I'm on Windows. What can I use instead of Parallel Code?

Pane runs natively on Windows x64 and ARM64 and inside WSL. Orca, Emdash and Agent Orchestrator have Windows builds too. Parallel Code's native Windows pull request is still open.

Does Parallel Code support remote SSH?

No. The maintainer has said it isn't trivial, since the app needs file access for diffs. Pane, Orca and Emdash can all run agents on another machine.

Is Parallel Code free?

Yes. It's MIT with no paid tier and no account.

Do these tools work with my Claude or ChatGPT plan?

They do. Each one launches the official agent CLIs, so the plan you're already signed in to keeps working.

alternatives

Parallel Code alternatives

TL;DR

Parallel Code (parallelcode.app) is a free, MIT desktop app for macOS and Linux by Johannes Millan, who also makes the Super Productivity task manager. It starts Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode or any terminal agent in parallel, each on its own branch and git worktree. A board sorts tasks by what they need from you, and its diff view sends your line comments back to the agent.

Windows users are the ones who leave. There's no Windows release, and a native Windows pull request has been open since September. WSL works only as a workaround, there's no SSH support, and the homepage calls it "mostly a one-maintainer project".

Pane gives you the same agent-per-worktree setup natively on Windows, inside WSL, and on a server of your own.

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 have a Windows build and run your own agent CLIs. Chips: Windows, WSL, macOS, Linux.

1.Pane
Best for Parallel Code's workflow on native Windows and WSL.
Each pane is an agent in its real terminal on its own worktree and branch, with review, commit, push and merge in the Changes panel. Remote Pane puts the host on a server you run. Free, AGPL-3.0, no account.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
2.Orca
Best for SSH hosts and a phone app on every OS.
Unlike Parallel Code it reaches remote servers over SSH, and its phone apps cover iOS as well as Android. MIT, with a browser Design Mode, and WSL agents worked when we tried them in October.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
3.Emdash
Best for putting the whole project on an SSH host.
The answer to Parallel Code's missing SSH: a remote project keeps the repo, worktrees and agents on the server, and only the window runs locally. Apache-2.0, but it has no WSL mode.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
4.Agent Orchestrator
Best for a review loop that runs on its own.
Where Parallel Code sends your comments back, Agent Orchestrator sends failing CI and reviewer comments back to the agent automatically. Apache-2.0. No WSL repo support.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux

which one should you pick?

stay with parallel code if

→ you're on a Mac or Linux
→ you want line comments, change tours and a second-opinion review from another model
→ you like racing two to four agents on one prompt and keeping the best
→ you answer agents from an Android phone with no cloud relay

pick pane if

→ you develop on Windows, or keep repos inside WSL
→ you want agents running on a remote machine
→ you want an orchestrator agent that starts and steers the others

pane vs parallel code at a glance

yespartly, or with a catchno

	pane9 yes · 0 partly · 0 no	parallel code6 yes · 1 partly · 2 no
basics
what it is	a desktop app	a desktop app, plus a phone browser UI
platforms
Windows	yes, native (x64 and ARM64)	no release build
repos inside WSL	yes, in the same app	workarounds only
macOS	yes	yes, universal, signed and notarized
Linux	yes (AppImage, .deb)	yes (AppImage, .deb)
agents
agents	any CLI	any CLI
everyday work
worktree per task	yes	yes
review	Changes panel: commit, push, merge	inline comments back to the agent, change tours
remote and teams
remote machines	yes, Remote Pane on your server	no
safety and setup
license	AGPL-3.0, open source	MIT, open source

basics

what it is

pane

a desktop app

parallel code

a desktop app, plus a phone browser UI

platforms

Windows

pane

yes, native (x64 and ARM64)

parallel code

no release build

repos inside WSL

pane

yes, in the same app

parallel code

workarounds only

macOS

pane

yes

parallel code

yes, universal, signed and notarized

Linux

pane

yes (AppImage, .deb)

parallel code

yes (AppImage, .deb)

agents

pane

any CLI

parallel code

any CLI

everyday work

worktree per task

pane

yes

parallel code

yes

review

pane

Changes panel: commit, push, merge

parallel code

inline comments back to the agent, change tours

remote and teams

remote machines

pane

yes, Remote Pane on your server

parallel code

safety and setup

license

pane

AGPL-3.0, open source

parallel code

MIT, open source

Parallel Code facts checked on November 5, 2026 (v5.1.0), from its homepage, README and releases.

why people look for a parallel code alternative

No Windows build, no SSH, and one main maintainer.

The homepage says "There is no Windows build yet", and releases ship only Mac and Linux files. A February request for Windows support drew WSL workarounds, and one user called it "odd, slow and resource intensive" there. A native Windows pull request has been open since September 14, 2026.

Asked about remote SSH, the maintainer said it's "definitely not trivial", because the app needs file access to show diffs. It also assumes GitHub; Gitea and GitLab support is an open request.

moving from parallel code to pane

Each Parallel Code task becomes a pane. Your agent logins carry over.

A task on the Parallel Code board maps to a pane with its own worktree and branch. The diff review maps to the Changes panel, where you commit, push and merge. OpenCode, Claude Code and Codex are presets; Copilot CLI and Antigravity CLI run as custom commands.

Arena, change tours and comments sent back to the agent have no direct match. You can start two panes on the same prompt and compare them in the Changes panel. The phone UI maps to Remote Pane's browser app.

our verdict

On a Mac or Linux, Parallel Code has an unusually deep review loop: line comments back to the agent, change tours and a second-opinion model. On Windows, or with agents on a server, Pane is where to go. Orca brings SSH and phone apps, Emdash moves whole projects to a server, and Agent Orchestrator automates the review loop.

how we checked

We didn't run Parallel Code. On November 5, 2026 we read its homepage FAQ, README, the features and phone docs in its repo, the v5.1.0 release files and its Windows and SSH issues.

For Orca, Emdash and Agent Orchestrator we relied on our research from early October 2026; Orca's WSL behavior is something we saw ourselves on a Windows 11 PC then.

What we ran

→ Desk research on November 5, 2026: Parallel Code's homepage, README, docs folder, 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 Parallel Code 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

Download*

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By Parsa Khazaeepoul, co-founder of Pane. Last reviewed November 5, 2026.