Claude Code is a genuinely powerful CLI coding agent. Its context window handling and multi-file reasoning set a high bar in 2026. But it comes with real constraints - it requires an Anthropic API key, charges per token, locks you into Claude models only, and its source code is closed. For developers running local-first workflows, working in air-gapped environments, or simply preferring auditable tooling, those limitations are dealbreakers. The good news: the open-source ecosystem has matured...