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Claude Code, OpenAI Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot CLI, Cursor CLI, and OpenCode all document MCP support, but their hooks, permission controls, and agent interfaces are not interchangeable. This is a selected comparison set—not a census of coding-agent CLIs—based on official documentation checked on October 4, 2026. Because vendor documentation and repository branches change, treat the comparison as a documentation snapshot, not a guarantee about every release or execution mode.

Which coding-agent CLIs document hooks, permissions, subagents, and MCP?

The table summarizes what the reviewed official documentation establishes. “Not verified” means the reviewed CLI pages did not establish the feature; it does not prove that the product lacks it. A feature described for an editor, cloud agent, desktop app, or another host is not automatically a terminal-CLI feature.

CLI Hooks Permissions Subagents or agents MCP
Claude Code Lifecycle hooks with documented event names, handler types, and settings scopes (Claude Code Docs, “Hooks reference”). Permission decisions and hook-mediated intervention are documented (Claude Code Docs). Custom subagents and subagent lifecycle events are documented (Claude Code Docs). CLI commands and JSON settings are documented (Claude Code Docs).
OpenAI Codex CLI Dedicated hooks documentation (Codex documentation). Dedicated permission documentation (Codex documentation). Dedicated subagents documentation (Codex documentation). Dedicated MCP documentation (Codex documentation).
Gemini CLI Hooks are covered in the official repository reference (Gemini CLI documentation). Settings and policy controls are documented (Gemini CLI documentation). Built-in and custom subagents are documented (Gemini CLI documentation). mcpServers configuration is documented (Gemini CLI documentation).
GitHub Copilot CLI CLI material describes hooks (GitHub Copilot CLI documentation). Approval prompts, CLI flags, and MCP tool allow/deny controls are documented (GitHub Copilot CLI documentation). A user-authored custom subagent interface was not established in the reviewed CLI pages (GitHub Copilot CLI documentation). Configured server tools can be allowed or denied (GitHub Copilot CLI documentation).
Cursor CLI Cursor documents hooks across Agent, Tab, and application lifecycle categories; exact availability depends on execution surface (Cursor documentation). Hooks can control actions, but a complete CLI-specific permission configuration model was not established in the reviewed material (Cursor documentation). Cursor documents subagents; check host and CLI-specific documentation for the exact interface (Cursor documentation). Cursor documents MCP; exact CLI parity was not established in the reviewed material (Cursor documentation).
OpenCode An official hook reference was not verified in the reviewed pages (OpenCode documentation). Permission rules include configurable ask and deny behavior (OpenCode documentation). Agent modes and agent configuration are documented (OpenCode documentation). MCP servers are documented (OpenCode documentation).

This is a feature-surface comparison, not a ranking. The reviewed documentation does not support a defensible claim that one CLI is categorically the most capable: event coverage, policy semantics, settings scope, and host differ, and exact release versions were not consistently pinned.

What do hooks let each CLI do?

A “hooks supported” label alone is not enough to predict what a hook can do. The useful distinctions are which lifecycle events are covered, whether a handler can merely observe or can alter or block an action, and where its configuration is loaded.

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Claude Code

Claude Code defines hooks as user-defined handlers that run at lifecycle points. Its documented events include PreToolUse, PermissionRequest, PostToolUse, SubagentStart, SubagentStop, and Stop. Handler types include commands, HTTP endpoints, MCP tool calls, prompts, and agents; documented settings scopes include user, project, local, and managed policy. The Claude Code Docs “Hooks reference” describes them as “user-defined shell commands, HTTP endpoints, MCP tool calls, LLM prompts, or subagents that execute automatically at specific points in Claude Code’s lifecycle.”

Cursor

Cursor’s hooks reference spans Agent, Tab, and application lifecycle categories, and describes command- and prompt-based handlers. It says hooks can observe, block, or modify behavior and includes categories for shell, MCP, file, and subagent events. Because the reference covers multiple execution surfaces, confirm that a particular hook is available in the Cursor CLI mode you use rather than assuming editor or cloud behavior carries over.

Codex, Gemini CLI, and Copilot CLI

Each has official documentation describing hooks, but the reviewed material does not establish a common event list, configuration format, trust model, or shared allow/block semantics. Compare the relevant product’s current hook reference for the exact event and action you need; do not infer Claude Code’s event names or behavior apply to these tools.

