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Dataset·Matrix
AI coding assistants share many core features, but each one builds them in its own way. We call these features primitives. Examples are a planning mode, helper agents, automatic hooks, memory, and restore points you can go back to. This table compares coding assistants one feature at a time. Each cell quotes how that tool provides the feature. Browse it below or download the files.
Updated 16 October 202628coding agents compared62features8feature groups226cells not yet confirmed
| Primitive |  Claude Code |  Codex |  opencode |  Aider |  Pi |  Amp |  Cline |  Kilo |  Cursor |  Devin Desktop |  Zed |  Copilot |  Devin |  Jules |  Kiro |  Junie |  Factory Droid |  Augment Code |  OpenHands |  Trae |  Warp |  CodeBuddy |  Mistral Vibe |  Roo | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plan modeIntroduced by Cline | Shift+Tab | /plan | Tab | /architect | extension (Shift+Tab pkg) | /plan | Deep mode | prompt | prompt | Plan/Act | Architect mode | Shift+Tab | plan preview | prompt | /plan, plan agent | plan-first | /plan slash command | plan-first | Shift+Tab (CLI); Quick Plan (specs) | /plan, --plan flag, Shift+Tab | Spec mode (Shift+Tab; --use-spec) | /plan [open] (toggle Plan Mode or open the latest plan file) | prompt | SOLO (plan before execute) | /plan | plan permission mode (explore the code before deciding what to change; inherits the prior mode's permissions and additionally allows writing session plan files) | plan agent (Shift+Tab) | Architect mode |
| Spec / specifyIntroduced by GitHub Spec Kit | – | – | – | – | SPEC mode (pkg) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ? | ? | Specs (requirements.md + design.md + tasks.md) | ? | Spec Mode (--use-spec; --spec-model) | ? | ? | Spec workflow (/spec command; generates spec.md + tasks.md + checklist.md in .trae/specs/, version-controlled) | ? | ? | ? | – |
| Constitution / principlesIntroduced by GitHub Spec Kit | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ? | ? | Steering files (.kiro/steering/*.md) | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | AGENTS.md / WARP.md | ? | ? | – |
| Brainstorm / discoveryCommon to many tools | conversational | conversational | conversational | /ask | conversational | conversational | conversational | conversational | conversational | Plan | Ask mode | ask | conversational | conversational | explore agent | conversational | Ask Devin (codebase Q&A before session) | conversational | conversational (vibe sessions) | Ask mode (read-only exploration) | conversational (Missions planning conversation) | Quick Ask (read-only) | conversational | conversational (Chat mode Q&A) | conversational | Ask mode | conversational | Ask mode |
| Deep research modeIntroduced by Amp | – | – | – | – | – | research | Deep mode | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | /research agent | – | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | – |
| Clarifying questionsIntroduced by Cline | yes (plan) | yes | yes | limited | extension | yes | yes | yes | limited | Plan | Architect | yes (plan) | yes | limited | yes | yes | yes (Ask Devin; !ask in Slack) | yes (plan) | yes (spec phases + Quick Plan) | yes (plan mode; approves plan before implementation) | yes (Spec Mode: read-only exploration + clarifying questions) | ? | yes | ? | Ask questions permission (Always/Conditional/Never) | yes (Plan; AskUserQuestion) | ask_user_question | Architect |
| Estimate / complexityIntroduced by SuperClaude | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | – |
| Act / implementIntroduced by Cline (named split) | native | native | Build mode | /code | native | native | native | native | native | Act | Code mode | Agent mode | Cascade | native | agent | agent | native (autonomous cloud session) | native | Autopilot (default autonomous) + Supervised mode | Code mode (autonomous multi-step plan + execution) | native (Auto mode) | native (Agent) | native | Builder mode | Agent Mode (local + cloud) | Craft mode | native (default agent) | Code mode |
| Edit / apply diffIntroduced by Aider (diff edits) | native | native | native | diffs | Edit tool | native | native | native | native | native | native | native | diff-staging | native | native | native | native | native | native (per-hunk in Supervised; full diff view in Autopilot) | native (diff viewer before accept) | native (diff shown; wait for approval) | native (diff review per action) | native | native (Accept/Reject All; ^Y/^N) | Interactive Code Review panel | native (Edit/MultiEdit; diff review) | write_file / search_replace | native |
| Run terminal commandsCommon to many tools | yes | yes | yes | yes | Bash tool | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | Turbo mode | yes | yes | yes | yes (shell terminal in VM) | yes | yes (approve/reject/run/trust per command) | yes (! prefix; brave mode controls approval) | yes (risk-gated by autonomy) | yes (terminal tool) | yes | yes (Builder runs Shell; Chat one-click) | yes (configurable approval per Agent Profile) | yes (Bash; permission-gated) | bash | yes |
| DebugIntroduced by Roo Code (Debug mode) | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | Debug mode | /debug | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | Bugfix Specs (bugfix.md + design.md + tasks.md) | /debug mode (live IDE debugger, breakpoints, step) | prompt (droid exec natural-language debugging) | ? | prompt | TRAE-debugger built-in skill (starts a debugging server, collects logs over HTTP; hypothesis -> instrumentation -> reproduction -> analysis -> fix -> verification) | agent debug (autonomous bug investigation; reproduces issue, inspects likely failure paths) | ? | prompt | Debug mode |
