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docs: three-way review vs Claude Code and Codex - #216

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Aug 3, 2026
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docs: three-way review vs Claude Code and Codex#216
oratis merged 1 commit into
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docs/three-way-review

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@oratis oratis commented Aug 3, 2026

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Source-verified assessment of DeepCode after 0.2.0, against Claude Code and Codex — capabilities, interface, and where the next round of effort should go. Lands as docs/THREE_WAY_REVIEW.md + a README pointer.

Why

BEHAVIOR_PARITY.md has drifted behind the code more than once, so every row here was checked against the source instead. Baseline verified on this tree: pnpm typecheck passes, pnpm test exits 0.

Headline

The kernel (tools, hooks, skills, plugins, MCP, sessions, sandbox, sub-agents, cron) is competitive with Claude Code, and 0.2.0 added the expensive part — app-server, Thread/Turn/Item, thin clients, credential boundary. The remaining gaps are not feature-list gaps:

  • A — the CLI presentation layer is a generation behind. A readline REPL against two full-screen TUIs: no colour, no diff, reasoning dropped on the floor, approvals are a bare y/n/a.
  • B — the security default is the opposite of Codex's. Sandbox is off unless configured, and one mode still expresses both permission profile and approval policy — the split the alignment plan called for in §5.5.
  • C — built capabilities with no outlet. workspace/diff and review apply/revert exist in the protocol and in VS Code, but the desktop has zero entry points for them, and zero slash commands (the PlusMenu still says "palette lands in v0.2").

Also filed

15 concrete findings with source anchors, including: five --help-documented flags that are parsed and never consumed; --bare copy describing a different feature; version fields still at 0.1.6 while the changelog says 0.2.0; three "Claude Code parity" strings contradicting the README's current positioning; CLAUDE.md not read by the memory loader.

Follow-up PRs work through these in the priority order the doc proposes.

Review notes

Doc-only — no code paths touched. The Codex column is grounded in its stable public design and carries an explicit confidence note; none of the conclusions depend on a single command-level detail.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

A source-verified assessment of where DeepCode stands after 0.2.0, used to
set the next round of priorities. Everything in it was checked against the
code rather than against BEHAVIOR_PARITY.md, which has drifted before.

Headline: the kernel and the 0.2.0 app-server architecture are competitive;
the gaps are (a) the CLI presentation layer, (b) sandbox-off-by-default plus
a single `mode` conflating permission profile and approval policy, and
(c) capabilities that exist in the protocol but have no UI outlet.

Also files 15 concrete findings (dead --help flags, wrong --bare copy,
version skew, parity wording, CLAUDE.md not read, ...) that the follow-up
PRs work through.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
@oratis
oratis merged commit 5a9dde3 into main Aug 3, 2026
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