Tool Selection Frameworks

Selecting a CLI coding agent for a team is not a feature comparison exercise — it is a systems integration decision. The framework: evaluate each tool on five axes — model quality (does it produce correct code in your stack?), ecosystem fit (does it integrate with your cloud, CI, and IDE?), cost structure (free tier, per-token pricing, enterprise licensing?), security posture (sandbox, permissions, data handling?), and team adoption friction (how long until developers are productive?). Weight each axis for your organization and score each tool.

The evaluation must be empirical, not theoretical. Run the same 10 tasks on all three tools: generate a component, review a PR, write tests, debug a failure, refactor a module, generate docs, analyze a dependency tree, set up CI, explain a complex function, and migrate a config file. Score each tool's output on correctness, completeness, and speed. One week of parallel evaluation produces better data than any feature comparison table. The tool that wins on your codebase with your team is the right tool — regardless of benchmark rankings.

TOOL EVALUATION SCORECARD

Category                 Weight   Gemini   Claude   Codex    Notes
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Code quality (your stack)  30%     ___      ___      ___     Test on 10 real tasks
Ecosystem integration      25%     ___      ___      ___     Cloud, CI, IDE, MCP
Cost at team scale         15%     ___      ___      ___     Monthly estimate
Security & compliance      15%     ___      ___      ___     Sandbox, data policy
Adoption friction          15%     ___      ___      ___     Days to productivity
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Weighted total            100%     ___      ___      ___

EVALUATION TASKS (run on each tool)
 1. Generate a new React component matching project conventions
 2. Review a 200-line PR for bugs
 3. Write unit tests for an untested module
 4. Debug a failing CI pipeline
 5. Refactor a 500-line file into smaller modules
 6. Generate API documentation from source code
 7. Analyze dependency tree for vulnerabilities
 8. Set up a new CI workflow
 9. Explain a complex recursive function
10. Migrate a config from YAML to TOML