Best AI agent for coding
Which agents people actually use for coding, counted from 39 real use cases, with the top examples for each.
Going by documented use cases, not a lab test: of the 39 coding use cases on agentsetups, Claude appears in 24, Codex appears in 14, Cursor appears in 3.
Most-discussed: Plan with Claude Code, execute with Codex via MCP by Louis-François Bouchard (Claude, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, Antigravity, Command Code).
Quick start (from Plan with Claude Code, execute with Codex via MCP by Louis-François Bouchard):
- Use Claude Code as the planner. It sends execution to Codex only through the Codex MCP, which Claude manages.
- Run the agents in dedicated environments so they keep working when your laptop is closed.
- Keep notes and skills in Obsidian so you can switch tools and devices.
+2 more steps in the copyable prompt.
Counts reflect what people post about, not quality or market share.
Last updated · based on 336 use cases on agentsetups, each credited to its author.
Agents by use cases
| Agent | Use cases |
|---|---|
| Claude | 24 |
| Codex | 14 |
| Cursor | 3 |
| OpenCode | 3 |
| Amp | 3 |
| Perplexity Computer | 2 |
| Meta Muse | 2 |
| Gemini CLI | 2 |
| Pi | 2 |
| Hermes Agent | 2 |
| Antigravity | 1 |
| Command Code | 1 |
| ChatGPT Dots | 1 |
| OMP (oh-my-pi) | 1 |
| Droid | 1 |
| GitHub Copilot | 1 |
| Grok Bot | 1 |
| Kiro | 1 |
| Cline | 1 |
| Goose | 1 |
Claude for coding 24
- Plan with Claude Code, execute with Codex via MCP
Claude Code plans and reviews, Codex executes through the Codex MCP, and notes and skills live in Obsidian.
Claude, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, Antigravity, Command Code · Coding · by Louis-François Bouchard (X post, 17 Sep 2026) · source
- Run coding agents like a hospital: Db2 support in 2 days
Cockroach Labs’ label-triggered role agents planned 15 sub-issues and shipped Db2 migration for $4,172.
Claude · Coding · by Cockroach Labs (blog, 8 Oct 2026) · source
- Build paid web apps with an Opus front end and Codex
The founder’s playbook behind $100K MRR: one-shot a baseline, name the stack, use a quality reference per feature, self-score.
Claude, Codex · Coding · by Meng To (X post, 7 Oct 2026) · source
Codex for coding 14
- Plan with Claude Code, execute with Codex via MCP
Claude Code plans and reviews, Codex executes through the Codex MCP, and notes and skills live in Obsidian.
Claude, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, Antigravity, Command Code · Coding · by Louis-François Bouchard (X post, 17 Sep 2026) · source
- Replace a pro app subscription with your own build
A Codex-built Photoshop alternative reached 20k users after $2,000+ of tokens, driven by user feedback.
Codex · Coding · by /u/AsejereDaDeje (Reddit, 24 Sep 2026) · source
- Have Codex build a drop-in renderer to fix perf
A Three.js family Halloween project had load and frame-spike issues; Codex built a new renderer as a drop-in.
Codex · Coding · by Simon (X post, 23 Sep 2026) · source
Cursor for coding 3
- Plan with Claude Code, execute with Codex via MCP
Claude Code plans and reviews, Codex executes through the Codex MCP, and notes and skills live in Obsidian.
Claude, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, Antigravity, Command Code · Coding · by Louis-François Bouchard (X post, 17 Sep 2026) · source
- Gate “done” claims behind a real test run
One dev found 69% of “done” claims false, another 35% of “tests pass” claims; both re-run checks before the agent may stop.
Claude, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI · Coding · by Raimondas Lencevicius (DEV post, 21 Sep 2026) · source
- Route by task type and make each agent review the other
Route by task type and make each agent review the other
Claude, Codex, Cursor · Coding · by Mike Holp (blog, 11 Oct 2026) · source
OpenCode for coding 3
- Plan with Claude Code, execute with Codex via MCP
Claude Code plans and reviews, Codex executes through the Codex MCP, and notes and skills live in Obsidian.
Claude, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, Antigravity, Command Code · Coding · by Louis-François Bouchard (X post, 17 Sep 2026) · source
- Ticket in, PR out: four skills and a reviewer in CI
Six weeks in: 128 PRs, 124 merged; planning a ticket takes about 12 minutes (self-reported).
Claude, OpenCode · Coding · by rogs (blog, 30 Sep 2026) · source
- Let a laptop control coding agents that run on a home PC
Long jobs keep running on the PC after the laptop is closed; you verify and merge next morning (self-reported).
Claude, Codex, Pi, OpenCode, Hermes Agent · Coding · by Nadim Tuhin (blog, 1 Sep 2026) · source
Amp for coding 3
- Let Amp find a deploy bug and upgrade Node
Amp traced a bad API token from headers alone, reproduced it, migrated deps and code to Node.js v24; first PR all green.
Amp · Coding · by Liran Tal (X post, 12 Oct 2026) · source
- Ship several features in a day with Amp Orbs
A solo maker shipped 3 features to Keep (website change monitor, read-only shared notes, transcribed voice notes) using Amp Orbs.
Amp · Coding · by Ian Nuttall (X post, 10 Sep 2026) · source
- Ship features across legacy and mobile stacks with Amp
Local runners on a legacy WebForms site, Orbs on a .NET API and React Native app with staging deploys and Expo previews: 12+ features.
Amp · Coding · by Alex Heffernan (X post, 4 Oct 2026) · source
Questions people ask
What is the best AI agent for coding?
There is no single winner in the data. Of 39 coding use cases on agentsetups, Claude (24), Codex (14), Cursor (3), OpenCode (3). Pick the one whose examples look most like your task.
Which AI agents do people use for coding?
From the sources: Claude (24), Codex (14), Cursor (3), OpenCode (3), Amp (3), Perplexity Computer (2), Meta Muse (2), Gemini CLI (2), Pi (2), Hermes Agent (2), Antigravity (1), Command Code (1).
How do I set up an AI agent for coding?
Copy a setup that already worked. Plan with Claude Code, execute with Codex via MCP by Louis-François Bouchard (Claude, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, Antigravity, Command Code): 1) Use Claude Code as the planner. It sends execution to Codex only through the Codex MCP, which Claude manages. 2) Run the agents in dedicated environments so they keep working when your laptop is closed. 3) Keep notes and skills in Obsidian so you can switch tools and devices. The use-case page has the full prompt.
Claude vs Codex for coding?
Claude has 24 and Codex has 14 coding use cases here. Compare them side by side.