alternatives
bb alternatives
TL;DR
bb (getbb.app) is a free, MIT-licensed local server with desktop, browser and phone clients that runs Claude Code, Codex, Pi, Cursor and other agents as chat threads, and lets you extend it with plugins, script it, schedule agents and spread work across machines. People look elsewhere because agents don't run in their own terminal UI, the native Windows app only arrived as an alpha on October 2, 2026 and can't open WSL repos, the Mac app is Apple Silicon only, and its local API is unauthenticated. Pane is the closest alternative if you want each agent's real terminal: any CLI agent in its own worktree, git buttons built in, native on Windows x64 and ARM64, inside WSL, on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs and on Linux. Paseo and Omnigent are the picks for agent hierarchies and remote control.
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 each agent's real terminal, on every OS.
Each agent runs in its own terminal UI and worktree, with a Changes panel, commit, push and merge on shortcuts, and an orchestrator chat plus a CLI that agents use to run other agents. Any CLI agent. Free, AGPL-3.0, no account.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
2.Paseo
Best for phone apps and agent-to-agent tools.
Apache-2.0 daemon with desktop, phone, web and CLI clients for 40+ agents, with delegate, handoff and schedule tools. No account, no telemetry. Agents couldn't run in a WSL repo from the Windows app in our test.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
3.T3 Code
Best for a polished chat view with store phone apps.
MIT, with iOS and Android apps in the stores and usage tracking across providers. Young at version 0.1.x.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
4.Orca
Best for an all-in-one app with SSH hosts and a phone app.
MIT, 40 agents in real terminals, worktrees, a browser, issue trackers and remote servers. Runs agents inside WSL. Heavy at about 1 GB installed.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
5.Omnigent
Best for agent hierarchies with team guardrails.
Databricks' Apache-2.0 server: a lead agent hands work to other vendors' agents, with cost caps, approvals, sandboxes and shared sessions. Alpha, and needs a server.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
which one should you pick?
stay with bb if
- → you want to shape your own agent workbench with plugins, a CLI, an SDK and an API
- → you run manager and worker agents across Claude, Codex and others
- → you spread threads across several machines and check on them from a phone
- → you work on an Apple Silicon Mac, Linux or inside WSL
pick pane if
- → you want each agent's own terminal UI, with its exact commands and shortcuts
- → you want a native Windows app that also runs agents inside WSL
- → you're on an Intel Mac or Windows ARM64
- → you want to commit, push and merge from the app
pane vs bb at a glance
yespartly, or with a catchno
| pane9 yes · 1 partly · 0 no | bb3 yes · 7 partly · 0 no | |
|---|---|---|
| platforms | ||
| Windows | yes, native (x64 and ARM64) | alpha since Oct 2, 2026 (x64) |
| repos inside WSL | yes, from the Windows app | yes, if you run bb inside WSL |
| macOS | yes, Apple Silicon and Intel | Apple Silicon only (Intel via npx) |
| Linux | yes (AppImage, .deb) | alpha AppImage (x64) |
| agents | ||
| agents | any CLI | built-in providers plus ACP agents |
| how agents run | the agent's own terminal UI | a chat timeline |
| everyday work | ||
| worktree per task | yes, on by default | yes, optional |
| commit, push, merge | buttons and shortcuts | a Commit button, hidden by default since 0.48; push and PR via the GitHub plugin |
| remote and teams | ||
| phone | app coming soon; browser today | TestFlight and Android APK |
| safety and setup | ||
| license | AGPL-3.0, open source | MIT, open source |
| account needed | no | no (yes for bb connect) |
platforms
Windows
pane
bb
alpha since Oct 2, 2026 (x64)repos inside WSL
pane
bb
yes, if you run bb inside WSLmacOS
pane
bb
Apple Silicon only (Intel via npx)Linux
pane
bb
alpha AppImage (x64)agents
agents
pane
bb
built-in providers plus ACP agentshow agents run
pane
bb
a chat timelineeveryday work
worktree per task
pane
bb
yes, optionalcommit, push, merge
pane
bb
a Commit button, hidden by default since 0.48; push and PR via the GitHub pluginremote and teams
phone
pane
bb
TestFlight and Android APKsafety and setup
license
pane
bb
MIT, open sourceaccount needed
pane
bb
no (yes for bb connect)Facts checked on October 3 and 4, 2026 (bb v0.45.0 and Pane v2.4.157). Rechecked on November 5, 2026 against bb v0.48.1.
why people look for a bb alternative
Chat instead of terminals, and young platform support.
bb drives agents through their SDKs, app-server or ACP and shows the result as a chat timeline, so you don't get Claude Code's or Codex's own interface, and slash commands work only as far as bb maps them. Gemini CLI and Aider aren't supported out of the box.
Native Windows support shipped as an alpha on October 2, 2026; before that, Windows meant running bb inside WSL. The native build is x64 only, unsigned, and refuses UNC paths, so it can't open a repo inside WSL. The Mac desktop app is Apple Silicon only, Linux is an alpha AppImage, and the phone apps aren't in the stores. bb's own README warns that its local API is unauthenticated and can run commands, and in our run the commit button had no message field.
moving from bb to pane
Your agents and logins carry over. Threads become panes, each with a real terminal.
bb picks up your existing Claude Code and Codex logins, and so does Pane. Open your repository in Pane and create a pane per task: each gets its own worktree and branch by default, where bb makes worktrees optional. Start Claude Code, Codex or Cursor with a click, or Pi, Oh My Pi, OpenCode, Grok, Hermes, Gemini CLI or Aider as custom commands, each in its own terminal UI.
For manager and worker setups, Pane's orchestrator, Sessions, starts agents in other panes and reads back their reports, and the runpane CLI lets any agent do the same from a script. Review in the Changes panel and commit with your own message, then push and merge with shortcuts. Loops and scheduled work run through the runpane CLI and your own cron.
our verdict
bb is the most hackable agent workbench around, and it's free. If you'd rather have each agent's real terminal and a native app on every OS, including Windows with WSL and Intel Macs, Pane is the most direct alternative. Paseo and Omnigent cover agent hierarchies and remote control in other ways.
how we checked
On October 3 and 4, 2026 we ran bb 0.45.0 three ways on Windows 11: inside WSL2 (Ubuntu 24.04) with the web UI, natively through npx, and with the new Windows desktop app, with real Claude Code and Codex tasks. Pane, Paseo, T3 Code, Orca and Omnigent ran on the same PC.
Facts about each product come from its own docs, changelog, issue tracker and source code, checked on the same dates.
- What we ran
- → Pane 2.4.155 on Windows 11, native and WSL2 (Ubuntu 24.04) repos
- → bb 0.45.0 inside WSL2, natively through npx and as the Windows desktop app, with real Claude Code and Codex tasks, October 3 and 4, 2026
- Who wrote this
- We make Pane, so we have a stake in this. We tried to be fair: bb's strengths are listed as plainly as Pane's, every claim was checked against the product itself or its docs and source, and the screenshots are unedited captures from our own runs.
- 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
more comparisons
By Parsa Khazaeepoul, co-founder of Pane. .