from each critic's own scores. Humans vote on matchups on the duels page.