alternatives

Paradev alternatives

TL;DR

Paradev (paradev.com) is Superset under a new name. It's a desktop app that gives each task its own git worktree, branch and terminals, with panes for diffs, pull requests and a browser preview. It renamed in late October 2026, raised an $11.5M seed and moved to the MIT license on November 4.

People look elsewhere because it's built for the Mac. Linux is an experimental AppImage, Windows is "planned with no date", and WSL isn't mentioned. The app has GitHub and Google sign-ins, and a request to drop them has been open since May. Remote access, automations and the iPhone app need Pro, at $20 a month or $16 billed yearly.

Pane keeps the part Paradev users like, agents in real terminals with review beside them, and runs it on Windows, inside WSL and on Linux with no account.

or
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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
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the alternatives

All four run the agent CLIs you already pay for. Chips: Windows, WSL, macOS, Linux.

  1. 1.Pane

    Best for Paradev's terminal-first model on Windows, WSL and Linux, with no sign-in.

    A pane is one task: its own terminal, worktree and branch. Review, commit, push and merge from the Changes panel, preview your app in a Browser panel, and let the Sessions orchestrator steer other panes. Free, AGPL-3.0.

    WindowsWSLmacOSLinux

  2. 2.Orca

    Best for the closest feature match, browser Design Mode included.

    MIT, about 40 agents, a built-in browser where you click an element to send it to the agent, GitHub, Linear and Jira, SSH servers and a phone app. Ran agents inside WSL in our October test.

    WindowsWSLmacOSLinux

  3. 3.Emdash

    Best for tickets from your issue tracker, on Windows, Mac and Linux.

    Apache-2.0, about 35 agents, tasks pulled from 12 issue trackers, SSH remote projects and scheduled automations, all free. No WSL mode.

    WindowsWSLmacOSLinux

  4. 4.Paseo

    Best for checking on agents from a phone without paying for Pro.

    Apache-2.0 daemon with desktop, phone, web and CLI clients, no account. Its Windows app couldn't run agents in a WSL repo in our October test.

    WindowsWSLmacOSLinux

which one should you pick?

stay with paradev if

  • → you're on a Mac and like its PR pane with checks and review threads
  • → you'd pay for scheduled automations or Slack and Linear triggers
  • → you want cloud workspaces your team can share
  • → you want its Design mode to send a page element to an agent

pick pane if

  • → you work on Windows, or keep repos inside WSL
  • → you need a Linux build that isn't experimental
  • → you'd rather skip the sign-in that Paradev's own tracker is asking to drop
  • → you want an orchestrator agent that starts and steers the others

pane vs paradev at a glance

yespartly, or with a catchno

pane10 yes · 0 partly · 0 noparadev5 yes · 2 partly · 1 no
basics
what it isa desktop appa desktop app, plus CLI and phone app
platforms
Windowsyes, native (x64 and ARM64); installer not code-signed yetno, planned with no date
repos inside WSLyes, in the same appnot mentioned in its docs
macOSyes, macOS 12+yes, Apple Silicon and Intel
Linuxyes (AppImage, .deb)experimental (AppImage, .deb)
agents
agentsany CLIany CLI
how agents runthe agent's own terminal UIthe agent's own terminal UI, plus a chat pane
everyday work
worktree per taskyesyes
in-app browseryes, a Browser panelyes, with Design mode
safety and setup
licenseAGPL-3.0, open sourceMIT, open source
account needednoGitHub or Google sign-in; a request to drop it is open
pricefreefree; remote, automations and mobile $20/month ($16 yearly)

basics

what it is

pane

a desktop app

paradev

a desktop app, plus CLI and phone app

platforms

Windows

pane

yes, native (x64 and ARM64); installer not code-signed yet

paradev

no, planned with no date

repos inside WSL

pane

yes, in the same app

paradev

not mentioned in its docs

macOS

pane

yes, macOS 12+

paradev

yes, Apple Silicon and Intel

Linux

pane

yes (AppImage, .deb)

paradev

experimental (AppImage, .deb)

agents

agents

pane

any CLI

paradev

any CLI

how agents run

pane

the agent's own terminal UI

paradev

the agent's own terminal UI, plus a chat pane

everyday work

worktree per task

pane

yes

paradev

yes

in-app browser

pane

yes, a Browser panel

paradev

yes, with Design mode

safety and setup

license

pane

AGPL-3.0, open source

paradev

MIT, open source

account needed

pane

no

paradev

GitHub or Google sign-in; a request to drop it is open

price

pane

free

paradev

free; remote, automations and mobile $20/month ($16 yearly)

Paradev facts checked on November 5, 2026 (desktop v2.0.5), from its docs and releases.

why people look for a paradev alternative

It's Mac-first, there's no Windows or WSL build, and there's a sign-in.

Paradev's FAQ calls macOS "the supported target" and the Linux AppImage "experimental and untested". A request for native Windows support has been open since June 2026.

Sign-in is the other sore spot. An open request with 11 thumbs-up asks Paradev to "drop the sign-in requirement; make it work offline, always, by default". The FAQ also warns that GitHub and Google sign-ins create separate accounts, even with the same email.

moving from paradev to pane

A Paradev workspace becomes a pane. Your agent logins stay as they are.

Each Paradev workspace maps to a pane, with its own worktree and branch. The Changes pane becomes Pane's Changes panel, the browser pane becomes the Browser panel, and terminal presets become one-click agents: Claude Code, Codex and OpenCode, plus Cursor on Mac, Linux and WSL. Remote hosts map to Remote Pane, a host you run on your own server.

Paradev's PR pane with checks, its Design mode, Slack and Linear triggers and cloud workspaces have no direct match. Pane's Sessions orchestrator is notified of PR checks and conflicts, which covers part of the PR loop.

our verdict

On a Mac, Paradev is a rich, now MIT-licensed workspace, and its paid plans add real extras. Off the Mac, or without an account, start with Pane. Choose Orca if you want the browser Design Mode, Emdash for issue-tracker intake, and Paseo for a free phone client.

how we checked

No install this time: on November 5, 2026 we went through Paradev's README, full docs text, pricing page, v2.0.5 release files, license history and open requests. Its WSL history comes from our October notes on Superset, before the rename.

The Orca, Emdash and Paseo notes rest on our research from October 3 and 4, 2026. We tested Orca and Paseo against a WSL repo by hand that week.

What we ran
  • → Desk research on November 5, 2026: Paradev's README, docs, pricing page, releases and issue tracker. Nothing was installed for this page.
Who wrote this
We make Pane, so we have a stake in this. We checked every claim about Paradev 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. .