alternatives
MAO alternatives
TL;DR
MAO (trymao.dev, "Multi-Agentic Orchestration", by a founder named Miguel) is a native Rust desktop app where each coding agent is a live terminal node on a canvas. You draw wires so agents can ask, delegate and hand work back, and a lead Orchestrator splits the job. Git worktrees are called "layers". It isn't the PyPI package mao-agents, and it isn't Maestri, another canvas app.
People look elsewhere because "You need an MAO account to start the app", the trial is one workspace with one project, and "When the trial ends, MAO locks until you buy". It's closed source, a license sits on one computer at a time, and the Windows build (0.12.1) trails Mac and Linux (0.15.119).
Pane covers the same ground with no sign-in and no license key. A Session (a lead-agent chat) splits your goal into panes, and each agent works in its own terminal and git worktree, a separate copy of your repo on its own branch. It's open source, and it runs on macOS, Windows, WSL (Linux inside Windows) and Linux.
the alternatives
You can start all four of these without creating an account, and each one is free and open source. The chips show where each one runs: green is native, amber has a catch, red is no.
1.Pane
Best for an orchestrator and a worktree per agent, with no account.
Where MAO has wires, Pane has a Session: one lead-agent chat that creates a pane per task and steers them. Each agent runs in a real terminal and worktree, listed in a sidebar instead of placed on a canvas. Free, AGPL-3.0, no account.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
2.Paseo
Best for agents that hand work to each other, with no account.
Turn on Paseo's agent tools and one agent can create others, delegate to them and check their progress, close to MAO's wired hand-offs. A background service runs 40+ agents, with desktop, phone, web and CLI clients. It's Apache-2.0, needs no account and collects no telemetry. Its Windows app couldn't run agents in a WSL repo when we tested it in October.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
Best for a live Kanban of agents with CI and review feedback.
AO's orchestrator hands your goal to worker agents, each in its own worktree, and a live Kanban shows where every one stands. Failing CI and review comments return to the right agent on their own. Apache-2.0. Unlike MAO, it can't run agents in WSL.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
4.Orca
Best for an all-in-one with a browser, SSH hosts and a phone app.
Orca puts the most into one app: about 40 agents in real terminals and worktrees, diffs, commit and PR buttons, a built-in browser, SSH hosts, and an iOS app plus an Android beta APK. MIT, and agents run fine in WSL repos.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
which one should you pick?
stay with mao if
- → you think spatially and want agents, notes, browsers and devices on one canvas
- → you want explicit wires that decide which agents can talk to each other
- → you run several accounts per provider, like two Codex accounts side by side
- → a $20 one-time license and an account are fine
pick pane if
- → you won't sign in, or tie a license to one computer's hardware
- → you want source code you can read and build yourself
- → you'd rather scan a list of tasks than arrange nodes on a canvas
- → you work on Windows and want desktop notifications there
pane vs mao at a glance
yespartly, or with a catchno
| pane10 yes · 0 partly · 0 no | mao5 yes · 3 partly · 2 no | |
|---|---|---|
| basics | ||
| what it is | a desktop app | a desktop canvas app |
| platforms | ||
| Windows | yes, native (x64 and ARM64) | x86_64, an older version |
| repos inside WSL | yes, in the same app | yes, since 0.7.1 |
| macOS | yes, macOS 12 and up | yes, Apple Silicon and Intel |
| Linux | yes (AppImage, .deb) | x86_64 only |
| agents | ||
| agents | any CLI | 6 presets plus custom commands |
| how agents run | the agent's own terminal UI | the agent's own terminal UI |
| everyday work | ||
| worktree per task | yes | yes, per layer |
| safety and setup | ||
| license | AGPL-3.0, open source | closed source |
| price | free | $20 one-time (regional $13 to $18) |
| account needed | no | yes, to start the app |
basics
what it is
pane
mao
a desktop canvas appplatforms
Windows
pane
mao
x86_64, an older versionrepos inside WSL
pane
mao
yes, since 0.7.1macOS
pane
mao
yes, Apple Silicon and IntelLinux
pane
mao
x86_64 onlyagents
agents
pane
mao
6 presets plus custom commandshow agents run
pane
mao
the agent's own terminal UIeveryday work
worktree per task
pane
mao
yes, per layersafety and setup
license
pane
mao
closed sourceprice
pane
mao
$20 one-time (regional $13 to $18)account needed
pane
mao
yes, to start the appMAO facts checked on November 5, 2026 (0.15.119 on Mac and Linux, 0.12.1 on Windows), from its site, docs and changelog. Pane facts checked against Pane v2.4.214.
why people look for a mao alternative
An account to start, a lock after the trial, and Windows lagging behind.
MAO's docs say "You need an MAO account to start the app", by email magic link. The 7-day trial allows one workspace with one project, and then the app locks until you pay $20 once (less in some regions). The license works on one computer at a time and moves up to 3 times a year.
The Windows installer is 0.12.1 while Mac and Linux are on 0.15.119, and desktop notifications don't work on Windows. Only Claude Code takes a task from another agent mid-turn; Codex asks you to press Send on its first task each session, and Gemini, OpenCode, Antigravity and custom commands ask every time. Its changelog also flags rough edges, like a very large canvas "not yet fully smooth" on older Intel Macs.
moving from mao to pane
Your agents keep their logins, and each layer maps to a worktree. Each MAO node becomes a pane, Pane's word for one task.
MAO's presets were Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Grok, OpenCode and Antigravity, and all of them run in Pane with the logins they already have. Claude Code and Codex have one-click presets (Cursor too, outside native Windows), and the others run as custom commands. A pane is a worktree and branch of its own, so it plays the part a layer did, and Pane copies your .env files and agent folders into it.
Where MAO's Orchestrator recruited agents over wires, start a Session and give it the goal. It creates a pane per task and steers them. A layer you haven't landed is a real git worktree, so runpane panes adopt can bring it into Pane. When work is ready, one shortcut merges it to main, much as Land did.
our verdict
MAO is an inventive canvas for wiring agents together, with browser and device portals, at a low one-time price. Pane is the most direct alternative if you'd rather skip the account, want open source, or prefer a task list to a canvas. Paseo suits agent-to-agent hand-offs, Agent Orchestrator a Kanban with CI and review feedback, and Orca an all-in-one with phone apps.
how we checked
We read MAO's homepage, llms.txt, all 83 docs guides and its changelog on November 5, 2026, along with where its download links point, its Linux install script (as text) and its Product Hunt launch. We didn't install the app.
Paseo, Agent Orchestrator and Orca facts are from our October 2026 research files on those tools. The Paseo WSL result is from our hands-on test on October 4, 2026.
- What we ran
- → Desk research on November 5, 2026: MAO's homepage, llms.txt, all 83 docs guides, changelog, download links and Linux install script (read as text), and its Product Hunt launch. Nothing was installed for this page.
- Who wrote this
- We make Pane, so we have a stake in this. We checked every claim about MAO 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. .