| Test generationCommon to many tools | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | task agent | Workflow | prompt | task agent | prompt | /test slash command; video test recordings | prompt | Autopilot test generation (multi-file); property-based tests | prompt (natural-language task, e.g. headless CI use: junie --auth="$JUNIE_API_KEY" "Fix any failing tests") | prompt (droid exec natural-language test fixing/generation) | prompt (natural-language test generation, e.g. "Create test coverage") | ? | ? | ? | prompt (natural-language test generation, e.g. "Add tests for the notification service") | prompt | prompt |
| Code reviewIntroduced by (parallel) | /review | /review | /review | manual | extension | AI review | Oracle subagent | prompt | prompt | – | – | BugBot | review Workflow | prompt | rubber-duck agent | via skills | Devin Review (PR bot + /review slash command) | Critic agent (auto peer-review) | Supervised mode per-hunk review; BugBot via hooks | /review (local diff); GitHub Action (PR inline comments) | /review | native GitHub PR review ("auggie review") | GitHub Action / prebuilt automation | TRAE-code-review built-in skill (reviews merge requests/diffs; structured feedback on quality, correctness, best practices) | Code Review panel + Interactive Code Review | /security-review | prompt | – |
| RefactorCommon to many tools | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | via modes | prompt | refactor Workflow | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt | prompt (chat or spec task) | prompt (natural-language task, e.g. junie --prompt "Refactor the commands module" --plan) | prompt (droid exec natural-language refactor; --use-spec plans first) | prompt (natural-language refactor, e.g. "Perform refactoring") | ? | ? | agent refactor (write/refactor features via autonomous agents) | /simplify (launches 4 parallel agents reviewing reuse, simplification, efficiency, abstraction) | prompt | via modes |
| Goal (persistent objective)Introduced by Codex | unconfirmed* | /goal (flag) | – | – | – | /goal | – | – | – | – | – | non-persistent | – | – | non-persistent | non-persistent | ? | – | /goal (iterative loop until verified) | ? | Missions (describe goal; orchestrator manages work to completion) | ? | convo-goal (SDK) | ? | cloud agent task (runs to completion) | /goal | ? | – |
| Orchestrator / boomerangIntroduced by Roo Code (Boomerang) | subagents | – | – | – | TEAM/CHAIN/PIPELINE (pkg) | subagents | subagents | recipes | – | – | Orchestrator mode | subagents | – | Parallel Agents | Fleet mode | Agent Manager | Managed Devins (coordinator delegates to child sessions) | ? | subagents (main agent delegates to built-in + custom sub-agents) | subagents (auto-delegated subtasks) | Mission Mode (multi-agent orchestration) | automatic subagent delegation (Agent detects and offers to delegate to a subagent) | agent delegation (SDK) | main "Agent" auto-delegates a task to a subagent when the subagent's description is highly relevant to that task | Warp Agent (cross-harness subagent orchestration via Oz) | subagents (auto-delegated) | subagents via task tool | Orchestrator mode |
| Subagents (own context)Introduced by Claude Code | /agents | agents | agents | – | extension (Fleets/Crews) | fork subagent | Librarian/Oracle | yes | – | Subagents | (modes) | subagents (10/50) | – | yes | subagents | subagents | Managed Devins + CLI subagents (foreground/background) | – | yes (custom .kiro/agents/*.md with isolated context) | .junie/agents/ Markdown+YAML files, isolated context | Custom Droids (.factory/droids/*.md; fresh context) | yes (.augment/agents/*.md; isolated context) | yes | Subagents (.trae/agents/ project scope; Markdown+YAML frontmatter with name/description/model/tools/mcpServers; independent context windows whose intermediate reasoning does not pollute the main Agent's chat history; main Agent auto-delegates by matching description to intent) | cross-harness subagents (Oz) | subagents (.codebuddy/agents/) | subagents (.vibe/agents/*.toml; task tool) | (modes) |
| Parallel agents / swarmIntroduced by Roo/Kilo + Copilot Fleet | Dynamic workflows: parallel() / pipeline() fan-out, up to 16 concurrent agents by default (CLAUDE_CODE_WORKFLOW_MAX_CONCURRENT_AGENTS 1 to 256), 1,000 agents per run | – | – | – | extension | parallelism | yes | – | – | – | up to 10/50 | Fleet mode | cloud (Devin) | Parallel Agents | Fleet mode | yes (default) | yes, parallel cloud sessions via Managed Devins | up to 60 concurrent tasks | yes (subagents run in parallel) | GitLab CI/CD multi-task; worktree isolation | Mission Mode workers + worktree parallelism | yes (subagents run in parallel; Remote Agents run concurrently in cloud) | yes | ? | parallel cloud subagents (Oz); local parallel tabs + worktrees | background agents | yes (subagents run in parallel via the task tool) | up to 10/50 |
| Task breakdown / to-dosCommon to many tools | TODO list | skills | agents | – | extension | task lists | yes | yes | yes | task mgmt | mode split | to-dos | yes | threads | task lists (synced) | task lists (synced) | Playbooks + /plan | plan steps | tasks.md (spec phase 3, wave-based parallel execution) | ? | Missions milestones (structured plan; validation per milestone) | Task Manager (auto-created tasks; persists under ~/.augment) | TaskTrackerTool (available built-in tool; added explicitly in agent config) | SOLO auto task breakdown | Agent Task Lists (auto-generated) | /todos (Plan checklist) | todo list (Ctrl+T to toggle view) | mode split |
