MiniMax open-sources MiniMax Code terminal coding agent

MiniMax open-sourced MiniMax Code, a terminal coding agent that can understand projects, edit files, and run tests from the command line, with source on GitHub under the MIT license for first-party code.

SOFTWARE desk — another China lab is putting a coding agent CLI on GitHub under MIT, not just shipping a closed chat box.

What the license covers. TechNode says the project is available under the MIT license for its first-party code. MIT is a short open-source license. You may use, copy, change, and share that code, including in a product you sell, if you keep the copyright notice. The LICENSE file on the repository is the standard MIT text, with a 2026 MiniMax Code copyright line. The README adds a limit the headline can hide. First-party code defaults to MIT. Existing file-level and package-level licenses remain in place. First-party means code MiniMax wrote. A borrowed library can keep its own license. File the MIT line as TechNode’s and as the repository’s. Do not read it as a claim that every borrowed library is MIT.

Three ways to run it. TechNode says the repository supports an interactive terminal UI, a headless execution mode for scripts and CI, and the Agent Client Protocol for editor integrations. A terminal UI, or TUI, is the text screen you type into. Headless means the program runs without that screen, so a script can call it. CI, short for continuous integration, is the automated check that runs when code changes. The Agent Client Protocol, ACP, is a shared way for a code editor to send work to this agent. The README’s command table names the same three doors. One is the interactive TUI. One is a headless command for scripts, CI, batch work, and evaluations. One is an ACP command for editors and clients that speak the protocol. File that split as TechNode’s, with the README naming the same doors. This desk did not open an editor plugin.

Whose model it calls. TechNode says it supports MiniMax accounts as well as bring-your-own API keys and compatible third-party model endpoints. An API key is a secret token that lets the tool call a model. An endpoint is the web address of that model. Bring-your-own means you can point the tool at a model that is not MiniMax’s. The README says the same thing in product language: use a MiniMax account, or bring your own model. Sign-in offers a mainland China account and a Global account. Bring-your-own does not require a MiniMax login. The README lists three shapes a brought-in key can use: OpenAI’s chat-completions format, OpenAI’s responses format, and Anthropic’s messages format. Those names are the repository’s. They are not a score against those companies’ coding tools. This desk did not sign in.

What is in the repository, and what is not. TechNode says MiniMax said the published source covers the terminal TUI, the headless CLI, and the ACP components. CLI means command-line interface, the program you start by typing. The same article says the source repository does not include the MiniMax Code desktop application, which is distributed separately. The README repeats that split. Published source covers the terminal TUI, headless CLI, and ACP. It does not include the desktop application’s source. The desktop app has its own download page. This repository also takes bug reports for that desktop app. A bug report is not the app’s source code. File the split as TechNode’s and the README’s. Do not claim the desktop app is open source.

Do not invent a scoreboard. Do not print a star count. Stars on a code-hosting page change, and this filing does not use them. Do not claim a win over Claude Code, Codex, or any other named coding agent. Neither TechNode nor the repository’s README prints that comparison. Do not turn the MIT license on first-party code into a claim that the desktop app, or every dependency, is MIT. A public terminal agent is not a benchmark this desk ran.

Plain English for the rest of the card: terminal coding agent = software that reads a project, changes files, and runs checks from the command line. MIT = an open-source license that lets people use, change, and share the code if they keep the copyright notice. first-party code = code MiniMax wrote; borrowed libraries can keep their own licenses. TUI = terminal user interface, the text screen. headless = runs without that screen, so a script or a CI job can call it. CI = continuous integration, the automated test run when code changes. ACP = Agent Client Protocol, a shared way for an editor to talk to the agent. CLI = command-line interface. API key = a secret token that lets the tool call a model. endpoint = the web address of that model. desktop app = the separate MiniMax Code application, not in this repository. This filing is the 21 Sep open-source release. It is not a product test this desk ran.

PRIMARY here: the MiniMax-AI/minimax-code repository on GitHub — Tier A PRIMARY, the company’s own code record — and TechNode’s 21 Sep 2026 article “MiniMax open-sources MiniMax Code terminal coding agent,” the same-day news account. The open-source action, the understand / modify / run-tests lede, the MIT line for first-party code, the interactive terminal UI, the headless mode for scripts and CI, the Agent Client Protocol for editor integrations, MiniMax accounts plus bring-your-own API keys and compatible third-party endpoints, and the desktop-app exclusion are TechNode’s. The MIT LICENSE file, the README’s first-party-defaults-to-MIT line with other licenses remaining, the three-command table, the mainland China and Global sign-in, the three API formats, and the README’s repeat of the desktop exclusion are the repository’s. NOT claimed: a star count, a benchmark win versus Claude Code or Codex, that the desktop app is open source, that every dependency is MIT, that this desk installed the CLI or signed in, a stock tip, or investment advice. Distinct from the already-filed zai-zcode-open-source, xiaomi-mimo-v2-6, and azure-cosmos-spec-kit.