alternatives
Ghostex alternatives
TL;DR
Ghostex is a free, MIT-licensed native app that keeps Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and about 20 other agents alive in persistent terminals, draws a chat view over each one, and adds a browser, VS Code, a Kanban, remote hosts, cloud boxes and an Android app. People look elsewhere because it's a one-person project that ships several releases a day, with regressions to match; the surface is huge, with 451 settings; agents share one checkout unless you set up worktrees; commits failed silently twice in our test; and there's no Intel Mac build. Pane is the closest steadier alternative: each agent in its real terminal and its own worktree by default, with review, git and an orchestrator, native on Windows, inside WSL, Intel and Apple Silicon Macs and Linux. Orca is the pick if you want a similar all-in-one with a bigger team behind it.
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 real agent terminals with a worktree per task, on every OS.
Each agent runs in its own terminal UI and worktree, with a Changes panel, commit, push and merge on shortcuts, a built-in browser and an orchestrator chat. Free, AGPL-3.0, no account. Phone app coming soon; Remote Pane works in a phone browser today.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
2.Orca
Best for a similar all-in-one with a larger team.
MIT, 40 agents in real terminals or a chat view, worktrees, design mode, issue trackers, SSH hosts and iOS and Android apps. Heavy at about 1 GB installed.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
3.T3 Code
Best for a calm chat view with store phone apps.
MIT, fast, with iOS and Android apps and usage tracking across providers. Young at version 0.1.x; its WSL backend crash-looped in our test.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
4.Herdr
Best for persistent agent sessions without the extras.
An Apache-2.0 agent-aware terminal multiplexer whose server keeps agents alive and restores them after a restart. Every OS, including WSL.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
5.Paseo
Best for phone control for many agents, no account.
Apache-2.0 daemon with desktop, phone, web and CLI clients for 40+ agents. No telemetry. Agents couldn't run in a WSL repo from the Windows app in our test.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
which one should you pick?
stay with ghostex if
- → you run many agents at once and want a chat view over their real terminals
- → you want a browser, VS Code, Kanban and scheduled runs in the same window
- → you want agents to survive the app quitting, and an Android app
- → you're on an Apple Silicon Mac or Linux and don't mind daily change
pick pane if
- → you want a worktree per task by default, so agents never share a checkout
- → you want a smaller, steadier app with fewer settings
- → you're on an Intel Mac
- → you want commit, push and merge that tell you when something fails
pane vs ghostex at a glance
yespartly, or with a catchno
| pane8 yes · 2 partly · 0 no | ghostex6 yes · 4 partly · 0 no | |
|---|---|---|
| platforms | ||
| Windows | yes, native (x64 and ARM64) | yes (x64 and ARM64), unsigned |
| repos inside WSL | yes: agents, terminals and git run in the distro | yes, WSL mode |
| macOS | yes, Apple Silicon and Intel | Apple Silicon only |
| Linux | yes (x64 and ARM64) | yes (x64 and ARM64) |
| agents | ||
| agents | any CLI | any CLI; chat view for about 20 |
| how agents run | the agent's own terminal UI | real terminal with a chat view on top |
| everyday work | ||
| worktree per task | yes, on by default | available; one shared checkout by default |
| agents after you quit | sessions resume when you reopen | keep running in its daemon |
| remote and teams | ||
| phone | app coming soon; browser today | Android app; iOS on TestFlight |
| safety and setup | ||
| license | AGPL-3.0, open source | MIT, open source |
| account needed | no | no |
platforms
Windows
pane
ghostex
yes (x64 and ARM64), unsignedrepos inside WSL
pane
ghostex
yes, WSL modemacOS
pane
ghostex
Apple Silicon onlyLinux
pane
ghostex
yes (x64 and ARM64)agents
agents
pane
ghostex
any CLI; chat view for about 20how agents run
pane
ghostex
real terminal with a chat view on topeveryday work
worktree per task
pane
ghostex
available; one shared checkout by defaultagents after you quit
pane
ghostex
keep running in its daemonremote and teams
phone
pane
ghostex
Android app; iOS on TestFlightsafety and setup
license
pane
ghostex
MIT, open sourceaccount needed
pane
ghostex
noFacts checked on October 3 and 4, 2026 (Ghostex v10.11.1 and Pane v2.4.157). Rechecked on November 5, 2026 against Ghostex v10.47.0.
why people look for a ghostex alternative
Daily releases, a huge surface, and a shared checkout by default.
Ghostex is almost entirely one developer's work, and it moves extremely fast: three releases shipped on October 4, 2026 alone, and regressions have removed features between versions. It has 451 settings, about 100 CLI commands and dozens of views, and its chat view depends on reading each agent's transcript files, so upstream CLI changes can break it until Ghostex catches up.
In our run, agents shared one checkout by default and we couldn't find Add Worktree from any menu, two commits failed silently with no message, and the Windows binaries are unsigned. The Mac build is Apple Silicon only, and iOS is TestFlight by Discord invite.
moving from ghostex to pane
Your agents and logins carry over. Each task gets its own worktree.
Ghostex runs each agent's real CLI, and so does Pane, with the same logins and subscriptions. Open your repository in Pane and create a pane per task: each gets its own worktree and branch by default, with .env and agent config folders copied in. Start Claude Code, Codex or Cursor with a click, or OpenCode, Pi, omp, Gemini CLI, Hermes or any other CLI as a custom command.
Review in the Changes panel and commit, push and merge with shortcuts. If your repo lives in WSL, Pane runs the agents, terminals and git inside the distro. Layout, tabs, scrollback and agent sessions come back when you reopen Pane.
our verdict
Ghostex is one of the most feature-packed free agent apps, built at astonishing speed. If you want parallel agents in their own worktrees with a smaller, steadier app on every OS, Pane is the most direct alternative. For a similar all-in-one, Orca; for persistence alone, Herdr.
how we checked
On October 4, 2026 we ran Ghostex 10.9.1 on Windows 11 in native mode and in WSL mode (Ubuntu 24.04), with Claude Code and Codex in parallel, reviewed and committed a change, and measured start-up. Pane, Orca, T3 Code, Herdr and Paseo ran on the same PC.
Facts about each product come from its own docs, changelog, issue tracker and source code, checked on October 3 and 4, 2026.
- What we ran
- → Pane 2.4.155 on Windows 11, native and WSL2 (Ubuntu 24.04) repos
- → Ghostex 10.9.1 on the same PC in native and WSL modes with Claude Code and Codex, October 4, 2026
- Who wrote this
- We make Pane, so we have a stake in this. We tried to be fair: Ghostex'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. .