| Dynamic workflow (scripted)Introduced by Cline (Workflows) | Dynamic workflows (JavaScript script Claude writes, runtime executes in the background; /workflows progress view; save a run as a /<name> command in .claude/workflows/; bundled /deep-research) | – | – | – | CHAIN/PIPELINE (YAML) | custom workflows | reusable workflows | recipes | – | Workflows | custom modes | plugins | Workflows | – | Dynamic workflows in Copilot CLI and the Copilot app (program-defined task process; public preview; enable with --experimental or /experimental on) | orchestration | Playbooks (reusable multi-step task templates) | ? | Specs (3-phase pipeline: requirements -> design -> tasks); /workflow-run (start a saved Workflow recipe from chat: choose a recipe, complete its inputs, run; IDE 1.3.0, 13 Oct 2026) | ? | ? | Cosmos Experts (reusable, packaged multi-step agent workflow: system prompt + instructions + integrations + environment + model + workers) | ? | ? | YAML Workflows + Warp Drive Prompts | Dynamic Workflows (CodeBuddy writes a JavaScript orchestration script the runtime executes in the background to coordinate subagents) | ? | custom modes |
| Autonomous loopIntroduced by (community) | – | – | – | – | extension | /goal autonomous | Deep mode | yes | – | Focus Chain | – | Background Agent | Cascade (Turbo) | – | coding agent | Managed Agents | yes (async cloud sessions run until done; Automations) | yes | Autopilot mode + /goal iterative loops | Brave Mode (runs all sensitive actions without per-step approval) | Autonomy Level (High) + Mission Mode (work without per-step approval) | Agent Auto (edits files, runs terminal commands, uses MCP tools automatically) | yes | SOLO mode (autonomous after plan) | YOLO mode (all permissions set to Always allow) | /goal (until condition met) | auto-approve agent | – |
| Background / async (cloud)Introduced by (Devin-style) | no (local) | Codex cloud | – | – | – | background tasks | – | – | – | Cline cloud | Kilo cloud | Background Agent | handoff to Devin | – | /delegate agent | Managed Agents API | yes, native; all sessions are async cloud | cloud VM async | Kiro Web autonomous mode (cloud sandbox + PR) | GitHub Actions / GitLab CI runners (on-infra cloud exec) | Droid Computers (persistent cloud dev environment) | Remote Agents (cloud) | automations (Agent Canvas cloud) | ? | cloud agents on Oz (background tasks) | ? | & prefix (runs the prompt in a Vibe Code Web cloud sandbox; CLI returns a link to the cloud session) | Kilo cloud |
| Scheduled / cron tasksIntroduced by Qwen Code | – | – | – | – | extension | cron scheduled | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Scheduled sessions (cron + one-time); Automations | Scheduled Tasks (daily/weekly/monthly) | Automations (hourly/daily/CRON schedules, up to 5 per automation) | ? | Automations (Scheduled trigger; natural-language cadence or cron) | Cosmos scheduled automations (5-field cron expression, timezone-aware) | automations (cron schedule) | ? | Scheduled Agents (cron syntax via Ambient Agents) | Scheduled Tasks (recurring or one-time actions within a session) | /loop (recurring prompt) | – |
| Worktree isolationIntroduced by Cline | via plugins | – | – | – | extension | worktree | – | – | – | Worktrees | Kilo cloud | Worktrees (3.2) | – | – | Worktree isolation | ? | ? | cloud VM per task | cloud sandboxes (Web; each run is isolated) | /worktree (git worktrees, parallel sessions) | -w, --worktree [name] | isolated cloud env per Remote Agent | ? | ? | isolated worktrees (parallel subagents each run in their own worktree) | codebuddy --worktree (isolated workspaces for parallel development) | --worktree NAME (creates/reuses a git worktree, runs session inside it) | Kilo cloud |
| Project init (memory gen)Introduced by Claude Code (/init) | /init | /init | /init, /init-deep | – | extension | init | yes | – | – | init memory bank | init | rules gen | yes | – | yes | GEMINI.md | ? | – | Generate Steering Docs (.kiro/steering/) | auto-imports from other agents' memory files | /init | ? | yes | ? | /init (generates AGENTS.md) | /init | ? | init |
| Persistent memory fileIntroduced by CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md / Memory Bank | CLAUDE.md | AGENTS.md | AGENTS.md | conf file | AGENTS.md | cross-session memory | persistent threads | yes | yes | Memory Bank | Memory Bank | rules + AGENT.md | workspace memory | threads | AGENTS.md | GEMINI.md / .agents | AGENTS.md + Knowledge (org-scoped knowledge base) | AGENTS.md | .kiro/steering/*.md (workspace) + ~/.kiro/steering/ (global) | AGENTS.md (.junie/AGENTS.md or project root) | AGENTS.md + .factory/memories.md | Memories (auto-generated) + AGENTS.md/.augment/rules | AGENTS.md / Skills | AGENTS.md + .trae/project_rules.md + .trae/user_rules.md | AGENTS.md + Agent Memory (Oz cloud, cross-session) | CODEBUDDY.md | AGENTS.md (~/.vibe/ + project) | Memory Bank |
| Memory edit / updateIntroduced by Claude Code (/memory) | /memory | edit AGENTS.md | edit file | – | edit AGENTS.md | update | yes | yes | ? | update memory bank | update | edit rules | edit memory | Rules Library (edit .rules) | edit instructions | edit GEMINI.md | Knowledge CRUD (UI + API); Devin auto-suggests Knowledge | Memory System (repo-level) | edit steering files; Generate Steering Docs command | edit AGENTS.md (project or global ~/.junie/AGENTS.md) | ? | Memory Review (approve/edit/remove in chat panel) | edit AGENTS.md / Skills | edit user_profile.md / project_memory.md directly, or via chat (AI auto-creates/updates/deletes memories on request) | auto-extracted from transcripts by Oz (no manual edit command) | /memory; Auto Memory | edit AGENTS.md | update |
| Codebase indexing / RAGIntroduced by Aider (repo map) / Cursor | grep-based | grep-based | yes | repo map | grep/bash | yes | Sourcegraph search | yes | LSP-enhanced | codebase index | codebase indexing | index | repo-scale | LSP | code intelligence | yes | DeepWiki (auto-indexed repo wikis + semantic search) | yes | codebase indexing (#codebase context provider) | semantic indexing (embeddings, checkbox in IDE plugin) | grep/glob-based (Read, LS, Grep, Glob tools) | Context Engine (semantic indexing) | grep/glob-based | codebase indexing (auto <=5k files) | Codebase Context (local embeddings-based indexing) | grep/glob-based | grep (ripgrep) | codebase indexing |
