What's the best Polyscope alternative?

It depends on what you're missing. For open source and any CLI agent, Pane. For the click-to-edit preview, Orca. For more agents, Emdash. For a chat UI on Linux, T3 Code.

Is Polyscope open source?

No. It's proprietary, and the beyondcode/polyscope-community repo holds only issues. All four alternatives here publish their code: Pane under AGPL-3.0, Orca and T3 Code under MIT, Emdash under Apache-2.0.

Can I use Polyscope on Linux?

Only as a headless server. You run polyscope-server on Linux x86_64 or aarch64 and connect from the Mac or Windows app, a browser or a phone, and that connection needs Pro. Pane, Orca, Emdash and T3 Code each ship a Linux desktop build.

Does Polyscope use git worktrees?

No, it clones. On a Mac the clone is copy-on-write, so it's nearly instant and shares disk until files change. On Windows it runs git clone --local, which leaves out node_modules and other ignored files unless you opt in. Pane makes a worktree per task and copies those files across.

alternatives

Polyscope alternatives

TL;DR

Polyscope (getpolyscope.com) comes from Beyond Code, the team behind Laravel Herd, their local PHP setup. It's a Mac and Windows app that runs Claude Code, Codex and Cursor CLI side by side, each in its own clone of your repo. You prompt them from a chat box, preview your app next to them, and click an element to ask for a change. Laravel projects get a Herd .test domain and an Expose share link per workspace.

The usual reasons to switch: the code is closed, you sign in with GitHub, and the license is checked online. The agent list stops at three. And Linux has no desktop app, just a headless server, and reaching it takes the $99 a year Pro plan.

Pane is the open-source pick if you'd rather drive each agent in its own terminal than through a chat box. Every task lives in a git worktree, meaning a second checkout of the repo on its own branch, so parallel agents can't clobber each other. It's free, needs no account, and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and inside WSL, Microsoft's built-in Linux layer. Orca has Polyscope's click-an-element browser, Emdash has the longest agent list, and T3 Code keeps the chat feel.

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

Polyscope supports three agents and two desktop platforms. Each of these goes further on one or both. Chips mark each OS: green means it runs natively, amber means there's a catch, red means it doesn't run there.

1.Pane
Best for any CLI agent, typed into directly, in its own worktree on every OS.
There's no chat layer. You type into Claude Code, Codex or whatever CLI you use, exactly as you would in a terminal. A Changes tab shows each worktree's diff, and commit, push and squash-merge each have a shortcut. Product analytics are on by default and can be tied to your GitHub or git identity, with an off switch in Settings. AGPL-3.0, free, and no login.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
2.Orca
Best for the click-an-element browser, in an open-source app with a Linux build.
Its Design Mode works like Polyscope's preview: click part of your page and that element goes to the agent. Orca adds worktrees, real terminals, commit and PR buttons, and about 40 preset agents. MIT and free, with builds for Mac, Windows and Linux.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
3.Emdash
Best for about 35 agents, for when three isn't enough.
If you've outgrown Claude, Codex and Cursor, Emdash detects 35 agent CLIs and gives each task a worktree. It turns Linear, Jira or GitHub issues into tasks, and can open and merge GitHub PRs. Apache-2.0 and free on Mac, Windows x64 and Linux, but not for repos inside WSL.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
4.T3 Code
Best for a chat-first app like Polyscope, but open source and on Linux.
You prompt Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Grok, OpenCode and others from a chat, and each thread can get its own worktree. The agent can drive an in-app browser, you can commit, push and open PRs from the app, and there are iOS and Android apps. MIT, by Theo of t3.gg, native on Windows, macOS and Linux. Its WSL support is newer and has open bugs.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux

which one should you pick?