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OpenCode

The reviewed official OpenCode pages did not verify a hooks reference. That is an evidence boundary, not proof that OpenCode has no hooks.

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How do permission controls differ?

“Permissions” can mean interactive approvals, allow/deny rules, policy files, hooks that intervene in a lifecycle event, or sandboxing. Those mechanisms are not equivalent: an approval prompt asks at run time, a deny rule can prohibit an action, and a hook’s effect depends on its event and handler. The documentation set establishes these distinct surfaces but does not supply a consistent, release-pinned account of defaults and granularity for all six CLIs.

  • Claude Code: permission decisions are documented, and hooks include a PermissionRequest event. Do not treat that as a complete account of every permission default or rule.
  • Codex: the CLI has dedicated permission documentation. Consult it for the current approval and policy semantics rather than mapping another CLI’s terminology onto Codex.
  • Gemini CLI: settings and policy controls are documented. The reviewed material does not establish a directly comparable set of defaults across all six products.
  • GitHub Copilot CLI: documentation covers approval prompts and flags to allow or deny tools, including MCP tools.
  • Cursor: hooks can control actions, but the reviewed material does not establish a complete CLI-specific permission configuration model.
  • OpenCode: permission rules include configurable ask and deny behavior.

Before relying on a permission setup, verify the current CLI documentation for its defaults, the actions a rule can target, whether MCP tools can be named individually, how organization policy applies, and how sandboxing interacts with approval. Do not equate a bypass or “YOLO” mode with ordinary approval: it changes the protection posture.

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Which CLIs expose custom subagents?

Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor, and OpenCode document agent or subagent concepts. GitHub Copilot CLI’s reviewed pages did not establish a user-authored custom subagent interface; that should be read as “not verified here,” not as a definitive claim that delegation is unavailable.

The label alone does not tell you how delegation works. Check the product-specific documentation for how agents are authored and named, whether model and tool access can be scoped, whether MCP servers can be isolated, how delegation or recursion is controlled, and whether permissions are inherited. A system’s ability to call MCP tools is not, by itself, evidence of subagent support. Also check that the documentation describes the terminal CLI rather than an IDE or another host.

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How is MCP configured in each CLI?

All six products have MCP documentation in the reviewed sources, but MCP support does not make their configuration files portable. Each client can expose its own schema, scope, authentication settings, tool naming, and permission controls.

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Claude Code

Claude Code documents CLI commands and JSON settings for MCP, including claude mcp add-json and examples for HTTP and stdio servers. Use its own MCP documentation for the current command syntax and settings format.

Gemini CLI

Gemini CLI documents an mcpServers configuration object, server aliases, and a fully qualified tool naming convention prefixed with mcp_. That naming detail matters when identifying tools in the client; it is not a cross-client MCP naming standard.

GitHub Copilot CLI

Copilot CLI documentation describes allow/deny controls for tools from a configured MCP server. The reviewed material does not establish a complete side-by-side account of server transport, authentication, or configuration scope for all six clients.

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Codex, Cursor, and OpenCode

Each has dedicated MCP documentation, but the reviewed comparison does not provide enough pinned detail to state their exact configuration keys, transports, authentication options, or user-versus-project scopes here. Use the matching CLI’s MCP reference rather than copying another client’s JSON or command format.

How should you choose among these interfaces?

Start with the control you actually need, then verify it in documentation for the CLI and release you intend to run. This avoids choosing on feature labels that conceal important differences.

  1. For a lifecycle intervention, identify the event and whether your handler must observe, modify, block, or defer an action. Compare that against the CLI’s hook reference.
  2. For command or tool restrictions, check whether the CLI offers approvals, allow/deny rules, policy configuration, hooks, or sandbox controls for the specific action, and confirm their defaults.
  3. For delegation, establish whether the agent format is available in the terminal CLI, then check tool and MCP scope and how permissions apply to delegated work.
  4. For an MCP integration, use that client’s documented schema and confirm transport, authentication, config scope, tool naming, and server- or tool-level controls. Do not assume configuration can be copied between clients.
  5. For any security-sensitive workflow, verify product version, host, and organization policy in the relevant current documentation. The references are rolling documentation, not a single shared release snapshot.

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