| Context compactionIntroduced by Claude Code (/compact) | /compact | auto | /compact | /tokens | token-efficient core | ToolSearch on demand | yes | yes | ? | context condensing | context condensing | auto | yes | auto + /compact | token mgmt | auto (~135k tokens) | /compact (CLI) | ? | /compact (auto on overflow) | ? | /context (window usage breakdown) | ? | LLMSummarizingCondenser | auto-triggered once context exceeds the allowed window during task processing, or manual Compact button (built-in "Agent" + other agents with Max mode enabled) | /compact; /fork-and-compact | /compact | /compact | context condensing |
| Clear / reset contextCommon to many tools | /clear | /new | /new | /clear, /reset | /new | new | new thread | /clear | ? | new task | new task | new chat | ? | new thread | /clear | ? | /clear or /new (CLI); sleep/archive (Slack) | new task | /clear; /context clear; /chat new | /new (clear context + optional prompt) | /clear | New chat icon (Chat panel) | /new | new chat (clears the previous context) | /new | /clear | /clear | new task |
| Checkpoints / rollbackIntroduced by Cline (per-tool-call) | git-based | git-based | /undo, /redo | /undo | git checkpointing (pkg) | rewind | ? | ? | ? | per-tool-call | per-call | checkpoints / restore | revert to step (hover prompt + revert arrow) + named snapshots | Restore Checkpoint | git-based rewind snapshot per prompt (Esc Esc / /undo / /rewind) | sandbox | snapshot-per-session (each session boots clean snapshot) | ? | /rewind (CLI) + Revert All Changes (Autopilot) | roll back all changes (decline task changes) | /rewind-conversation | checkpoints (auto snapshots; revert) | conversation fork (SDK) / git-based | ? | ? | /rewind (per-prompt checkpoints) | /rewind (Alt+Up / Ctrl+P) | per-call |
| Intent / activity trackingIntroduced by Windsurf | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Cascade tracking | – | – | – | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | – |
| Resume / continueCommon to many tools | /resume | /resume | /sessions | --restore | session rewind | resume | threads | yes | yes | task history | sessions | resume | yes | threads | session history | synced sessions | yes, /resume <id> (CLI); cloud session resume; CLI /handoff | yes | sessions (Web + iOS sync across platforms) | /history (last 10 sessions); --session-id flag | droid --resume [sessionId]; droid exec -s <id> | --continue / --resume (persistent session state) | --resume / --last | ? | cloud-synced conversation history (CMD+Y); cross-device | /resume; --continue / --resume | /resume; --continue/-c; --resume SESSION_ID | sessions |
| Rewind / branch from messageIntroduced by Pi / Qwen Code | – | /fork | – | – | rewind + branch | message rewind | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ? | ? | /rewind (fork at earlier turn) | ? | Fork a session | ? | conversation fork (SDK) | ? | Conversation Forking (/fork-from, right-click block) | /rewind; /branch (/fork) | /rewind | – |
| Steering / interrupt mid-runIntroduced by Pi | esc | ? | ? | ? | Enter=steer, Alt+Enter=queue | Ctrl+C (cancel) | ? | Ctrl+C (interrupt) | esc | ? | ? | ? | ? | stop button / Send Now | steer (enter new prompt while working) | comment on Artifact (live) | yes, message session mid-run; mute/unmute in Slack | pause button + chat feedback | Queue Steering (CLI v2.7+); Interrupt Execution button | follow-up prompts while agent is working | Ctrl+C (interrupt; twice to exit) | queued follow-up messages while agent is working (Cosmos sessions) | Esc (CLI) / send_message while running (SDK) | ? | mid-run steer input; Remote Control | Ctrl+C (cancel current input or generation) | Escape | ? |
| Session share / exportIntroduced by opencode (/share) / Amp | /copy, export | /copy | export (opencode export [sessionID] as JSON; opencode import <file>); /share discontinued in v1.19.1 | – | share session | /export | shared threads | session export (md/json/yaml); HTML session export with an interactive viewer (v1.54.0, 8 Oct 2026) | ? | – | – | – | – | channels | /share file (markdown); /share gist | Agent Manager | session link sharing; #devin-runs Slack channel | ? | export (CLI v2.6+: markdown/JSON transcript export) | ? | /share (with org); /copy (session) | Share dialog (grant a teammate viewer access, copy link, revoke access) | trajectory export (JSON) | ? | Session Sharing (link, real-time sync, web/mobile view) | /export | ? | – |
| Model switchingCommon to many tools | /model | /model | /models | /model | /login, config (20+) | config | auto-select | multi-model | yes | profiles | profiles | model picker | model routing | model routing | /model (multi) | model picker | /model (CLI); !fast / !ultra / !lite (Slack); adaptive routing | tier-based (Gemini 3 Flash / Pro) | /model (CLI); model picker (IDE/Web); persistent preferences | /model (10+ models, effort levels, BYOK) | /model; -m, --model <id>; Ctrl+N; BYOK | /model + --model (Claude/GPT/Gemini/Kimi) | /model or profile selector | model picker; /switch model:<name>; BYOK | model picker dropdown; /model; BYOK | /model; --model | /model | profiles |
| Cost / token trackingIntroduced by Aider / Claude Code | /cost | usage | yes | /tokens | token display | real-time usage | leaderboards | ? | ? | cost display | cost | usage | credits | token usage display | usage | Quota screen (per-model bars) | ACU (Agent Compute Unit) usage per session; Session Insights | ? | /usage (CLI); subscription dashboard (IDE: credits used/remaining) | /usage (token breakdown + balance per session) | /cost; /stats [period] | Usage Dashboard (My Usage / Organization Usage; shown in $ or credits) | yes (metrics API) | Dollar Usage display (used + remaining) for the current subscription period, in the billing/subscription panel | per-turn credit chip + Settings > Billing; Enterprise Analytics API | /cost; /stats | --max-price (indicative only) | cost |
