alternatives
Silo alternatives
TL;DR
Silo (getsilo.dev) is a free, MIT-licensed lightweight editor that keeps every project open with its own terminals, agents and layout running in the background, and brings them back after a reboot with each agent's resume command. People look elsewhere because it isn't an orchestrator: there's no worktree per task, no parallel runs from one prompt and no pull request flow; its Windows build is labelled experimental and couldn't open a WSL repo in our test; and it's a five-month-old, one-person project. Pane is the closest alternative if you want parallel agents on every OS: each agent in its real terminal and its own worktree, with review, git and an orchestrator, native on Windows and inside WSL. Herdr and Tortie are the picks if keeping sessions alive is what you care about most.
the alternatives
Every tool here runs several terminal coding agents at once. The chips show where each one runs: green is native, amber has a catch, red is no.
1.Pane
Best for parallel agents in worktrees, on Windows and inside WSL.
Each agent runs in its own terminal UI and worktree, with a Changes panel, commit, push and merge on shortcuts, and an orchestrator chat. Layout, tabs, scrollback and agent sessions come back after a restart. Free, AGPL-3.0, no account.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
2.Herdr
Best for agents that keep running when the window closes.
An Apache-2.0 agent-aware terminal multiplexer whose server owns the terminals, so agents survive closing the app and restore after a restart. Every OS, including WSL.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
3.Tortie
Best for the same calm, persistent idea on a Mac.
Open source. A private tmux server keeps agents running when the app quits, with a file tree, editor, git panel and diff beside them. Mac-only.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
4.cmux
Best for a native Mac terminal that shows which agent needs you.
Open source, built on Ghostty, with a sidebar of agent status. No worktrees or review, and Mac-only.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
5.Orca
Best for an all-in-one app with worktrees and remote servers.
MIT, 40 agents in real terminals, a browser, issue trackers and a phone app. Runs agents inside WSL. Heavy at about 1 GB installed.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
which one should you pick?
stay with silo if
- → you mostly work on macOS or Linux and juggle several projects at once
- → you run agents by hand in terminals and want them back after a reboot
- → you want a light, hackable editor with an extension SDK
- → you don't need worktrees or a pull request flow
pick pane if
- → you want a worktree and branch per task, so agents never collide
- → you're on Windows, or your code lives inside WSL
- → you want to review, commit, push and merge from one place
- → you want an orchestrator that starts and steers other agents
pane vs silo at a glance
yespartly, or with a catchno
| pane11 yes · 0 partly · 0 no | silo6 yes · 2 partly · 3 no | |
|---|---|---|
| platforms | ||
| Windows | yes, native (x64 and ARM64) | experimental (x64) |
| repos inside WSL | yes: agents, terminals and git run in the distro | no; a WSL repo failed in our test |
| macOS | yes | yes, signed and notarized |
| Linux | yes (x64 and ARM64) | yes (x64) |
| agents | ||
| agents | any CLI | any CLI in a terminal; ACP chat in beta |
| agents that run agents | Sessions | no |
| everyday work | ||
| worktree per task | yes, on by default | no |
| review and commit | Changes panel, commit, push, merge | Git panel diff and commit |
| after a restart | layout, scrollback and agent sessions return | projects, terminals and agent resume return |
| safety and setup | ||
| license | AGPL-3.0, open source | MIT, open source |
| account needed | no | no |
platforms
Windows
pane
silo
experimental (x64)repos inside WSL
pane
silo
no; a WSL repo failed in our testmacOS
pane
silo
yes, signed and notarizedLinux
pane
silo
yes (x64)agents
agents
pane
silo
any CLI in a terminal; ACP chat in betaagents that run agents
pane
silo
noeveryday work
worktree per task
pane
silo
noreview and commit
pane
silo
Git panel diff and commitafter a restart
pane
silo
projects, terminals and agent resume returnsafety and setup
license
pane
silo
MIT, open sourceaccount needed
pane
silo
noFacts checked on October 3 and 4, 2026 (Silo v0.72.0 and Pane v2.4.157). Rechecked on November 5, 2026 against Silo v0.79.0.
why people look for a silo alternative
Great at keeping terminals alive, not built for parallel tasks.
Silo keeps your projects and their terminals running, but it isn't an orchestrator: there's no worktree per task, no way to fan one prompt out to several agents, no agent coordination and no pull request creation or merge. Its own docs say the editor is below VS Code and Zed, with no LSP.
Its README calls the Windows build experimental. In our test it ran with cmd.exe and Mac-style shortcut hints, a \\wsl$ repo failed to open, and the Git panel got stuck on Loading after an error. Linux and Windows builds are x64 only. It's five months old, pre-1.0, with one developer, and its "no telemetry" claim comes with anonymous update-check analytics.
moving from silo to pane
Your agents carry over, and each task gets its own worktree.
Silo runs any CLI in a real terminal, and so does Pane. Open each project in Pane and create a pane per task: each gets its own worktree and branch, so two agents on one project never touch the same files. Start Claude Code, Codex or Cursor with a click, or Copilot, Grok, Pi or any other CLI as a custom command.
Pane keeps the persistence you're used to: layout, tabs, scrollback and agent sessions come back after you restart the app. Review in the Changes panel and commit, push and merge with shortcuts, and open the worktree in VS Code, Cursor or your own editor when you want to edit by hand.
our verdict
Silo is a pleasant, light way to keep many projects' agents alive on a Mac or Linux. If you want parallel tasks in their own worktrees, a review and git flow, and first-class Windows and WSL, Pane is the most direct alternative. For persistence first, Herdr or, on a Mac, Tortie.
how we checked
On October 3 and 4, 2026 we ran Silo 0.72.0 on Windows 11 with Claude Code and Codex, reviewed and committed a change, measured start-up and memory, and tried a WSL repo and the Linux build under WSLg. Pane, Herdr and Orca ran on the same PC. Tortie and cmux are Mac apps, so their facts come from their docs and source.
Facts about each product come from its own docs, changelog, issue tracker and source code, checked on the same dates.
- What we ran
- → Pane 2.4.155 on Windows 11, native and WSL2 (Ubuntu 24.04) repos
- → Silo 0.72.0 on the same PC with Claude Code and Codex, October 3 and 4, 2026
- Who wrote this
- We make Pane, so we have a stake in this. We tried to be fair: Silo's strengths are listed as plainly as Pane's, every claim was checked against the product itself or its docs and source, and the screenshots are unedited captures from our own runs.
- 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
more comparisons
By Parsa Khazaeepoul, co-founder of Pane. .