alternatives

Lanes alternatives

TL;DR

Lanes (lanes.sh) is a native Mac app that puts every coding-agent session on an issue board. Each card holds live agent terminals, the diff, and a git worktree: its own folder of the repo, checked out on a separate branch. The same window has a git client, a Monaco editor and a SQLite browser.

Three things push people away. It's Mac only, and a request for Windows and Linux has sat unanswered since May 2026. It's proprietary: the public repo holds builds and plugins, and the README says "All rights reserved." And only Claude Code and Codex get status and resume. Other CLIs run as plain shells.

Pane is open source (AGPL-3.0) and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and WSL, the Linux environment Windows ships with. Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and OpenCode get status tracking, and any other CLI runs in its own terminal. Orca packs the most into one app. Agent Orchestrator and dev-3.0 keep a board.

or
Download*
Windows SmartScreen warningDirect downloads can show a SmartScreen warning while Pane is unsigned. Pane is fully open source, so you can audit the code and build from source yourself.1. Click More info2. Click Run anyway3. Continue the installerThe PowerShell install downloads the official release directly and avoids most browser download friction.npm global install
Paste that in PowerShell.Linux

the alternatives

All four are open source and run several agents at once. A green chip means native support on that system, amber a catch, red no support.

  1. 1.Pane

    Best for open source, every OS, and status for more than two agents.

    Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and OpenCode get status and resume after a restart, and every other CLI still runs in a real terminal. Each task is a Pane with its own worktree, in a sidebar rather than a board. Commit, push and merge are shortcuts. AGPL-3.0, with no paid tier.

    WindowsWSLmacOSLinux

  2. 2.Orca

    Best for the closest all-in-one to Lanes, on every OS and open source.

    Free and MIT, with about 40 agents, real terminals, diffs, and buttons to commit and open PRs. Like Lanes, it creates work from GitHub and Linear issues, and it adds Jira and GitLab. It opens WSL repos too.

    WindowsWSLmacOSLinux

  3. 3.Agent Orchestrator

    Best for a free, open-source board that tracks a whole team of agents.

    A live Kanban board where each agent works on its own copy of the code. Failing CI and review comments on a PR go straight back to the agent that wrote it. Apache-2.0. It ships for Windows and Linux on x64, and for macOS. It doesn't open WSL repos.

    WindowsWSLmacOSLinux

  4. 4.dev-3.0

    Best for a free, open-source board if you're staying on a Mac.

    Apache-2.0, with every card an agent in its own worktree and tmux session. Hover a card to watch its terminal, and comment on the diff to send notes back. The Mac app is the mature one. Windows has a new x64 zip, and Linux runs as a server you open in a browser.

    WindowsWSLmacOSLinux

which one should you pick?

stay with Lanes if

  • → you're on a Mac and want a native app with an issue board, dependencies between issues and per-project tabs
  • → you want a git client, an editor and a SQLite browser next to your agents
  • → you want to import a GitHub or Linear sprint onto the board, or add teammates on the Pro plan

pick pane if

  • → you work on Windows, in WSL or on Linux, or move between machines
  • → you want source code you can read, under AGPL-3.0
  • → you rely on agents besides Claude Code and Codex, like Cursor, Gemini CLI or Amp

pane vs Lanes at a glance

yespartly, or with a catchno

pane9 yes · 0 partly · 0 noLanes3 yes · 2 partly · 4 no
basics
what it isa desktop appa native macOS app with an issue board
platforms
Windowsyes, native (x64 and ARM64)no
repos inside WSLyes, in the same appno
macOSyesyes, Ventura or later
Linuxyes (AppImage, .deb)no
agents
agentsany CLIClaude Code and Codex tracked; others as plain shells
everyday work
worktree per taskyes, by defaultyes, by default in git repos
review and gitChanges panel, diff tabs, commit, push, mergediff, commit, publish, branches, open a PR
safety and setup
licenseAGPL-3.0proprietary
pricefreefree for 1 user; Pro $19/month

basics

what it is

pane

a desktop app

Lanes

a native macOS app with an issue board

platforms

Windows

pane

yes, native (x64 and ARM64)

Lanes

no

repos inside WSL

pane

yes, in the same app

Lanes

no

macOS

pane

yes

Lanes

yes, Ventura or later

Linux

pane

yes (AppImage, .deb)

Lanes

no

agents

agents

pane

any CLI

Lanes

Claude Code and Codex tracked; others as plain shells

everyday work

worktree per task

pane

yes, by default

Lanes

yes, by default in git repos

review and git

pane

Changes panel, diff tabs, commit, push, merge

Lanes

diff, commit, publish, branches, open a PR

safety and setup

license

pane

AGPL-3.0

Lanes

proprietary

price

pane

free

Lanes

free for 1 user; Pro $19/month

Lanes facts checked on November 5, 2026 (Lanes v0.50.0); Pane facts from Pane v2.4.214 and its docs.

why people look for a Lanes alternative

Mac only, closed source, and two tracked agents.

Lanes needs macOS Ventura or later, and every release is a Mac universal build. Issue #7, "Request: Support Windows and Linux builds," has been open since May 19, 2026 with no reply. So there's nothing for WSL either.

The public GitHub repo isn't the app's source. It holds release builds and Claude Code plugins, GitHub shows no license, and the README ends "Proprietary. All rights reserved." In the app, Lanes reads state and resumes sessions only for Claude Code and Codex. Anything else runs as a plain shell session.

moving from Lanes to pane

Your agents carry over. Issues become Panes, without the board.

Lanes and Pane both run the agent CLIs already on your machine. Open your repo in Pane and make one Pane per issue. Each gets a worktree and branch, and your .env and agent config come along. The board, columns and issue dependencies stay behind, since Pane has no task board. Panes sit in a sidebar, with a status color and a notification when an agent finishes or needs you. You still get an editor and a git history view, and commit, push and merge each have a shortcut. There's no Create-PR button, so PRs come from an agent or gh.

our verdict

Lanes is one of the most complete Mac apps for running agents from an issue board, and the free plan covers one person. Pane fits if you want open source or need Windows, WSL or Linux. Orca is the closest all-in-one. Agent Orchestrator keeps a board and feeds CI failures back to agents. dev-3.0 is a free, open-source board for Mac users.

how we checked

This is desk research. On November 5, 2026 we read the README in Lanes' public repo, its docs and pricing page, and its releases and issues. We didn't install it.

Orca and Agent Orchestrator facts are from our October 3, 2026 profiles, rechecked October 4. The dev-3.0 facts are from a profile written November 5, 2026.

What we ran
  • → Desk research: the README in Lanes' public repo, its docs and pricing page, GitHub releases and issues, checked November 5, 2026. We didn't install or run Lanes.
Who wrote this
We make Pane, so we have a stake in this. We checked every claim about Lanes 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

See also: alternatives · desktop agent managers
or
Download*
Windows SmartScreen warningDirect downloads can show a SmartScreen warning while Pane is unsigned. Pane is fully open source, so you can audit the code and build from source yourself.1. Click More info2. Click Run anyway3. Continue the installerThe PowerShell install downloads the official release directly and avoids most browser download friction.npm global install
Paste that in PowerShell.Linux

By Parsa Khazaeepoul, co-founder of Pane. .