| Print / headless modeCommon to many tools | -p / --print | exec | run | --message | print mode | --prompt / -p (--output-format text|json|stream-json) | CLI pipe | headless | crush run (--quiet) | – | – | CLI | – | – | --prompt | agy CLI | devin -p "prompt" (CLI single-turn stdout) | jules remote new (CLI) | --no-interactive (CLI headless via KIRO_API_KEY) | headless (junie --auth=... "prompt") | droid exec (-o text/json/stream-jsonrpc) | --print (single-shot, non-interactive) | --headless -t / -f | ? | Oz CLI (non-interactive; --output-format json/text) | -p / --print (--output-format json) | --prompt (--output text|json|streaming) | – |
| Remote control of local agents (mobile)Common to many tools | Remote Control (claude.ai/code or Claude iOS/Android app connected to a session running locally) | Codex on mobile (ChatGPT mobile app to Cloud or a connected Mac or Windows PC, set up via Settings > Connections > Control this Mac or PC: follow progress, approve actions, send instructions) | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Remote control (pair computer via desktop app; see and reply to local agents from the Cursor iOS app; Keep this computer awake setting; 6 Oct 2026) | ? | ? | copilot --remote or /remote on (monitor and steer CLI session from GitHub Mobile and github.com; GA 18 May 2026) | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | /remote-control chip (publish a CLI agent session to the cloud, monitor and steer from phone or another computer) | ? | ? | ? |
| Custom slash commandsCommon to many tools | yes (.claude/commands) | yes (prompts) | yes (.opencode/command) | – | prompt templates | custom workflows | yes | yes | yes (custom/saved prompts as Markdown command files) | workflows | yes | yes (prompts) | yes | skills via / (SKILL.md) | yes | inherited | yes, org-level custom slash commands via Settings > Customization | ? | yes (custom agents invokable as slash commands) | .junie/commands/ Markdown files with YAML frontmatter | yes (.factory/commands/*.md; /commands) | yes (.augment/commands/<name>.md) | yes (commands via plugins/skills) | Commands (.trae/commands/ project scope, ~/.trae/commands global scope; invoked via / in chat) | Warp Drive Prompts (appear in / menu) | yes (.codebuddy/commands/*.md) | skills (user-invocable: /skill-name) | yes |
| Custom modesIntroduced by Roo Code | via agents | – | agents | chat-modes | 6 modes (pkg) | subagents (task-specific prompts + tool scopes; .qwen/fork-profiles) | – | – | – | limited | custom modes | custom agents | – | – | custom agents | custom agents (.agents/agents/ MD + YAML frontmatter: model + tools) | ? | ? | custom agents (config file: tool scope + permissions + context) | subagents (.junie/agents or .agents; tools/disallowedTools, model) | custom droids (.factory/droids/ or ~/.factory/droids/; tool policy + model) | subagents (.augment/agents/ MD; tools allowlist/denylist) | file-based agents (.agents/agents/*.md; tools frontmatter + model) | custom agents (persona prompt; per-agent MCP servers + built-in tools) | Agent Profiles (autonomy + model + tool scope per profile) | ? | agent profiles (.vibe/agents/*.toml) scoped by approval level (auto-approves safe read tools, blocks edits and commands per profile) | custom modes |
| Hooks (event-driven)Introduced by Claude Code | hooks | limited | limited | – | extension | hooks (PreToolUse, PostToolUse, SessionStart/End, Stop, etc.) | – | – | – | Hooks | – | Pre/PostToolUse / stop | – | – | hooks (8 events) | hooks | Automations (event triggers: Slack, GitHub, Linear, webhooks, cron) | event-driven integrations (webhook triggers) | Agent Hooks (file save/create/delete, prompt submit, PreToolUse, PostToolUse, Stop, spec task) | 7 lifecycle hooks in config.json (SessionStart, PreToolUse, Stop, etc.) | /hooks (lifecycle hooks) | Hooks (PreToolUse, PostToolUse, Stop, SessionStart/End; settings.json) | hooks (6 events) | hooks (lifecycle events; JSON config with global + project scope; multiple project-root hook configs combined at runtime) | ? | hooks (pre/post tool) | hooks (.vibe/hooks.toml: pre_tool, post_tool, post_agent) | – |
| Skills (SKILL.md)Introduced by Claude Code | Skills | skills | skills | – | Skills (portable) | Skills (SKILL.md in extensions; /skills command) | – | – | – | Skills | – | Agent Skills | – | – | skills | Global / Agent Skills | SKILL.md files in .agents/skills/<name>/SKILL.md | ? | ? | .junie/skills/ SKILL.md + templates (Agent Skills) | Skills (.factory/skills/<name>/SKILL.md; /skills) | Skills (.augment/skills/<name>/SKILL.md; invoked via /skill-name) | Skills (.agents/skills/SKILL.md) | Skills (SKILL.md in .trae/skills/ project or ~/.trae/skills/ global; on-demand loading; also reads .agents/skills/) | Skills (YAML-frontmatter .md files; oz-skills repo) | Skills (.codebuddy/skills/SKILL.md) | Skills (.vibe/skills/<name>/SKILL.md) | – |
| Custom agent profilesIntroduced by Claude Code | .claude/agents | agents | agents | – | MD + YAML frontmatter | subagent defs | yes | – | – | subagent defs | mode YAML | custom subagents | – | ? | .agent.md | .agents/ | CLI subagent profiles (subagent_explore, subagent_general) | ? | .kiro/agents/*.md (YAML frontmatter: name, description, tools, model) | .junie/agents/ YAML frontmatter (name, tools, model, skills) | .factory/droids/*.md (YAML frontmatter: name, model, tools) | subagent .md files (YAML frontmatter: name, model, tools) | .agents/agents/*.md | custom agents (intelligent gen or manual) | ? | .codebuddy/agents/*.md (YAML frontmatter) | .vibe/agents/*.toml (model, tools, permissions) | mode YAML |
