Codex Pets
Comparison guide

Codex Pets vs VS Code Pets

Two projects share the word pets and a pixel heart, but they solve different problems. This guide compares them with reproducible registry queries and a decision table for agent hosts.By Codex Pets maintainers · Published May 26, 2026 · Updated July 30, 2026
Browse Codex petsVS Code Pets marketplace

How we tested

The Codex Pets maintainers ran these reproducible checks against the production Codex Pets deployment on July 30, 2026. Each one uses only public read-only routes, so any agent or human can repeat them verbatim.What we did not test: we did not run the VS Code Pets extension again for this update. Every competitor claim below comes from its official marketplace page, README, or docs, each linked in Sources.

List every approved pet as JSON

curl -s https://pets.ydb-qdrant.tech/api/manifest
{
  "generatedAt": "2026-07-30T08:55:38.316Z",
  "total": 146,
  "pets": [
    {
      "slug": "kesha",
      "displayName": "Kesha",
      "petJsonUrl": "/api/assets/asset_c4f97b4b4981/pet.json",
      "spritesheetUrl": "/api/assets/asset_c4f97b4b4981/spritesheet.webp",
      "zipUrl": "/api/assets/asset_c4f97b4b4981/pet.zip"
    },
    "… 145 more approved pets …"
  ]
}
Returned 146 approved pets when we ran it on July 30, 2026. Each entry carries the petJsonUrl, spritesheetUrl, and zipUrl a pack needs. (Run on July 30, 2026.)

Get install instructions for a slug

curl -s https://pets.ydb-qdrant.tech/api/pets/anime-girl-3/install
{
  "slug": "anime-girl-3",
  "name": "Anime Girl",
  "install": {
    "command": "npx @astandrik/codex-pets install anime-girl-3",
    "codex": {
      "mcpServer": {
        "addCommand": "codex mcp add codexPets --url https://pets.ydb-qdrant.tech/mcp"
      }
    },
    "cursor": {
      "command": "npx @astandrik/codex-pets install anime-girl-3",
      "note": "…"
    },
    "claudeCode": {
      "command": "npx @astandrik/codex-pets install anime-girl-3",
      "note": "…"
    },
    "manual": { "steps": ["…"] }
  }
}
Returned install commands for Codex, Cursor, Claude Code, and a manual pet.json plus spritesheet flow. (Run on July 30, 2026.)

Search the registry by keyword

curl -s "https://pets.ydb-qdrant.tech/api/pets?q=cat&pageSize=3"
{
  "total": 3,
  "pets": [
    {
      "slug": "pink-catgirl",
      "displayName": "Pink Catgirl",
      "tags": ["anime", "catgirl", "pink", "chibi"],
      "downloadCount": 47
    },
    { "slug": "neko-samurai-5", "displayName": "Neko Samurai" },
    { "slug": "carmine-2", "displayName": "Carmine" }
  ]
}
Top matches on July 30, 2026: Pink Catgirl, Neko Samurai, and Carmine. The MCP search_pets tool returns the same approved registry data. (Run on July 30, 2026.)

Get share snippets for a pet page

curl -s https://pets.ydb-qdrant.tech/api/pets/kesha/share
{
  "markdownBadge": "[![Codex pet: Kesha](https://pets.ydb-qdrant.tech/badge/kesha.svg)](https://pets.ydb-qdrant.tech/pets/kesha)",
  "markdownCard": "[![Kesha Codex pet](https://pets.ydb-qdrant.tech/card/kesha.gif?mode=sprite&scale=2&state=idle)](https://pets.ydb-qdrant.tech/pets/kesha)",
  "iframe": "<iframe title=\"Codex pet: Kesha\" src=\"https://pets.ydb-qdrant.tech/embed/kesha?mode=sprite&scale=2&state=idle\" width=\"360\" height=\"420\" loading=\"lazy\"></iframe>",
  "installCommand": "npx @astandrik/codex-pets install kesha",
  "installPrompt": "Install the Kesha Codex pet from https://pets.ydb-qdrant.tech/pets/kesha"
}
Returned ready-to-paste markdown badge, animated markdown card, iframe embed, and an install prompt for agent chats. (Run on July 30, 2026.)

What VS Code Pets actually is

VS Code Pets is a VS Code extension by Anthony Shaw. Per its marketplace page and README, it adds a panel with a bored cat, enthusiastic dog, feisty snake, rubber duck, or Clippy in your code editor.Codex Pets is the opposite shape: a public registry of pet packs (pet.json plus a spritesheet atlas) that AI coding agents discover, install, and animate on the machine they already run on.

Which one fits?

SurfaceUse whenExample
Codex Pets pet packsYour agent is Codex. The CLI installs packs into the Codex home directory; other hosts need the manual pet.json plus spritesheet steps.npx @astandrik/codex-pets install kesha
Codex Pets registry (MCP/HTTP)The agent should search or browse the approved catalog itself through tools or plain HTTP.search_pets, GET /api/pets?q=cat
Codex Pets share snippetsYou want a badge, animated card, or iframe of a pet inside a README, doc, or chat.GET /api/pets/kesha/share
VS Code Pets extensionYou want a pixel pet panel inside VS Code only, with no machine-level agent access and no pack installs.ext install tonybaloney.vscode-pets

Example pets from this guide

Approved Codex pets an agent can cite right now through the registry surfaces above.

Sources

Related guides

Codex Pets vs VS Code Pets - Codex Pets