alternatives
Kander alternatives
TL;DR
Kander (quicktui.ai/open-source/kander) is a free, MIT-licensed Kanban board for your terminal, made by dualface, who also makes the QuickTUI phone app. Each card is an agent working in a git worktree, a second working copy of the repo on its own branch. Agents run inside tmux or Herdr, terminal tools that keep sessions alive, so they keep going in the background. Separate reviewer agents must pass every card before it's delivered.
The strictness is the point, and it's also the main trade-off. You plan by chatting with an agent that has Kander's rules loaded. The rules want two branches, main and develop, and main only moves when you confirm. Review is done by agents, and its docs describe no diff viewer for you. One user opened an issue asking for a guide because the docs didn't make the first steps clear.
Pane is a desktop app for Windows, macOS, Linux and WSL, Microsoft's built-in Linux layer. You make each task yourself, read its diff, and merge on your own terms. Herdr and Claude Squad keep the terminal with less ceremony. Kandev keeps a board with approval steps.
the alternatives
Every option below runs several agents at once. Read the chips by color: green means native, amber means a catch, red means it won't run there.
1.Pane
Best for your own diff review, in a desktop app, with no develop branch to adopt.
Each task gets its own worktree and branch, and a real terminal for the agent. You read the diff in the Changes tab and commit, push or squash-merge to main with shortcuts. Want a second opinion? Start a reviewer agent in another tab. Free, AGPL-3.0, no account.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
2.Herdr
Best for the terminal Kander already uses on Windows, minus the board rules.
Kander runs its Windows agents inside Herdr. On its own, Herdr is a free, Apache-2.0 multiplexer that marks every agent as working, blocked or idle and keeps agents running after you detach. It runs natively on Windows, macOS and Linux. There are no diff or commit tools.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
Best for a plain list of agents in tmux, if Kander's rules feel heavy.
A free, AGPL-3.0 terminal app for Mac and Linux. Each agent (Claude Code by default, or Codex, Gemini, Aider or another CLI) gets a tmux session and a worktree, with a diff tab and push through the GitHub CLI (gh). Native Windows doesn't work. WSL works but isn't documented. It's in maintenance mode.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
4.Kandev
Best for a board with gated steps, without a terminal-only setup.
You open it in a browser or its desktop app. Each task walks through plan, build, review and PR, and you sign off before code ships. Builds exist for Windows, macOS and Linux, with WSL as its own install. Free, AGPL-3.0.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
which one should you pick?
stay with Kander if
- → you want every card reviewed by separate agents, with findings tracked until they're fixed
- → you like planning a task by chatting with an agent, then letting it create and run the card
- → your repos already use a main plus develop flow, and you want agents to merge their work into develop
- → you work in tmux or Herdr already, or check agents from your phone with QuickTUI
pick pane if
- → you want a desktop window instead of a terminal board
- → you'd rather read each diff yourself than leave review to agents
- → your repo doesn't use a develop branch and you don't want to add one
pane vs Kander at a glance
yespartly, or with a catchno
| pane9 yes · 0 partly · 0 no | Kander6 yes · 2 partly · 0 no | |
|---|---|---|
| basics | ||
| what it is | a desktop app | a terminal Kanban board plus agent rules |
| platforms | ||
| Windows | yes, native (x64 and ARM64) | yes (x64 and ARM64), needs Herdr |
| repos inside WSL | yes, in the same app | not documented |
| macOS | yes | yes, Apple Silicon and Intel |
| Linux | yes (AppImage, .deb) | yes (x64 and ARM64) |
| agents | ||
| agents | any CLI | nine built in, plus custom agents |
| everyday work | ||
| worktree per task | yes, by default | yes, by default |
| review and git | Changes panel, diff tabs, commit, push, merge | reviewer agents; agents merge their work into develop |
| safety and setup | ||
| license | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| account needed | no | no |
basics
what it is
pane
Kander
a terminal Kanban board plus agent rulesplatforms
Windows
pane
Kander
yes (x64 and ARM64), needs Herdrrepos inside WSL
pane
Kander
not documentedmacOS
pane
Kander
yes, Apple Silicon and IntelLinux
pane
Kander
yes (x64 and ARM64)agents
agents
pane
Kander
nine built in, plus custom agentseveryday work
worktree per task
pane
Kander
yes, by defaultreview and git
pane
Kander
reviewer agents; agents merge their work into developsafety and setup
license
pane
Kander
MITaccount needed
pane
Kander
noKander facts checked on November 5, 2026 (Kander v1.2.0); Pane facts from Pane v2.4.214 and its docs.
why people look for a Kander alternative
Strict rules, terminal only, and agents do the reviewing.
Kander is as much a rule set as an app. It writes rules into each agent's own rules file, such as AGENTS.md. You create cards by talking to an agent, and a card can't reach done without a review plan. Its git rules assume main and develop branches. Agents merge their work into develop, and main only moves when you confirm.
Its docs describe no diff viewer. You follow card status on the board while reviewer agents do the checking. On Windows it needs Herdr, because tmux isn't supported there, and WSL isn't documented. It's young, too: the repo started in September 2026 and hit v1.0.0 on October 29.
moving from Kander to pane
Your agents carry over. You make the cards yourself now.
Every agent Kander drives is a normal CLI, and Pane runs those too, logged in as before. Add your repository and create a Pane for each task by hand. A Pane is a workspace for one task, and you make it without a planning chat. Pane builds the worktree and branch and copies in your .env and agent config. To keep independent review, open a second agent in the same Pane and ask it to check the first one's work. Then read the diff yourself and merge to main.
our verdict
Kander is a serious system for gated, agent-reviewed work, and its author reports thousands of cards run through it. Pick Pane for a desktop app where you review and merge without its branch rules. Herdr gives you terminal monitoring without the rules. Claude Squad is the simplest terminal list on Mac or Linux. Kandev keeps the board and the approvals.
how we checked
Everything here is from reading, not running. On November 5, 2026 we went through Kander's README, docs, rules, changelog, releases, issues and product page.
Herdr, Claude Squad and Kandev are described from our profiles of October 3, 2026. Each got a second check on October 4.
- What we ran
- → Desk research: Kander's README, docs and rules in its repo, changelog, GitHub releases and issues, and its product page, checked November 5, 2026. We didn't install or run Kander.
- Who wrote this
- We make Pane, so we have a stake in this. We checked every claim about Kander 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. .