| MCP managementIntroduced by Anthropic (MCP standard) | /mcp | /mcp | config | limited | extension | MCP mgmt | yes | MCP-first | MCP-extensible | MCP marketplace | yes | .cursor JSON | yes | yes | GitHub MCP | extensions | yes, Devin MCP server + MCP marketplace; CLI MCP config | via MCP | yes (MCP servers tab; /mcp slash command; .kiro/settings/mcp.json) | /mcp + mcp.json (project or user scope); Installation Assistant | /mcp; droid mcp add <name> <url> | Easy MCP (+ OAuth/token); Import from JSON; settings panel | yes (Settings > MCP / mcp.json) | yes (marketplace; .trae/mcp.json; stdio/SSE/HTTP) | MCP servers (per-profile allowlist/denylist; add mid-session) | /mcp; codebuddy mcp add | /mcp (HTTP + stdio) | yes |
| Plugins / marketplaceIntroduced by Claude Code | /plugin marketplace | skills | plugins | – | npm/git packages | extension mgmt | – | – | – | MCP marketplace | marketplace | Marketplace / /add-plugin | – | – | plugins | plugins | ? | ? | ? | /extensions (git repos, local dirs, HTTP manifests; JetBrains marketplace) | droid plugin install / droid plugin marketplace | Plugins + Marketplaces (auggie plugin marketplace add; /plugins browser) | plugins (GitHub registry) | Extension Store + VS Code Marketplace compatibility + local .vsix install | ? | /plugin (marketplace) | Plugins (~/.vibe/plugins/ user-scope plugins alongside built-ins like the worktree plugin; managed via /plugins; plugin-declared MCP servers surface in /mcp) | marketplace |
| Rules / instructions filesIntroduced by Cursor (.cursorrules) | CLAUDE.md | AGENTS.md | AGENTS.md | CONVENTIONS.md | AGENTS.md | QWEN.md | AGENT.md | .goosehints | CRUSH.md / AGENTS.md | .clinerules | .roo/rules | .cursor/rules | rules | .rules | .github instructions | GEMINI.md | AGENTS.md + Knowledge items | AGENTS.md | .kiro/steering/*.md + AGENTS.md (auto-included) | AGENTS.md (.junie/AGENTS.md); .aiignore for file restrictions | AGENTS.md + .factory/rules/ | .augment/rules + AGENTS.md/CLAUDE.md (.augment-guidelines) | AGENTS.md / .openhands/ | AGENTS.md + .trae/rules/ (project & user) | AGENTS.md / WARP.md (project); global rules in Warp Drive | .codebuddy/rules/ (modular, topic-specific project instructions; YAML frontmatter: enabled, alwaysApply, paths) | AGENTS.md | .roo/rules |
| Self-build (ask agent to extend)Introduced by Pi | – | – | – | – | core philosophy | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ? | ? | ? | ask-to-create skills (asking Junie to add a skill; it generates the skill folder, SKILL.md, and any supporting files itself) | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | – |
| Output stylesIntroduced by Claude Code | native | /personality (none|friendly|pragmatic) | – | – | --system-prompt / SYSTEM.md | --system-prompt (replace main-session prompt) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ? | ? | ? | --system-prompt (CLI flag; appends process-local user guidelines to the top-level agent for every session, not saved to settings) | --append-system-prompt / --append-system-prompt-file | ? | ? | ? | ? | --append-system-prompt | Custom system prompts (system_prompt_id in config loads a markdown file from ~/.vibe/prompts/ that entirely replaces the default prompts/cli.md) | – |
| Web search / fetchCommon to many tools | web tools | limited | yes | /web | extension | yes | yes | yes | via MCP | yes | yes | @web | yes | via MCP | web fetch/search | Browser surface | yes (browser in VM; !deep for advanced search) | yes | #url context provider + MCP | Tavily web search (native tool; auto-triggered) + /extract URL fetch | native (WebSearch tool) | native web-fetch / web-search tools (removable via auggie --remove-tool) | Tavily MCP (built-in on Cloud) | yes (paste URL -> page content as context; no autonomous web search documented) | native agent web search (auto-triggered; Claude 4.x, GPT-5.x) | WebSearch / WebFetch | web search and web fetch tools (native tools for retrieving and searching web content) | yes |
| Image / multimodal inputCommon to many tools | yes | yes | yes | images | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes (file picker attachments) | yes | yes | yes (+PDF) | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes (CLI Ctrl+V image paste; attachments) | yes | yes | yes (PNG/JPEG drag-and-drop or @ reference) | Ctrl+V (paste image attachment) | yes (attach image via paperclip) | yes (images via vision LLMs) | yes (screenshots, design drafts in chat) | image attachment in Agent Mode (Ctrl+G) | yes (drag-drop / paste / path) | yes (@ mention image attachment: .png/.jpg/.jpeg/.gif/.webp sent as native multimodal content to vision-capable models) | yes |
| Voice / dictationIntroduced by Aider (/voice) | – | – | – | /voice | – | – | – | – | – | Dictation | voice (Kilo) | – | – | – | voice input (hold space bar; Ctrl+X V) | ? | yes (inline voice recording button; voice follow-ups) | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | ? | native voice input (microphone in Agent Mode) | ? | /voice (experimental; Ctrl+R to record) | voice (Kilo) |
| Browser / computer useIntroduced by Anthropic (Computer Use) / Cline | via MCP | – | – | – | extension | Computer Use (desktop automation) | – | yes | via MCP | Computer Use | browser | via MCP | live previews | – | computer use (/computer on in Copilot CLI and the Copilot app; clicks, types, scrolls, drags in desktop apps; public preview, macOS and Windows, 1 Oct 2026); Browser surface | Browser surface | yes, Chrome with Playwright CDP; visual QA + form-filling | Playwright (web app testing) | dev servers (background process management) | ? | Droid Control (launch apps, click, type, record) | ? | yes (BrowserToolSet / BrowsingAgent) | ? | Computer Use (sandboxed cloud environments, experimental) | ? | ? | browser |
