tech
January 16, 2026
OpenAI Has Some Catching Up to Do
Whoever wins vibe coding wins how you work on your computer—Claude Code is in pole position
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TL;DR
- The author's usage limit on OpenAI's Codex for building an agent-native Markdown editor highlights its capabilities but also a shift in preference.
- At a recent founder dinner, most programmers stated Claude Code with Opus 4.5 as their daily AI tool, a change from previous preferences for Codex CLI, GPT 5.1, and Droid.
- A year prior, GPT models were the dominant tools for this group.
- Claude Code's rise is attributed to Anthropic's strategic decision to build for developers, particularly with its terminal-first approach, rather than aggressive marketing.
- Anthropic's Claude Code, released in late February 2025, signaled a move towards a world where traditional code editors are less central.
- OpenAI responded with Codex CLI and Codex Web, but they were perceived as less effective than Claude Code.
- The article suggests Claude Code's focus on developer workflow and its distinct approach have reshaped the industry's direction.