Independent guide. MiniMax-AI.chat is not affiliated with MiniMax. Product names, plans, interfaces, and availability were checked against MiniMax’s official pages on July 31, 2026.
MiniMax Agent is MiniMax’s general-purpose AI workspace for long, multi-step tasks. It can plan and produce research, websites, code, documents, images, and spreadsheets from a prompt and attached files. The browser product still uses the MiniMax Agent name; the related Windows and macOS desktop application is now documented as MiniMax Code. Agent Team can split suitable jobs among specialist agents, but features, models, quotas, and prices vary by product surface and plan.
MiniMax Agent quick facts
| Question | Current answer |
|---|---|
| What is it? | A general-purpose AI agent and workspace, not a foundation model |
| When was it introduced? | June 19, 2025 |
| Main uses | Research, coding, websites, documents, spreadsheets, media, and long-running tasks |
| Where can I use it? | MiniMax Agent on the web and mobile; MiniMax Code on Windows and macOS |
| Multi-agent option | Agent Team, selected explicitly for work that benefits from delegation and review |
| Current desktop version | Latest build and latest feature-bearing release: MiniMax Code v3.0.66 (August 19, 2026) |
| Is it free? | MiniMax may provide limited free or promotional credits; the amount and expiry are not guaranteed |
| Verification status | Core product review checked July 31, 2026; MiniMax Code release status refreshed August 20, 2026 |
What is MiniMax Agent?
MiniMax launched Agent in June 2025 as a general intelligent agent for complex, long-horizon work. Instead of answering only one question at a time, it can interpret a goal, break it into steps, use available tools, and assemble a finished result. MiniMax’s launch examples included explainers, narrated tutorials, interactive pages, and front-end projects.
The important distinction is that MiniMax Agent is a product, not the underlying model. MiniMax says the original Agent relied on multiple models. The current MiniMax Code product highlights MiniMax M3, while also allowing MiniMax-managed models and user-configured providers. The exact model, context window, tools, and cost can therefore depend on the interface, plan, and selected configuration.
MiniMax Agent vs MiniMax Code vs Mavis
The names overlap, but they should not be treated as four interchangeable models or products.
| Name | What it means | What it does not mean |
|---|---|---|
| MiniMax Agent | The original general-purpose Agent identity, still used on the web and in mobile listings | It is not a foundation model |
| Mavis | The name MiniMax gave the upgraded Agent experience introduced with Agent Team in May 2026 | It is not a separate API model or standalone download |
| MiniMax Code | The official current name of the desktop Agent app, with coding and general Work workflows | It is not limited to code, and it is not identical to every web/mobile Agent feature |
| Mini-Agent | A separate MIT-licensed developer framework for building a local agent with the MiniMax API | It is not the open-source edition of MiniMax Code |
Avoid the oversimplified claim that “MiniMax Agent was renamed Mavis and then MiniMax Code.” MiniMax specifically documented the MiniMax Code rebrand for its desktop application, while Agent branding remains visible elsewhere.
What can MiniMax Agent do?
Research and analysis
You can ask Agent to investigate a topic, compare options, synthesize sources, and produce a structured report. A useful request specifies the research question, acceptable sources, geography, date range, required citations, and the final format. Treat citations as leads to verify, not proof that every sentence is correct.
Websites, prototypes, and code
The launch material emphasizes programming, end-to-end page creation, visual design, and testing. On desktop, MiniMax Code adds local project context, file changes, terminal sessions, and browser previews. Generated software still needs human review for security, accessibility, licensing, and deployment configuration.
Documents, files, and spreadsheets
The live web interface exposes task shortcuts for Document, Website, Image Generation, and Spreadsheet work. Agent can use supplied material to draft, transform, or organize an output. Check formulas, totals, citations, dates, and exported files before relying on them.
Multimodal and connected workflows
MiniMax’s product material describes text, image, audio, and video understanding or generation, plus integrations through MCP and other connected tools. What is actually available can depend on the surface, account, region, and connected service. Connecting GitHub, Slack, Figma, or another service also gives the workflow access to additional data, so review permissions first.
Long tasks and Agent Team
Agent Team is intended for work that can be divided into specialist roles such as researcher, builder, and reviewer. MiniMax describes parallel execution, verification, and result aggregation. It is an explicit choice—not a guarantee that every complex prompt automatically creates a team—and it can consume more time and resources than one agent.
How to use MiniMax Agent
- Choose the right surface. Use the web Agent for browser-based creation and research. Use MiniMax Code when the task needs local project files, a terminal, browser previews, skills, memory, or desktop automation.
- Define the deliverable. State what to produce, for whom, the required format, success criteria, and what must not change.
- Provide bounded context. Attach only the files the task needs. Remove passwords, API keys, personal data, and confidential information.
- Select tools deliberately. Use Agent Team when independent subtasks and a reviewer add value. A small, linear task may be faster with one agent.