| LSP integrationIntroduced by Zed / Crush | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | LSP-enhanced | – | – | yes | yes | native LSP | yes | yes | ? | ? | yes (LSP code intelligence: go-to-def, references, hover, diagnostics) | yes (JetBrains IDE ACP; semantic + syntax checks via IDE) | ? | ? | ? | LSP tool (listed among built-in Agent/subagent tools: Bash, Edit, Glob, Grep, Read, Skill, TodoWrite, WebFetch, WebSearch, Write, LSP) | built-in LSP (hover, go-to-def, diagnostics; Rust/Go/Python/TS/C++) | LSP tool | ? | – |
| Git commit / PR automationIntroduced by Aider (auto-commit) | commit cmds | yes | yes | auto-commit | extension | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | /pr | yes | yes, ships PRs; Devin Review; auto-merge; PR resume | yes | yes (Web opens PRs; GitHub + GitLab integration) | yes (auto branch + commit + PR/MR via GitHub/GitLab actions) | GitHub Action (security --full: new branch + PR with security report) | yes (Remote Agents open PRs; Code Review bot) | yes (GitHub Action / fix-me label) | AI commit-message generation (one-click); no PR automation | native git dialog (Commit, Push, Publish, Create PR, View PR) | ? | yes (reads files, runs commands, writes code, and opens pull requests, approval-gated) | yes |
| Notebook (Jupyter) supportIntroduced by Cline | NotebookEdit | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Jupyter | – | – | – | – | yes (agent mode) | ? | yes (hosts + populates Jupyter notebooks) | ? | ? | yes (Junie creates and edits Jupyter notebooks for data-exploration tasks, e.g. adding cells/images to an existing .ipynb on request) | ? | ? | Jupyter plugin (IPython cells) | ? | – | NotebookEdit | ? | – |
| Cloud handoff (local->cloud)Introduced by Windsurf | – | Codex cloud | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Cline cloud | Kilo cloud | Background Agent | hand off to Devin | – | /delegate | Managed Agents | /handoff (CLI packages context + branch -> cloud session) | native (cloud-only) | Kiro Web (start local via IDE/CLI, run on cloud sandbox) | ? | Droid Computers (Bring Your Own Machine <-> cloud handoff) | ? | ? | ? | bidirectional local/cloud handoff (auto-handoff on sleep) | ? | & prefix (runs prompt in a Vibe Code Web sandbox) / /teleport (moves the whole session to Vibe Code Web) | Kilo cloud |
| Sandbox / permission controlsCommon to many tools | permissions | sandbox | permissions | --yes | extension (gates) | auto-approval | yes | yes | permission queue; --yolo | auto-approve / YOLO | auto-approve | sandbox + net controls | Turbo (auto) | ? | Local sandboxing (GA 7 Oct 2026; restricted filesystem, network and credential access for Copilot-run commands; enterprise-managed settings can require it); permissions / auto-approve | Managed sandbox | yes, snapshot-isolated VM; /bypass mode (CLI); network/secret controls | cloud VM sandbox | Trusted Commands + Command Denylist; --trust-all-tools / --trust-tools (CLI headless); /sandbox (CLI 2.31.0) and IDE Command sandbox: OS sandbox for agent shell commands, outbound network blocked / limited to common dev hosts / open | brave mode (Off/Auto/On); allowlist.json; .aiignore | Autonomy levels (Off/Low/Med/High) + OS sandbox (--skip-permissions-unsafe) | Tool Permissions (allow/deny rules in settings.json) | Docker sandbox + approval flags | Sandbox (restricted, isolated execution environment for agent-generated commands; per-path read/write allowlist) + Auto-Run mode for MCP/commands | Agent Profile permissions (Confirm/Balanced/YOLO) + denylist | /permissions, /sandbox; -y / --dangerously-skip-permissions | agent approval modes (default/plan/accept-edits/auto-approve) + bash allow/deny lists + trusted-folder confirmation | auto-approve |
| Shared / team threadsIntroduced by Amp | – | – | – | – | share session | channels | shared threads | – | – | – | – | – | – | channels (multiplayer) | – | Agent Manager | yes, Slack channel sharing; shared session links; #devin-runs | – | ? | ? | live session URL sharing (watch, comment, take over) | Share dialog (invite a teammate to view a Cosmos session; revocable) | ? | ? | Session Sharing (edit access: steer/approve/redirect) | ? | ? | – |
| Leaderboards / usage metricsIntroduced by Amp | – | – | – | – | – | – | leaderboards | – | – | – | – | team analytics | – | – | Copilot metrics API | ? | consumption analytics (daily/per-user/per-org via API v3) | ? | team usage analytics (Team plans) | ? | Factory Analytics (per-user usage breakdowns) | Analytics API (per-user activity, daily usage, per-editor/language breakdown, credit usage) | ? | TRAE Enterprise console: multidimensional usage analytics (per-client user/activity trends, code-generation rate, LLM call distribution, language distribution) plus rankings for MCP and enterprise agents | Enterprise Analytics API (per-user rollups, team metrics) | ? | ? | – |
| Org / policy controlsIntroduced by (vendor stacks) | enterprise | enterprise | – | – | – | – | team plans | – | – | – | – | team / SSO | enterprise SLAs | – | org policies / SSO | Enterprise (coming) | yes, RBAC, SSO/SCIM, IP allowlists, audit logs, enterprise guardrails | – | SAML/SCIM SSO via AWS IAM Identity Center; org management dashboard | Enterprise SSO; .aiignore enforcement; on-premises model hosting | SSO (SAML/OIDC) + SCIM directory sync | Team roles (Administrator / Member permissions) | org roles/permissions (Cloud/Enterprise) | TRAE Enterprise admin console (seat/member management, usage analytics, security policies) | Admin Panel (enforced org-wide AI/model/sharing/privacy policies; SSO) | ? | Admin config layer (admin-managed config that is shared/enforced and overrides individual user config) | – |
Showing 62 of 62 features across 28 agents, as of 2026-10-16. Each cell shows how that agent provides the feature, and its colour shows the level of support. A “?” means not yet confirmed, not “no”.
