alternatives
Solo alternatives
TL;DR
Solo (soloterm.com) is a desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux that runs your dev server, workers, logs and coding agents like Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI and Amp in one window, restarts crashed processes, and lets a lead agent coordinate the others. People look elsewhere because its agents share a project's checkout with no worktree per task, there's no diff, commit or pull request view, only one terminal is visible at a time, the free tier stops at 4 projects and 20 processes (agents count), and it's closed source at $99 a year beyond that. Pane is the closest free alternative for parallel work: each agent in its real terminal and its own worktree, with a dev-server button, review, git and an orchestrator, on Windows, inside WSL, macOS and Linux. Orca and Superset are the picks if you want more built in around the agents.
the alternatives
Every tool here runs several 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 isolated parallel agents with review, free and open source.
Each agent runs in its own terminal UI and worktree, with its own port block for the dev server, a run-dev-server shortcut, split tab groups, a Changes panel, git shortcuts and an orchestrator chat. No project or process limits. AGPL-3.0, no account.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
2.Orca
Best for an open-source all-in-one with setup scripts and a browser.
MIT, 40 agents in real terminals, worktrees with setup scripts, a browser with design mode and a phone app. Runs agents inside WSL. Heavy at about 1 GB installed.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
Best for a feature-rich Mac app with a browser and automations.
Terminals, worktrees, a browser, a PR inbox and automations. No Windows build, needs an account, and is MIT open source since November 2026.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
4.Herdr
Best for a keyboard-driven terminal where agents survive restarts.
An Apache-2.0 agent-aware multiplexer whose server keeps agents and processes alive when you close the app. Every OS, including WSL.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
Best for isolated workspaces and review on a Mac.
Solo's own docs point to Conductor for parallel isolated work. Chat view, deep PR review, cloud workspaces. Mac-only, closed source, needs an account.
WindowsWSLmacOSLinux
which one should you pick?
stay with solo if
- → your pain is the dev server, workers and logs around your agents
- → you want crashed processes restarted and visible to agents
- → you want a lead agent with plans, todos, locks and wake-up timers
- → you're fine with agents sharing one checkout
pick pane if
- → you want each agent isolated in its own worktree and branch
- → you want to review diffs and commit, push and merge from the app
- → you want to watch several agents side by side
- → you want it free, open source and on Linux ARM64 too
pane vs solo at a glance
yespartly, or with a catchno
| pane11 yes · 1 partly · 0 no | solo5 yes · 4 partly · 3 no | |
|---|---|---|
| platforms | ||
| Windows | yes, native (x64 and ARM64) | yes, signed (x64) |
| repos inside WSL | yes: agents, terminals and git run in the distro | yes, per-project WSL profile |
| macOS | yes | yes |
| Linux | yes (AppImage, .deb) | x64 AppImage |
| agents | ||
| agents | any CLI | any CLI; 8 built in |
| agents on screen | several, in split tabs | one at a time |
| everyday work | ||
| isolation per task | worktree and branch per pane | shared checkout; links worktrees you make |
| diff, commit, PR | Changes panel and git buttons | none; use git in a terminal |
| dev servers | run script and a port block per pane | full process manager with auto-restart |
| safety and setup | ||
| open source | yes, AGPL-3.0 | no |
| price | free, no limits | free up to 4 projects, 20 processes; Pro $99/year |
| account needed | no | no (license for Pro) |
platforms
Windows
pane
solo
yes, signed (x64)repos inside WSL
pane
solo
yes, per-project WSL profilemacOS
pane
solo
yesLinux
pane
solo
x64 AppImageagents
agents
pane
solo
any CLI; 8 built inagents on screen
pane
solo
one at a timeeveryday work
isolation per task
pane
solo
shared checkout; links worktrees you makediff, commit, PR
pane
solo
none; use git in a terminaldev servers
pane
solo
full process manager with auto-restartsafety and setup
open source
pane
solo
noprice
pane
solo
free up to 4 projects, 20 processes; Pro $99/yearaccount needed
pane
solo
no (license for Pro)Facts checked on October 3 and 4, 2026 (Solo v0.10.1 and Pane v2.4.157). Rechecked on November 5, 2026 against Solo v0.12.4.
why people look for a solo alternative
Shared checkout, no review, and limits on the free tier.
Solo doesn't isolate parallel agents: it doesn't create a worktree or branch per task, so agents in a project edit the same checkout and Solo relies on prompts and locks to avoid collisions. You can link worktrees you make yourself as related checkouts. Its own comparison page points to Conductor for isolated parallel work. There's no diff viewer, commit, pull request or merge; in our test we reviewed with git diff in a terminal tab. Only one terminal is visible at a time.
The free tier allows 4 primary projects and 20 processes in total, and agents count as processes; Pro is $99 a year. It's closed source with no public issue tracker, Windows and Linux builds are x64 only, and usage analytics and error reports have no documented opt-out. Quitting or updating the app stops your whole stack and every agent, though since 0.11.1 the next launch offers to resume them.
moving from solo to pane
Your agents and logins carry over. Each task gets its own worktree, dev-server port and diff.
Solo wraps the agent CLIs you've already installed, and so does Pane. Open your repository in Pane and create a pane per task: each gets its own worktree and branch, with .env and agent config copied in and its own block of ports in $PANE_PORT, so two dev servers can run side by side. Set a run script per project and start it with the play button or Ctrl+Shift+D.
Start Claude Code, Codex or Cursor with a click, or Gemini CLI, Amp, Copilot, OpenCode or Kimi as custom commands, and split tabs to watch several at once. Review in the Changes panel and commit, push and merge with shortcuts. For a lead agent, Pane's orchestrator, Sessions, starts and steers agents in other panes, with named locks so workers don't collide. If your repo lives in WSL, everything runs inside the distro.
our verdict
Solo is a thoughtful home for the dev stack around your agents. If you want those agents isolated in their own worktrees, with review and git in the app, free and on every OS, Pane is the most direct alternative. Orca and Superset add more around the agents; Herdr keeps it in the terminal.
how we checked
On October 3 and 4, 2026 we ran Solo 0.10.1 on Windows 11 with Claude Code and Codex, including a repo inside WSL2 (Ubuntu 24.04), and reviewed and committed a change. Pane, Orca and Herdr ran on the same PC. Superset and Conductor facts come from their docs and pricing.
Facts about each product come from its own docs, changelog and pricing, checked on the same dates.
- What we ran
- → Pane 2.4.155 on Windows 11, native and WSL2 (Ubuntu 24.04) repos
- → Solo 0.10.1 on the same PC, natively and with a WSL repo, October 3 and 4, 2026
- Who wrote this
- We make Pane, so we have a stake in this. We tried to be fair: Solo'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. .