alternatives
Agentbox alternatives
TL;DR
Agentbox, by Savannah Feder (agentbox.ac), is a free, GPL desktop app that runs many Claude Code and Codex agents at once, each in its own git worktree and branch. It's not the more-starred madarco/agentbox (agents in sandboxed VMs) or devilcoolyue/agentbox. Your agents show up as an inbox: only the ones that are done or stuck appear, each as a card with numbered options you answer with one key.
The catches are scope and age. It runs only Claude Code and Codex. Windows has no build yet, and Linux means a browser mode or a source build. It's also about five weeks old: in October, version 0.1.13 deleted three worktrees that belonged to another app, and the maintainer fixed it in the next release.
Pane runs any agent CLI in its own terminal and worktree, on Windows, WSL, macOS and Linux. Orca and Emdash support dozens of agents, and Agent Orchestrator keeps a board that feeds failing checks back to agents.
the alternatives
Every tool here runs several coding agents at once. The chips show where each one runs: green is native, amber has a catch, red is no.
1.Pane
Best for any agent CLI, not just Claude Code and Codex, with Windows and WSL covered.
Agentbox hides running agents behind an inbox. Pane keeps all of them in view, each in its own terminal UI and worktree, and its status dots tell you which one is waiting. Review in the Changes panel and commit, push and merge on shortcuts. Free, AGPL-3.0, no account.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
2.Orca
Best for 40 agents, phone apps and SSH hosts in one app.
An MIT desktop app with real terminals, worktrees, a diff viewer, commit and PR buttons, a built-in browser and issue trackers. It also runs agents inside WSL, and has iOS and Android apps.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
3.Emdash
Best for turning issue-tracker tickets into parallel agent tasks.
Apache-2.0. Runs 35 agents in worktrees and pulls tasks from 12 issue trackers and SSH projects. No account needed. No WSL mode.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
Best for a board of agents that handles the pull request loop.
Apache-2.0. Shows a live Kanban board with each agent in its own worktree, and sends failing checks and review comments back to the agent that wrote the code. Repos inside WSL aren't handled.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
which one should you pick?
stay with agentbox if
- → you run lots of Claude Code or Codex tasks on a Mac and want to triage them like email, one card at a time
- → you like answering agents from the keyboard: 1, 2, 3 to pick, E to approve, R to reply
- → you queue more tasks than you have session slots and want the most important work to start first
- → you want repeating tasks, like weekly dependency updates
- → you want agents that can't edit code or run commands until you allow it
pick pane if
- → you use Gemini CLI, Amp, OpenCode, Cursor or any agent besides Claude Code and Codex
- → you work on Windows, keep repos inside WSL, or want an installed Linux app
- → you want every agent's terminal UI open side by side, not only the ones that finished
pane vs agentbox at a glance
yespartly, or with a catchno
| pane11 yes · 0 partly · 0 no | agentbox5 yes · 5 partly · 1 no | |
|---|---|---|
| basics | ||
| what it is | a desktop app | a Mac desktop app, with a browser mode |
| platforms | ||
| Windows | yes, native (x64 and ARM64) | no; Windows fixes began merging in November 2026, no build yet |
| repos inside WSL | yes, in the same app | not documented |
| macOS | yes | yes, signed (Apple silicon and Intel) |
| Linux | yes (AppImage, .deb) | browser mode via npx, or build from source |
| agents | ||
| agents | any CLI | Claude Code and Codex |
| how agents run | the agent's own terminal UI | headless, shown as inbox cards with a reply box; a terminal per task |
| what needs you | status dots and notifications | an inbox of agents that are done or stuck |
| everyday work | ||
| worktree per task | yes, by default | yes, automatic |
| review and git | Changes panel, diff tabs, commit, push, merge | changes beside each task, one-key merge |
| safety and setup | ||
| license | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| account needed | no | no |
basics
what it is
pane
agentbox
a Mac desktop app, with a browser modeplatforms
Windows
pane
agentbox
no; Windows fixes began merging in November 2026, no build yetrepos inside WSL
pane
agentbox
not documentedmacOS
pane
agentbox
yes, signed (Apple silicon and Intel)Linux
pane
agentbox
browser mode via npx, or build from sourceagents
agents
pane
agentbox
Claude Code and Codexhow agents run
pane
agentbox
headless, shown as inbox cards with a reply box; a terminal per taskwhat needs you
pane
agentbox
an inbox of agents that are done or stuckeveryday work
worktree per task
pane
agentbox
yes, automaticreview and git
pane
agentbox
changes beside each task, one-key mergesafety and setup
license
pane
agentbox
GPL-3.0-or-lateraccount needed
pane
agentbox
noAgentbox facts checked on November 5, 2026 (Agentbox v0.1.22); Pane facts from Pane v2.4.157.
why people look for an agentbox alternative
Two agents, no Windows build yet, and very new.
Agentbox supports Claude Code and Codex, and you pick one per task. There's no documented way to add another CLI. Users have asked for Grok Build, pi, Hermes Agent and others (issues #21 and #46), and those requests are still open.
The Mac app is signed for Apple silicon and Intel. On Linux, you run it in your browser with npx agentbox-app, or build it from source, and its terminal needs a C++ compiler. Windows has no installer. In issue #48 (October 29, 2026), a contributor showed why agents couldn't start on Windows and proposed fixes. Five Windows fixes merged November 1 to 3, but no Windows build has shipped.
It's also young. The repo dates from late September 2026. In October, a cleanup sweep in version 0.1.13 deleted three git worktrees that belonged to Claude Code's desktop app, because it treated folders it hadn't created as its own (issue #43). The fix came in the next release.
moving from agentbox to pane
Your Claude Code and Codex logins carry over. Each inbox task becomes a Pane with its own terminal and worktree.
Your Claude Code and Codex plans come with you. Agentbox runs on those signed-in CLIs, and Pane starts the same ones with a click (Cursor too on macOS, Linux and WSL). Other agents, like Gemini CLI, Amp, OpenCode or Pi, go in as custom commands, which Agentbox can't do.
Where you'd file a task in Agentbox, make a Pane instead. It gets its own git worktree (a separate folder on its own branch, so agents don't overwrite each other's work), plus copies of your .env and agent config. You'll see each agent working in its terminal, and status dots and notifications point to the one that needs you. When it's done, the Changes panel shows the diff, and shortcuts commit, push and merge.
our verdict
Agentbox's inbox is a fresh take: one decision at a time, answered from the keyboard, with a priority queue behind it. Pane is the way out if you need more than Claude Code and Codex, work on Windows or WSL, or want each agent's real terminal in view. Orca bundles phone apps into an all-in-one app. Emdash starts tasks from your issue tracker. Agent Orchestrator runs a board that handles the pull request loop.
how we checked
We researched Agentbox at a desk and never installed it. On November 5, 2026 we read its README, site, signed Mac releases, npm package and issue tracker.
What we say about Orca, Emdash and Agent Orchestrator comes from their own docs and changelogs, read on October 3 and 4, 2026.
- What we ran
- → Desk research: Agentbox's README, site, releases, npm package and issue tracker, checked November 5, 2026. We didn't install or run it.
- Who wrote this
- We make Pane, so we have a stake in this. We checked every claim about Agentbox against its own site, docs, releases and issues on the dates above.
- Corrections
- If anything here is wrong or out of date, tell us and we'll fix it and update the date at the top. Open an issue on GitHub
- Sources
frequently asked questions
By Parsa Khazaeepoul, co-founder of Pane. .