# Cursor vs Codex

The widest gap of the three: one keeps you inside the file watching every edit, the other takes the task away and brings back a branch.

## The two options

### Cursor (editor)

An editor with the agent inside it: changes appear in the file, with accept and reject buttons.

Pick it if:
- You already live in an editor and do not want to move
- You want to accept one part of a change and reject another by clicking
- Seeing an edit surrounded by the code it affects matters more to you than running commands

What will annoy you: Its reach stops at the editor. Running the suite, checking a branch, reading a log — it can suggest the command, but it is not the one running it and reading the answer.

### Codex (terminal and remote)

The same terminal loop, plus a mode where you hand over a task and get back a pull request.

Pick it if:
- Your work splits into well-specified chunks you can describe up front
- You already review other people's code and are comfortable judging a diff cold
- You want work happening while you are doing something else

What will annoy you: Two modes means two mental models. In the remote one there is no conversation to rescue a vague request — you find out at the end.

## What is the same

- Both produce real changes to real files that you review before they count
- Both reward a clearly stated request far more than a clever one
- Both leave you responsible for what ships

## Do you want to watch the work, or receive it?

These sit at opposite ends. Cursor is maximum supervision — every hunk passes under your eye. Codex's remote mode is minimum — you write the task well or you get the wrong thing. If you are still learning what good output looks like, take the supervision; the feedback is the education, and handing the work away removes exactly that.

## Go deeper

- [Cursor and editor-first tools](https://zero2vibecode.com/learn/ai-coding-tools/1-3-cursor-and-editor-first-tools)
- [Where an agent can live](https://zero2vibecode.com/learn/ai-coding-tools/0-2-terminal-agents-vs-editor-agents)

Source: https://zero2vibecode.com/compare/cursor-vs-codex