This table compares 28 of the 111 coding agents we track. See all of them in the AI Coding Agents dataset.
The tool that made each feature popular in coding agents.
| Primitive / concept | Originated by | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Plan mode / Plan-Act split | Cline | Introduced Plan Mode against the immediate-execution trend; 'frontload context, then act' |
| Boomerang / Orchestrator | Roo Code | Delegates subtasks to specialist modes; only the summary returns to the parent |
| Checkpoints after each tool call | Cline | Auditable shadow-Git checkpoints per tool call, not just per prompt |
| Memory Bank | Cline | Persistent project memory as plain markdown in the repo |
| AGENTS.md | OpenAI Codex | Now a Linux Foundation open standard across 60k+ repos (OpenAI, Google, Cursor, Factory, Amp) |
| /goal (persistent objective) | OpenAI Codex | First native persistent-objective primitive; later mirrored by Qwen Code |
| CLAUDE.md, /init, hooks, subagents, skills, plugin marketplace | Claude Code (Anthropic) | Anthropic's agent-architecture primitives |
| MCP (Model Context Protocol) | Anthropic | Created by Anthropic; adopted by OpenAI Codex, Goose, Crush, and others |
| Repo map, diff edits, /architect-/ask, auto-commit, /voice | Aider | Early terminal coding-agent conventions |
| Custom modes (role personas) | Roo Code | Code/Architect/Ask/Debug/Orchestrator + community Mode Gallery |
| Minimal-core / self-build harness | Pi | 4-tool core; plan mode, subagents, MCP, permissions are all user extensions |
| Steering / follow-up mid-run | Pi | Enter steers a running agent after current tool call; Alt+Enter queues a follow-up |
| Scheduled / cron agent tasks | Qwen Code | Cron-scheduled autonomous coding runs |
| AI-first editor; .cursorrules | Cursor | Pioneered the AI-first editor category and rules files |
| Cascade agent + Workflows + workspace memory + intent tracking | Windsurf | Autonomous multi-file agent; reusable named Workflows; tracks edits/terminal/clipboard |
| Deep mode (autonomous research) + shared threads + leaderboards | Amp | Extended-reasoning research; team-oriented thread sharing and metrics |
| Parallel Agents + channels + native-LSP editor | Zed | Rust editor; multiplayer channels; agent client protocol (ACP) |
| Fleet mode / plan agent / .agent.md / 8 hook types | Copilot | Parallel subagent orchestration + GA custom/plan agents |
| Computer use / browser control | Anthropic (+ Cline) | Anthropic Computer Use; Cline shipped in-IDE Computer Use |
| Spec-driven specify->plan->tasks->implement | GitHub Spec Kit | Cross-tool methodology; SPARC was a precursor in the Roo/ruv ecosystem |
Packs that add missing features to several coding agents at once.
Spec, constitution, plan, tasks, implement
Works with: 24+ agents incl. Claude Code, Codex, opencode, Cursor, Copilot, Antigravity, Pi, Qwen, Goose
Most portable; /speckit.* (Codex uses $speckit-* skills)
plan/design, implement, brainstorm, task/spawn, workflow, estimate, spec-panel, review, index, research
Works with: Claude Code
~30 /sc: commands + personas
Spec-driven plan -> implement loop
Works with: Claude Code
One-command install; SessionStart hook
Multi-role spec, task breakdown, brainstorming, adversarial review
Works with: Claude Code
Best for multi-human-role teams
/init-deep, /ralph-loop (autonomous), /refactor, /start-work
Works with: opencode
Adds workflow commands core opencode lacks
Goal/Feature/Requirement hierarchy; plan -> implement -> review
Works with: Claude Code
Goal-as-artifact w/ lifecycle states
Parallel agent swarms, orchestration, RAG
Works with: Claude Code + others
Swarm intelligence
Goals, todo->review->done state machine, auto-retry, parallelism
Works with: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor
Typed agent teams + TUI
plan mode, subagents (Fleets/Crews), permission gates, MCP, checkpointing, sandboxing, themes
Works with: Pi
50+ example extensions to fork
Kanban dashboard, spec wizard, Jira integration
Works with: Pi
GUI layer over Pi multi-agent
Specialized PR review agents
Works with: Claude Code
Official Claude Code plugin
Persistent memory, context injection on session start
Works with: Claude Code (+MCP agents)
Memory awareness via hooks
High-speed diff/edit apply
Works with: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, any MCP agent
~10.5k tokens/sec apply
Reusable agent commands (skills)
Works with: MCP / agent CLIs
Open ecosystem
/plan, Shift+Tab, extension, no, ? = unconfirmed).npx tsx src/scripts/gen-ai-primitives.ts regenerates the typed data from the source CSVs.