What changed in the major AI coding CLIs?

Codex shipped over 150 updates in two months, adding SLGO for multi-agent parallelism, GPT-5.6 Ultra Mode, and inline editing for SEO [6643]. Plugins are now enabled by default, with npm marketplace integration, MCP tool search, system proxy support, and Amazon Bedrock models [6473]. A mobile update added task management and diff filters [745]. Claude Code released 'Frontend Design', an official skill for aesthetic-driven UI, with 161k GitHub stars [6462]. Anthropic standardized Fable 5 access at 50% for intensive plans and will include it in Max and Team Premium from July 20 [6259, 6076]. Claude for Teachers offers free premium capabilities to verified K-12 US educators [6630]. Kimi K3, a 2.8T parameter open-weight model, matches Fable 5 and GPT-5.6 on benchmarks and is integrated into Codex [6469, 6085]. Google's Gemma 4 uses MTP drafters for 3x faster generation locally [6641]. NVIDIA released DeepStream 9.1 with 13 agentic skills for video analytics via natural language [6636]. Hermes Agent v0.19.0 ships with 80% faster cold start, streaming reasoning, smart approvals, vault secret sources, and new model support [6640]. Vercel Labs released skills.sh, a package manager for AI agent skills supporting 60+ agents [6637]. A GitHub repository allows Claude Code to use free models like DeepSeek and Kimi, reportedly losing Anthropic 20,000 users [6634]. Anthropic released an official skill called Frontend Design for Claude Code that enforces aesthetic direction before code generation [6632]. Claude Code received numerous fixes including permission checks, session stability, and UI improvements [6610-6600, 6598-6596].[29]

Codex v0.144.3 introduced mobile control via ChatGPT, multi-agent handoffs, and DigitalOcean cloud workspaces [6642]. OpenAI released a major update enabling plugins by default, npm marketplace, and improved MCP tool search [6473]. Anthropic released Claude Sonnet 5, which can plan, use tools, and run autonomously [51]. Claude Code became free, and connecting it to free backends removes usage caps [841]. Anthropic announced standardizing Fable 5 access at 50% for intensive plans [6078], then released Frontend Design skill [6632]. Kimi K3 was released and integrated into Codex [6469, 6085]. Claude for Teachers launched [6630]. Gemma 4 with MTP drafters landed [6641]. DeepStream 9.1 was released with agentic skills [6636]. Hermes Agent v0.19.0 released with major improvements [6640]. Vercel Labs released skills.sh [6637]. A GitHub repository enabling free Claude Code usage gained traction [6634]. Claude Code received a large batch of fixes and improvements [6610-6596].[28]

OpenAI targets July 7 for GPT-5.6 release, with models Sol, Terra, and Luna [459]. Codex resets have expiration dates, with a potential global reset coinciding with the release [986]. Anthropic will include Fable 5 in Max and Team Premium plans at 50% limits starting July 20 [6076]. A hackathon runs July 7-13 [343]. Spriterrific, an AI sprite generation tool, is nearing release with agent-first integration [6084]. Claude for Open Source program expanded, offering 6 months of Claude Max 20x free [784]. Developer will present how App Store Connect CLI evolved into a self-maintaining tool using AI agents [6639].[7]