alternatives
Maestri alternatives
TL;DR
Maestri is a desktop app with an infinite canvas where every agent runs in a terminal card next to notes, sketches and live web pages, and agents can be wired together to delegate and review. People look elsewhere because it's closed source with no public bug tracker, the free tier is one workspace, its Windows and Linux builds are a separate Electron app about 30 versions behind the native Mac app, and its agent-to-agent hand-offs depend on focus and activity heuristics. Pane is the closest open-source alternative: every agent in its real terminal and worktree, laid out as tabs and splits instead of a canvas, free with no workspace limit, native on Windows, inside WSL, macOS and Linux. Paseo and Omnigent are the picks if agent-to-agent work is the main draw.
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 in tabs, open source and free.
Each agent runs in its own terminal UI and worktree, with split tab groups, a Changes panel, git shortcuts, a built-in browser and an orchestrator chat that hands work between agents. Unlimited projects. AGPL-3.0, no account.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
2.Orca
Best for an all-in-one open-source app with a browser and phone app.
MIT, 40 agents in real terminals, worktrees, design mode, issue trackers and an experimental orchestrator. Heavy at about 1 GB installed, and telemetry is on by default.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
3.Paseo
Best for agent-to-agent tools without the canvas.
Apache-2.0 daemon with desktop, phone, web and CLI clients for 40+ agents; agents delegate, hand off and run committees through built-in tools. No account, no telemetry.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
4.Herdr
Best for a keyboard-driven terminal for many agents.
An Apache-2.0 agent-aware multiplexer that keeps agents running when you close the window and restores them after a restart. Every OS.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
5.Omnigent
Best for agent roles with team guardrails.
Databricks' Apache-2.0 server: a lead agent hands work to other vendors' agents and has a different vendor review each result. Alpha, and needs a server.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
which one should you pick?
stay with maestri if
- → you think visually and want agents, notes and previews on one board
- → you want to draw a line between two agents to make them talk
- → you drive iOS simulators, Android devices or a browser from agents
- → you like a one-time price, no account and no telemetry
pick pane if
- → you want open source and a public issue tracker
- → you want unlimited projects without paying
- → you'd rather have tabs and splits than lay out a canvas by hand
- → you want the same app on Windows, Linux and Mac
pane vs maestri at a glance
yespartly, or with a catchno
| pane9 yes · 0 partly · 0 no | maestri5 yes · 3 partly · 1 no | |
|---|---|---|
| platforms | ||
| Windows | yes, native (x64 and ARM64) | yes, Windows 11 x64, unsigned |
| repos inside WSL | yes: agents, terminals and git run in the distro | yes, a first-class environment |
| macOS | yes, Apple Silicon and Intel | yes, native app, Apple Silicon |
| Linux | yes (AppImage, .deb) | yes (AppImage, .deb) |
| agents | ||
| agents | any CLI | any CLI |
| agents that run agents | Sessions and the runpane CLI | wire agents together on the canvas |
| everyday work | ||
| layout | tabs and splits | an infinite canvas you arrange |
| worktree per task | yes, on by default | yes, per floor |
| safety and setup | ||
| open source | yes, AGPL-3.0 | no, proprietary |
| price | free, unlimited projects | free for 1 workspace; Pro $18 once |
| account needed | no | no |
platforms
Windows
pane
maestri
yes, Windows 11 x64, unsignedrepos inside WSL
pane
maestri
yes, a first-class environmentmacOS
pane
maestri
yes, native app, Apple SiliconLinux
pane
maestri
yes (AppImage, .deb)agents
agents
pane
maestri
any CLIagents that run agents
pane
maestri
wire agents together on the canvaseveryday work
layout
pane
maestri
an infinite canvas you arrangeworktree per task
pane
maestri
yes, per floorsafety and setup
open source
pane
maestri
no, proprietaryprice
pane
maestri
free for 1 workspace; Pro $18 onceaccount needed
pane
maestri
noFacts checked on October 3 and 4, 2026: Maestri 0.49.3 on Mac, 0.20.2 on Windows and Linux, and Pane v2.4.157. Rechecked on November 5, 2026 against Maestri 0.59.1 on Mac and 0.30.0 on Windows and Linux.
why people look for a maestri alternative
Closed source, a paid second workspace, and a lagging Windows build.
Maestri is proprietary: its terms forbid decompiling it, and bugs go to email or Discord rather than a public tracker. The free tier is one workspace; more need Pro, $18 once, sold for up to two devices with no refunds. Someone built an open-source clone because of the licence.
On Windows and Linux it's a different app from the Mac one: Electron over a Swift core, version 0.30 against the Mac's 0.59, without some Mac features. The Windows installer is unsigned, and in our run the first launch showed no window. Its agent-to-agent hand-offs type into other terminals, so they depend on focus and activity detection, and its own docs warn that selecting the receiving agent can stop a reply arriving. You also lay out every agent by hand, which means panning and zooming once there are many.
moving from maestri to pane
Your agents and logins carry over. Floors become panes, each with its own worktree.
Maestri runs any CLI in a real terminal, and so does Pane, so Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Gemini CLI and the rest work unchanged. A Maestri floor is a worktree per task; in Pane, every pane is a worktree and branch by default. Create one per task, start the agent with a click or a custom command, and split tabs side by side to watch several at once.
For delegation, Pane's orchestrator, Sessions, starts agents in other panes, sends them work and reads back their reports, without depending on which window has focus. 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.
our verdict
Maestri's canvas is one of the most original ideas in this space, and it's cheap. If you'd rather have an open-source app with no workspace limit and the same build on every OS, Pane is the most direct alternative. For agent-to-agent work, Paseo or Omnigent; for a terminal-first setup, Herdr.
how we checked
On October 3 and 4, 2026 we ran Maestri's Windows build 0.20.2 on Windows 11 with real Claude Code and Codex agents, on Windows and in a WSL2 (Ubuntu 24.04) workspace, and inspected the Mac app 0.49.3. Pane, Orca, Paseo, Herdr and Omnigent ran on the same PC.
Facts about each product come from its own docs, changelog, terms and source code where public, checked on the same dates.
- What we ran
- → Pane 2.4.155 on Windows 11, native and WSL2 (Ubuntu 24.04) repos
- → Maestri 0.20.2 for Windows on the same PC with real Claude Code and Codex agents, October 3 and 4, 2026
- Who wrote this
- We make Pane, so we have a stake in this. We tried to be fair: Maestri'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. .