Ask HN: Do you use Claude Code, Codex, or something else?

9 points by JohnDSDev 4 days ago | 23 comments

Do you use Claude Code, Codex, or a different vibe coding/agentic engineering tool for most of your work? Why?

rvz 4 days ago |

I use my brain, pen and paper, because I work on serious projects that are of high risk and are mission critical. Not toy projects on GitHub.

Secondly, there will be a time where companies like Anthropic will disallow you from using AI in their interviews.

So you are cooked if you are over-reliant on coding agents.

JohnDSDev 4 days ago | |

A.ctual I.ntelligence

Bnjoroge 3 days ago |

I use OMP. Was on Pi but switched over because I like OMP's subagents implementation. Use 5.5/4.8 for coming up with a very detailed plan, ds4pro/mimo for implementation of easy features, 5.5/4.6 for larger/harder features, and 5.5/4.6 for a review. I use them in onorca.dev(settled here after trying just about any "agent ade". i also sometimes use Zed as well. I'm curious to know if folks use any meta-harnesses?

vinhnx 3 days ago |

I have been building my own coding agent, VT Code (https://github.com/vinhnx/vtcode). I have now made it stable and mature enough, and I use it for most of my works.

JohnDSDev 3 days ago | |

Ohh nice! Maybe I'll try it, in your opinion whats the best/defining feature?

vinhnx 3 days ago | | |

Thank you! As creator of VT Code, I think it stands out with other coding harnesses; it is the vast realm of LLM providers and models that it can support. Also, I think the main reason I started VT Code in Rust is also a main `feature`, I believe. Let me know if you have any issues using it.

Amir6 3 days ago |

Whatever external (none-local) provider you use make sure to have backup plans. My horror story is below;

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48597861

yogorenapan 3 days ago |

Mimo Code has grown on me. Before that, a very janky Pi. I've realized that at one point I was spending too much time getting things exactly as I want them versus actually using the damn thing

magicalhippo 4 days ago |

Work I have access to both Claude Code and Codex. Use them both, typically on the same work. I like to do brainstorming and solution design with Codex GPT 5.5 High, and then have Claude Opus 4.7/4.8 high/medium do the implementation.

So far been quite productive for some greenfield rewrites and refactors of existing code. Though bug fixing our main project it's more hit and miss, though Codex GPT 5.5 High can be very good at spotting subtle issues.

Bnjoroge 3 days ago | |

How do you a) share context/chat etc with each other? plugin? have them make a file? Why did you opt for either of them instead of something like opencode that supports those models?

magicalhippo 3 days ago | | |

Currently we're mostly working on separate issues or aspects, so not much context sharing needed. We have some skills that we share in a shared network directory.

As for why using both instead of OpenCode or similar, well, subscriptions take you a long way for not very much. Also security is a thing here now so sec guys feel more comfortable with big names rather than "random" open source.

blinkbat 4 days ago |

claude - org pays for it. org used to pay for both, and i preferred codex back then (~3mo ago).

i find claude to be significantly lazier or require significantly more guidance. it does, however, have better design and ui/ux intuition.

ratio53 4 days ago |

At work we only have access to claude / kiro. I only use it via cli since I find this to be the most flexible setup as claude can find stuff anywhere, read, write and run programs etc.

ahriad 3 days ago |

I use Kilocode Vscode extension, still can't give up the IDE

V01t 3 days ago |

I really like Grok Build. Its TUI interface, sleek design, and ease of use have really won me over.

Akimsa3 3 days ago |

Yeah it helps a lot but you have to be very specific about what you ask word by word.

rishabhpoddar 3 days ago |

I use a mix of claude code, codex and cursor (composer 2.5). Whichever has more credits left.

Cbagenal 3 days ago |

Both, depends on which has the best model and/or the task I am doing. Frontend always CC.

Fotis-Karmpas 3 days ago |

i use Claude code and Codex as i find them budget friendly compared to replit and other vibe coding tools. I find Claude pretty good especially if you have a clear prompt.

gomilesfd 3 days ago |

i use cc for ui and fast iterations, and codex app for the rest. thanks to computer use, chrome use, ios sim, CDP, it's a super app - so i don't pick a side.

ukblewis 4 days ago |

Mostly just Codex

StahlGuo 3 days ago |

claude code + codex，for sure. I also actively try Other runtimes.