- Review the plan and permissions. Confirm the intended scope before allowing file changes, commands, browser submissions, or external messages.
- Inspect the evidence. Open cited sources, review diffs, test generated pages, recalculate important numbers, and scan downloadable files.
- Save a reproducible record. Keep the prompt, date, product surface, visible model or mode, plan, output, edits, and errors.
Prompt template for a reliable task
Goal: [the final outcome]. Audience: [who will use it]. Inputs: [files and trusted sources]. Constraints: [scope, date, budget, tools, and actions requiring approval]. Deliverables: [exact files or sections]. Acceptance checks: [facts, tests, citations, formatting, and failure conditions]. Ask before publishing, sending, purchasing, deleting, or changing anything outside the stated workspace.
Web Agent, mobile app, and MiniMax Code compared
| Surface | Best suited to | Important limit |
|---|---|---|
| MiniMax Agent web | Research, generation, documents, websites, spreadsheets, and Agent Team from a browser | Visible features and quotas can change by account or region |
| MiniMax mobile app | Agent access and conversational work on iPhone, iPad, or Android | It is not the MiniMax Code desktop workspace and may not expose the same local tools |
| MiniMax Code desktop | Local projects, files, terminal, built-in browser, Coding/Work modes, skills, memory, schedules, and Remote Control | Official downloads currently document Windows 10+ 64-bit and macOS 11+; no native Linux download is documented |
| Remote Control | Checking a running desktop task from a phone, adding instructions, and approving permissions | It is not full remote desktop or cloud execution; the desktop session must be running |
For installation details and platform links, see our MiniMax app and download guide. For local workflows, Browser Control, BYOK, and troubleshooting, use the dedicated MiniMax Code guide.
Agent Team: when to use it
Use Agent Team when a job has several workstreams that can be compared or reviewed: for example, market research plus a financial model plus an executive presentation. Give the team one shared definition of success, assign evidence standards, and ask a reviewer role to reconcile conflicts.
- Good fit: parallel research, multi-part product work, alternative implementations, or output that benefits from an independent verifier.
- Poor fit: a single fact, a minor rewrite, a small deterministic edit, or a task where duplicated context costs more than it helps.
- Watch for: duplicated work, inconsistent assumptions, longer runtime, extra consumption, and a polished synthesis that can still contain shared errors.
Our detailed MiniMax Code and Agent Teams guide covers delegation patterns without turning this page into a second competing Agent Team article.
MiniMax Agent pricing and free access
MiniMax can grant registered users limited free or promotional credits, but its subscription terms do not promise one fixed amount for everyone. Check the balance, eligibility, and expiry shown in your live account before starting a long task.
The official Token Plan documentation showed the following monthly global prices when rechecked on August 13, 2026. These plans are documented for MiniMax’s coding and token-plan usage; the web Agent may display surface-specific quotas or offers.
| Plan | Published monthly price | Capacity note |
|---|---|---|
| Plus | $20 | Usage-bar, rolling-window, and weekly limits apply |
| Max | $50 | Usage-bar, rolling-window, and weekly limits apply |
| Ultra | $120 | Usage-bar, rolling-window, and weekly limits apply |
Monthly price is not a guaranteed number of Agent jobs. Usage windows, weekly limits, task complexity, selected models, and peak-time throttling can affect practical capacity. Annual checkout terms and any displayed capacity estimates may change, so verify them in the live console. MiniMax recommends pay-as-you-go API billing for production workloads. See the MiniMax pricing guide for the broader API and plan breakdown.
Current MiniMax Code status
Latest build and latest feature-bearing release: MiniMax Code v3.0.66, released August 19, 2026. The changelog says it integrates H3 video generation and adds Site management, Fork & Rewind, Plan mode, MCP Servers configuration, text-selection comments, and smoother previews. The earlier v3.0.65 fix-only release and v3.0.63 feature release remain valid historical entries.
MiniMax Code v3.0.54 added Browser Control inside its built-in browser, including reading pages, filling forms, uploading workspace or task files, and checking results. It requests confirmation before outward-facing actions such as publishing, sending, or submitting. Browser Use 2.0 in v3.0.63 documents multi-tab use inside that built-in browser; it is not evidence that broader system-wide Computer Use has returned after it was temporarily disabled in v3.0.46.
Privacy, permissions, and safety
An agent can create more risk than a normal chatbot because it may receive permission to read files, run commands, use browser sessions, or connect to external accounts. MiniMax Code includes permission prompts and command-risk controls, but those controls do not guarantee that every action or output is correct.
- Do not put passwords, API keys, regulated data, or confidential business material in prompts or Memory.
- Use the smallest workspace, folder, account permission, and connected-service scope that can complete the task.
- Review file changes, terminal commands, browser submissions, purchases, publications, and messages before approval.
