alternatives
Alethe alternatives
TL;DR
Alethe, by Kauã Miguel (github.com/Kc1t/alethe-agents), is a free, AGPL-3.0 desktop app built with Tauri. It puts Claude Code, Codex, Copilot and about nine more agent CLIs in saved split-pane layouts, each in a real terminal. It also keeps your agents' MCP servers (tools an agent can call) and skills in sync, and has an optional board where a lead agent hands work to cheaper workers.
People move on for three reasons. Apple Silicon users have hit a "damaged" error on three releases. Its Linux build has open bugs. And agents can't run on another machine yet.
Pane keeps the real terminals, makes a worktree for every task by default, runs agents in WSL repos and reaches your own server through Remote Pane. Orca and Emdash reach SSH hosts, and Agent Orchestrator keeps a live board of 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 Alethe's real terminals, with a branch per task and remote access.
Each pane is one agent in its own worktree, with diffs, commit, push and merge in the same window. Remote Pane runs the host on your own server, which Alethe can't do yet.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
2.Orca
Best for an even longer agent list, plus SSH hosts.
About 40 agents in real terminals, MIT-licensed, with SSH hosts, WSL repos and iOS and Android apps where Alethe has an unencrypted LAN page. It's large, around 1 GB installed.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
3.Emdash
Best for agents on SSH remotes, fed by your issue tracker.
Apache-2.0, about 35 agents, SSH remotes and tasks from 12 issue trackers. It has no WSL mode.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
Best for a live board of agents, if Alethe's lead-agent board is what you'd keep.
An Apache-2.0 desktop app that shows each agent as a Kanban card with its own worktree, and sends failing CI and review comments back to that agent on its own. It doesn't work with repos inside WSL.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
which one should you pick?
stay with Alethe if
- → you want a dozen agent CLIs in saved split layouts whose sessions survive a restart
- → you keep MCP servers and skills in sync across agents and want one tab for it
- → you like a lead agent handing tasks to workers, with cost and tokens on every card
- → you want the app to install missing agent CLIs for you
pick pane if
- → you want agents on your own server, reachable from a phone browser
- → your repos live inside WSL and you want agents in them, not just a WSL shell
- → you're on Windows ARM64 or Linux ARM64, which Alethe doesn't build for
pane vs Alethe at a glance
yespartly, or with a catchno
| pane8 yes · 1 partly · 0 no | Alethe5 yes · 4 partly · 0 no | |
|---|---|---|
| basics | ||
| what it is | a desktop app | a split-pane desktop app |
| platforms | ||
| Windows | yes, native (x64 and ARM64) | yes (x64) |
| repos inside WSL | yes, in the same app | a WSL shell in a pane |
| macOS | yes | yes, but Apple Silicon users report "damaged" errors |
| Linux | yes (AppImage, .deb) | x86_64 only (AppImage, .deb, .rpm); open Wayland and logout bugs |
| agents | ||
| agents | any CLI | about 12 built in, plus plain shells and plugins |
| everyday work | ||
| worktree per task | yes, by default | yes, from the Git panel |
| remote and teams | ||
| remote and phone | Remote Pane in a phone browser | no SSH; an unencrypted LAN phone view, off by default |
| safety and setup | ||
| license | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0; name and logo not covered |
| account needed | no | no; optional GitHub sign-in for settings sync |
basics
what it is
pane
Alethe
a split-pane desktop appplatforms
Windows
pane
Alethe
yes (x64)repos inside WSL
pane
Alethe
a WSL shell in a panemacOS
pane
Alethe
yes, but Apple Silicon users report "damaged" errorsLinux
pane
Alethe
x86_64 only (AppImage, .deb, .rpm); open Wayland and logout bugsagents
agents
pane
Alethe
about 12 built in, plus plain shells and pluginseveryday work
worktree per task
pane
Alethe
yes, from the Git panelremote and teams
remote and phone
pane
Alethe
no SSH; an unencrypted LAN phone view, off by defaultsafety and setup
license
pane
Alethe
AGPL-3.0; name and logo not coveredaccount needed
pane
Alethe
no; optional GitHub sign-in for settings syncAlethe facts checked on November 5, 2026 (Alethe v1.7.0); Pane facts from Pane v2.4.157, with its agent presets rechecked on v2.4.214.
why people look for an Alethe alternative
A macOS install error, Linux bugs that are still open, and no remote machines.
Alethe's macOS builds aren't notarized. On Apple Silicon, users report "Alethe is damaged and can't be opened" on v1.5.0, v1.6.0 and v1.7.0 (#98, #166, #364), and all three issues are open. The maintainer says a paid Apple certificate isn't feasible for an unfunded project.
On Kubuntu and Linux Mint, closing Alethe or a terminal logged people out of their desktop session (#205). Version 1.7.0 also opens to a blank gray window on recent Wayland setups (#304). There's no arm64 Linux build. Running agents over SSH is an open request (#287), and the phone view is plain HTTP on your local network. v1.7.0 came out on September 20, 2026, and no release has followed.
moving from Alethe to pane
Each split in your Alethe layout becomes a pane with its own worktree.
Alethe already runs official CLIs with your own logins, so they carry over. Where Alethe gave a project one layout of splits, Pane gives each task a pane on its own branch, with .env and agent config copied in. Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and Cursor are presets (Cursor on macOS, Linux and WSL), and Copilot CLI, Kiro or any other CLI from your Alethe list runs as a custom command.
Alethe's lead-agent board maps to Pane's orchestrator chat, which starts agents in new panes and steers them. The diff and file panes you opened by hand are the Files and Changes views in the inspector beside every pane. Alethe's MCP tab reads and copies servers in each agent's own config files, so those servers are still there when the agent runs in Pane.
our verdict
Alethe fits a lot into a free app: a dozen agents, MCP and skills management, and a lead-and-worker board. If you need agents on another machine or in WSL repos, Pane is the closest switch. Orca gives you the widest agent list with SSH and phone apps, Emdash pulls tasks from your tracker onto SSH remotes, and Agent Orchestrator suits you if the board is the part you'd keep.
how we checked
We read Alethe's README, docs, releases and issues on November 5, 2026. Its homepage returned HTTP 402 that day, so the GitHub repo was our only official source. We didn't run it.
Our notes on Orca, Emdash and Agent Orchestrator come from each project's docs, releases and issue tracker, researched on October 3, 2026 and rechecked on October 4.
- What we ran
- → Desk research: Alethe's README, docs, releases 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 Alethe 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
- → Alethe on GitHub
- → Alethe releases
- → Alethe docs
- → Alethe v1.5.0 "damaged" on Apple Silicon (#98)
- → Alethe v1.6.0 won't open on Apple Silicon (#166)
- → Alethe macOS "damaged" error (#364)
- → Alethe Linux session logout (#205)
- → Alethe gray window on Wayland (#304)
- → Alethe SSH request (#287)
- → Pane on GitHub
frequently asked questions
By Parsa Khazaeepoul, co-founder of Pane. .