After hearing lots of Opus 4.5 hype, I…

After hearing lots of Opus 4.5 hype, I decided to switch to Claude Code this month from Codex CLI (with which I have a separate set of frustrations), and I've learned two things:

Claude Code is significantly more productive (parallel by default) and generally smarter (smarter coding) than it was in August
When literally anything goes wrong, it routinely takes the path of least resistance (making excuses, declaring victory when things don't work, reaching for workarounds when basic reason points elsewhere)

Disappointed overall. Both GPT-5.2 and Opus 4.5 (and their CLI's surrounding chrome) feel barely improved since last summer.

Copied!

2.5k likes · January 26, 2026 at 5:40 AM

Got a taste for hot, fresh takes?

Then you're in luck, because you'll pay $0 for my 2¢ when you subscribe to my work, whether via RSS or your favorite social network.

I also have a monthly newsletter where I write high-tempo, thought-provoking essays about life, in case that's more your speed:

And if you'd rather give your eyes a rest and your ears a workout, might I suggest my long-form solo podcast, Breaking Change? Odds are, you haven't heard anything quite like it.