alternatives

Ouijit alternatives

TL;DR

Ouijit (ouijit.com) is a free, AGPL-3.0 kanban app, built mostly by Prentice Bjerkeseth. Every task card gets a real terminal and its own git worktree, a second checkout on its own branch, so parallel agents keep to their own files. Dragging a card fires a hook you set, like launching Claude Code with the task's text, and agents can move cards themselves through the ouijit CLI. There's no account, sign-in or telemetry.

The main reason to look elsewhere is platform. It runs on macOS 13 or later and Linux x64, with no Windows build and nothing for WSL, the Linux layer inside Windows. Its GitHub PR inbox and Linear issues are also still experimental.

Pane is the nearest match on Windows: real terminals, a worktree per task, diffs and git shortcuts, also for repos inside WSL. Agent Orchestrator brings a kanban to Windows, Orca packs in the most features, and Herdr lives inside your existing terminal.

or
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the alternatives

Each of these runs on Windows, where Ouijit doesn't. Chips: green for native support, amber when there's a catch, red where it won't run.

  1. 1.Pane

    Best for real terminals and worktrees, on Windows and in WSL.

    Like Ouijit, Pane runs your CLIs in real terminals and copies node_modules and .env into each new worktree. It adds Windows x64 and ARM64 installers, WSL repos, and squash-merge as a stable shortcut. AGPL-3.0, free, no account. Product analytics are on by default and can be tied to your GitHub or git identity. Switching them off in Settings still leaves a daily ping with the install ID, app version and OS.

    WindowsWSLmacOSLinux

  2. 2.Agent Orchestrator

    Best for a kanban board that also runs on Windows.

    Agent sessions move across a live board, each in its own worktree, and CI failures or review comments go back to the agent that opened the PR. It supports 32 named harnesses rather than any CLI. Apache-2.0, on Windows x64, macOS and Linux x64; no WSL repos.

    WindowsWSLmacOSLinux

  3. 3.Orca

    Best for the most features in one window, WSL included.

    Worktrees, real terminals, a diff viewer with notes to the agent, commit and PR buttons, Linear and Jira, a browser and phone apps. Mac, Windows x64 and Linux, plus WSL repos. MIT and free.

    WindowsWSLmacOSLinux

  4. 4.Herdr

    Best for a sidebar of agent states inside the terminal you already use.

    Herdr is a multiplexer, so there's no separate window. It flags which agent is working, blocked or done, and makes worktrees when you ask. Apache-2.0 and native on Windows, macOS and Linux; for WSL repos you run the Linux build inside WSL. No diff or commit tools.

    WindowsWSLmacOSLinux

which one should you pick?

stay with Ouijit if

  • → you're on macOS or Linux and like tasks as cards, with hooks that fire as they move
  • → you want agents to manage the board themselves through the ouijit CLI
  • → you want each terminal sandboxed with Seatbelt or Landlock while the dev server runs outside
  • → you want no telemetry at all

pick pane if

  • → you're on Windows, x64 or ARM64, or your repos live in WSL
  • → you want one-click starts for Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and Cursor (outside native Windows), with any other CLI as a custom command
  • → you want merge as a stable shortcut rather than an experimental feature

pane vs Ouijit at a glance

yespartly, or with a catchno

pane9 yes · 0 partly · 1 noOuijit7 yes · 1 partly · 2 no
basics
what it isa desktop appa kanban desktop app with terminals
platforms
Windowsyes, native (x64 and ARM64)no
repos inside WSLyes, in the same appno
macOSyesyes, macOS 13 or later
Linuxyes (AppImage, .deb)yes, x64 (.zip, .deb)
agents
agentsany CLIany CLI; 4 with status built in
everyday work
worktree per taskyes, by defaultyes, by default
review and gitChanges panel, diff tabs, commit, push, mergediff with notes to the agent; PRs and merge are experimental
task boardnoyes, kanban with hooks
safety and setup
licenseAGPL-3.0AGPL-3.0
account needednono

basics

what it is

pane

a desktop app

Ouijit

a kanban desktop app with terminals

platforms

Windows

pane

yes, native (x64 and ARM64)

Ouijit

no

repos inside WSL

pane

yes, in the same app

Ouijit

no

macOS

pane

yes

Ouijit

yes, macOS 13 or later

Linux

pane

yes (AppImage, .deb)

Ouijit

yes, x64 (.zip, .deb)

agents

agents

pane

any CLI

Ouijit

any CLI; 4 with status built in

everyday work

worktree per task

pane

yes, by default

Ouijit

yes, by default

review and git

pane

Changes panel, diff tabs, commit, push, merge

Ouijit

diff with notes to the agent; PRs and merge are experimental

task board

pane

no

Ouijit

yes, kanban with hooks

safety and setup

license

pane

AGPL-3.0

Ouijit

AGPL-3.0

account needed

pane

no

Ouijit

no

Ouijit facts checked on November 5, 2026 (Ouijit v1.10.3); Pane facts from Pane v2.4.214 and its docs.

why people look for an Ouijit alternative

No Windows, no WSL.

The FAQ lists "macOS 13 (Ventura) or later, and Linux x64," and that's it: no Windows, no ARM64 Linux, and no mention of WSL in the docs or issues. Any CLI runs in its terminals, but only four agents get live status. Its PR inbox, merging and Linear issues are marked experimental.

moving from Ouijit to pane

Your CLIs and logins carry straight over.

Make a Pane per card. It gets a worktree and branch, with ignored files like .env and node_modules copied in. Tasks live in a sidebar instead of columns, and there are no move hooks, so you start agents with a click. If your agents drove the board, a Pane Session, an orchestrator chat, can start and steer workers instead.

our verdict

Ouijit is a clean, scriptable board with real terminals and no telemetry, if you're on macOS or Linux. On Windows or WSL, Pane is the closest thing to it. Agent Orchestrator keeps the board, Orca has the most features, and Herdr stays inside your terminal.

how we checked

We read Ouijit's site, FAQ, README, releases, issues and both Show HN threads on November 5, 2026, without running it. Agent Orchestrator, Orca and Herdr were researched on October 3, 2026 and rechecked on October 4. We ran Herdr hands-on in WSL2 on October 3.

What we ran
  • → Desk research: Ouijit's site, FAQ, README, GitHub releases and issues, and its two Show HN threads, checked November 5, 2026. We didn't install or run Ouijit.
Who wrote this
We make Pane, so we have a stake in this. We checked every claim about Ouijit 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 · agent orchestration
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. .