stay with Polyscope if

→ you build Laravel apps on Herd and want each workspace to get its own .test domain and Expose link with no setup
→ you like asking Claude and Codex the same question side by side (Opinions), or handing Autopilot a goal to split into steps
→ you have a big repo on a Mac, where its copy-on-write clones appear almost instantly
→ you're happy in a chat box with a review agent checking the work

pick pane if

→ you want the source, and no GitHub sign-in or online license check before you start
→ you use an agent beyond Claude, Codex and Cursor, such as OpenCode, which has a preset, or Gemini CLI and Pi
→ you need a desktop app on Linux, or your repos sit inside WSL

pane vs Polyscope at a glance

yespartly, or with a catchno

	pane8 yes · 0 partly · 0 no	Polyscope4 yes · 2 partly · 2 no
basics
what it is	a desktop app	a desktop app, plus a Linux server with no app window
platforms
Windows	yes, native (x64 and ARM64)	yes
macOS	yes	yes, macOS 13.3 or later
Linux	yes (AppImage, .deb)	server only, Pro to connect
agents
agents	any CLI	Claude Code, Codex, Cursor CLI
how you see agents	the agent's real terminal	a chat box and activity feed
everyday work
own copy per task	a git worktree, by default	a repo clone, near instant on Mac
review and git	Changes panel, diff tabs, commit, push, merge	diff with comments, review agent, PR and Merge buttons
safety and setup
license	AGPL-3.0	closed source
account needed	no	yes, GitHub login and online license check
price	free	free; Pro $99 a year, Team $299 a year

basics

what it is

pane

a desktop app

Polyscope

a desktop app, plus a Linux server with no app window

platforms

Windows

pane

yes, native (x64 and ARM64)

Polyscope

yes

macOS

pane

yes

Polyscope

yes, macOS 13.3 or later

Linux

pane

yes (AppImage, .deb)

Polyscope

server only, Pro to connect

agents

pane

any CLI

Polyscope

Claude Code, Codex, Cursor CLI

how you see agents

pane

the agent's real terminal

Polyscope

a chat box and activity feed

everyday work

own copy per task

pane

a git worktree, by default

Polyscope

a repo clone, near instant on Mac

review and git

pane

Changes panel, diff tabs, commit, push, merge

Polyscope

diff with comments, review agent, PR and Merge buttons

safety and setup

license

pane

AGPL-3.0

Polyscope

closed source

account needed

pane

Polyscope

yes, GitHub login and online license check

price

pane

free

Polyscope

free; Pro $99 a year, Team $299 a year

Polyscope facts checked on November 5, 2026 (Polyscope 0.29.0); Pane facts from Pane v2.4.214 and its docs.

why people look for a Polyscope alternative

Closed code, a GitHub sign-in, three agents and no Linux window.

Polyscope's only public repo is its issue tracker. The app asks you to sign in with GitHub after install, and its FAQ says it "also validates your license online." The free plan is generous, with unlimited projects and agents. But phone and browser access, and connecting to your own Linux server, sit behind Pro at $99 a year.

Agents answer through a prompt box and an activity feed. Only Claude Code, Codex and Cursor CLI are supported, with Kimi "coming soon" and an open request for Copilot CLI. One Max-plan user wrote that their weekly Opus limit went in one or two days, and that plain Claude Code "seems significantly cheaper." On Linux there's no app window at all, and the docs never mention WSL.

moving from Polyscope to pane

Keep your CLI logins. Swap each workspace for a Pane.

1. Add your repo to Pane. 2. Create a Pane for each feature you'd have given a Polyscope workspace. It gets a worktree and branch, and your .env, node_modules and agent folders are copied in, so there's nothing to reinstall. 3. Launch Claude Code, Codex or OpenCode from its preset, Cursor on macOS, Linux or WSL, or save any other CLI as a custom command. 4. When the agent's done, read the diff in the Changes tab and commit, push or merge from the keyboard.

our verdict

Polyscope is built around Laravel in a way the others aren't, and its free plan covers a lot. Pick Pane when the deal breaker is closed source, the sign-in, the three-agent list or Linux. Pick Orca if you'll miss clicking elements in the preview, Emdash for sheer agent count, and T3 Code to keep a chat.

how we checked

We didn't install Polyscope. On November 5, 2026 we read its site, pricing, FAQ, its install, workflow, quickstart and standalone-server docs, its download links and its community issue tracker, plus Laravel News's Windows launch post and Ry Walker's review.

Orca, Emdash and T3 Code were researched on October 3, 2026 from their own docs, releases and issues, with follow-up checks on October 4. We also ran Emdash's Linux build in WSL2 on October 3.

What we ran

→ Desk research: Polyscope's site, pricing table, docs, download links and community issue tracker, plus Laravel News and Ry Walker's review, checked November 5, 2026. We didn't install or run Polyscope.

Who wrote this

We make Pane, so we have a stake in this. We checked every claim about Polyscope 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*

Paste that in PowerShell.Linux

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