- Do not assume that a local desktop runtime means model processing is entirely on-device.
- BYOK can send data to the configured provider, whose own terms, retention rules, and charges then apply.
- MiniMax’s public Agent policy does not promise universal zero-data-retention or state one fixed retention period for every conversation and file.
For a policy-level review, read Is MiniMax AI Safe? and our workplace safety checklist.
Limitations to know before relying on MiniMax Agent
- Branding changes quickly. Agent, Mavis, and MiniMax Code names coexist across official surfaces.
- Availability is not uniform. A feature shown in an announcement may not be enabled in every product, plan, region, or account.
- Outputs still need verification. Sources can be misread, code can be insecure, totals can be wrong, and generated interfaces can fail accessibility or browser tests.
- Agent Team has overhead. More agents can mean more time, consumption, and opportunities for inconsistent assumptions.
- Desktop automation has operating conditions. Scheduled tasks require the computer to be awake and MiniMax Code to be running.
- There is no documented native Linux desktop app. Do not treat the web product or Mini-Agent framework as equivalent to one.
Who should use MiniMax Agent?
MiniMax Agent is most attractive to people who want one workspace to turn a detailed brief into a multi-part deliverable: researchers, marketers, founders, analysts, designers, and developers. MiniMax Code is the stronger surface when local repositories, terminals, browser previews, or repeatable desktop workflows matter.
It is a weaker fit for highly regulated or confidential work without an approved data-processing agreement, strict access controls, and an internal review process. It is also unnecessary for small questions that a conventional chat response can answer faster.
How we would test MiniMax Agent reproducibly
Our July 31 interface check verified that the live web workspace exposed Agent Team plus Document, Website, Image Generation, and Spreadsheet task choices. We did not treat visible buttons as proof that every account receives identical quotas or that every workflow succeeds.
A useful independent benchmark should run four frozen tasks: a sourced research brief, a small website, a downloadable document or presentation, and a long Agent Team task. Record the date, product surface, plan, visible model or mode, complete prompt, input files, elapsed time, consumption, human interventions, errors, source accuracy, output hashes, and a scoring rubric. Publish failed cases as well as successful ones. This protocol is more informative than judging Agent from a single polished demo.
MiniMax Agent FAQ
What is MiniMax Agent?
MiniMax Agent is a general-purpose AI product for planning and completing multi-step tasks such as research, coding, websites, documents, and media. It is not itself a foundation model.
Is MiniMax Agent free?
MiniMax may give registered users limited free or promotional credits, but the amount, eligibility, and expiration can change. Check the live account before assuming a task is free.
What can MiniMax Agent do?
Its documented uses include research, programming, websites, documents, spreadsheets, multimodal creation, connected-tool workflows, and long tasks. Actual tools vary by interface, plan, region, and account.
Is MiniMax Agent the same as MiniMax Code?
No. They are related Agent experiences, but MiniMax Code is the current desktop application with local workspace, files, terminal, built-in browser, and automation features. Agent branding remains on web and mobile surfaces.
What is Mavis?
Mavis is the name MiniMax used for an upgraded Agent experience announced in May 2026. It should not be described as a separate foundation model, API, or standalone download.
What are MiniMax Agent Teams?
Agent Team can assign specialist agents to subtasks, run suitable work in parallel, verify parts, and synthesize a result. It is an explicit choice and does not guarantee better or cheaper output.
Does MiniMax Agent have a desktop app?
The related desktop application is documented as MiniMax Code. Official downloads cover 64-bit Windows 10 or later and macOS 11 or later on Apple silicon or Intel. No native Linux desktop download is currently documented.
Can MiniMax Agent build websites and apps?
Website and coding workflows are central documented uses, and the web interface includes a Website task type. Generated projects still require testing for function, security, accessibility, licensing, and deployment readiness.
Is MiniMax Agent safe for confidential files?
Do not upload confidential, regulated, or secret data without an approved organizational policy and contract. Use least privilege, review every external action, and never store passwords or API keys in prompts or Memory.
How does MiniMax Agent pricing work?
Free or promotional credits can vary. MiniMax’s current Token Plan lists Plus, Max, and Ultra subscriptions, while web Agent quotas or offers can be surface-specific. Check the live account and official plan page before purchase.
Official sources and methodology
- MiniMax Agent launch announcement — product definition and original capabilities.
- Mavis and Agent Team announcement — the upgraded Agent identity and long-running collaboration.
- MiniMax Code documentation — current desktop scope and workflows.
- MiniMax Code changelog — v3.0.66 current release plus historical Browser Control and Computer Use status.
- Agent Team documentation — delegation and verification behavior.
- MiniMax Code installation requirements — supported desktop systems.
- MiniMax Token Plan — current plan names and prices.
- MiniMax Agent Privacy Policy and Terms of Service — data access, user responsibilities, and service terms.