comparison · hands-on

Pane vs Claude Squad

TL;DR

Claude Squad is a free terminal program that runs several coding agents at once, each in its own git worktree and tmux session, from one 5 MB binary with no telemetry. It's great if you already live in tmux on a Mac, Linux or a server you SSH into. Pane is a desktop app with the same idea plus a visual diff, git buttons, notifications, an orchestrator and native Windows and WSL support. Claude Squad's native Windows build can't start agents, and the project is in slow maintenance mode with two part-time maintainers.

which one should you pick?

pick claude squad if

  • → you live in tmux and want to stay in the terminal
  • → you work on servers over SSH and want agents to keep running when you disconnect
  • → you want the smallest possible tool: one 5 MB binary, no account, no telemetry
  • → you run a handful of agents at a time (it caps at 10)

pick pane if

  • → you're on Windows, or keep code inside WSL
  • → you want a visual diff, per-file review and git buttons instead of commit-all
  • → you want notifications when an agent finishes or needs you
  • → you want to see several agents side by side and switch with shortcuts
  • → you want an orchestrator, a CLI and an MCP server so agents can drive the app

at a glance

yespartly, or with a catchno

pane16 yes · 1 partly · 0 noclaude squad7 yes · 7 partly · 3 no
basics
what it isdesktop app: real terminals for agents, side by sideterminal UI that runs agents in tmux sessions
made byDcouplesmtg-ai, two part-time maintainers
licenseAGPL-3.0, freeAGPL-3.0, free (contributors sign a CLA)
maintenancev2.4, releases most daysv1.0.20 (August 2026), maintenance mode
platforms
native Windowsyes (x64 and ARM64)Windows build can't start agents (no tmux)
repos inside WSLyes: agents, terminals and git run in the distrorun the Linux build inside WSL (undocumented)
macOSyes (Apple Silicon and Intel, signed)yes (Homebrew)
Linuxyes (AppImage, .deb)yes; needs tmux and gh
agents
agentsany CLI; Claude Code, Codex, Cursor built inany CLI by command or profile; auto-yes for Claude, Aider, Gemini
how agents runthe agent's own terminal UI, side by sidethe agent's terminal UI in tmux, one preview at a time
agents that run agentsSessions, plus the runpane CLI and an MCP serverno
everyday work
worktree per taskyes, on by defaultyes, always
review changesChanges panel, per-file diff tabs, split or unifiedone plain-text git diff of the whole worktree
commit and pushbuttons and shortcuts, your messagecommit everything with a fixed message, skipping hooks; push via gh
notificationson by defaultnone; watch the list
parallel sessionsno fixed limitup to 10
after a restartpanes come back; Claude Code, Codex and Cursor resume their conversationssessions come back paused; agents start fresh
remote and teams
run on another machineRemote Pane host over SSH, Tailscale or HTTPSSSH into the machine and run it there
phoneiOS and Android app coming soon; browser app via Remote Pane todayan SSH app
account needednono

basics

what it is

pane

desktop app: real terminals for agents, side by side

claude squad

terminal UI that runs agents in tmux sessions

made by

pane

Dcouple

claude squad

smtg-ai, two part-time maintainers

license

pane

AGPL-3.0, free

claude squad

AGPL-3.0, free (contributors sign a CLA)

maintenance

pane

v2.4, releases most days

claude squad

v1.0.20 (August 2026), maintenance mode

platforms

native Windows

pane

yes (x64 and ARM64)

claude squad

Windows build can't start agents (no tmux)

repos inside WSL

pane

yes: agents, terminals and git run in the distro

claude squad

run the Linux build inside WSL (undocumented)

macOS

pane

yes (Apple Silicon and Intel, signed)

claude squad

yes (Homebrew)

Linux

pane

yes (AppImage, .deb)

claude squad

yes; needs tmux and gh

agents

agents

pane

any CLI; Claude Code, Codex, Cursor built in

claude squad

any CLI by command or profile; auto-yes for Claude, Aider, Gemini

how agents run

pane

the agent's own terminal UI, side by side

claude squad

the agent's terminal UI in tmux, one preview at a time

agents that run agents

pane

Sessions, plus the runpane CLI and an MCP server

claude squad

no

everyday work

worktree per task

pane

yes, on by default

claude squad

yes, always

review changes

pane

Changes panel, per-file diff tabs, split or unified

claude squad

one plain-text git diff of the whole worktree

commit and push

pane

buttons and shortcuts, your message

claude squad

commit everything with a fixed message, skipping hooks; push via gh

notifications

pane

on by default

claude squad

none; watch the list

parallel sessions

pane

no fixed limit

claude squad

up to 10

after a restart

pane

panes come back; Claude Code, Codex and Cursor resume their conversations

claude squad

sessions come back paused; agents start fresh

remote and teams

run on another machine

pane

Remote Pane host over SSH, Tailscale or HTTPS

claude squad

SSH into the machine and run it there

phone

pane

iOS and Android app coming soon; browser app via Remote Pane today

claude squad

an SSH app

account needed

pane

no

claude squad

no

Facts checked on October 3 and 4, 2026: Claude Squad v1.0.20 and Pane v2.4.157. Hands-on: Claude Squad in WSL2 (Ubuntu 24.04, tmux 3.4) with real Claude Code, plus the native Windows build; Pane 2.4.155 on the same PC.

by the numbers

download

pane115 MBclaude squad1.9 MB

installed size

pane429 MBclaude squad4.8 MB

relaunch time

pane3.6 s (median)claude squad0.58 s (median)

idle RAM (app only)

pane780 MBclaude squad13 MB, plus about 30 MB for tmux

idle CPU

pane0.1% of one coreclaude squad19.8% of one core with three idle agents

Measured on the same PC (Claude Squad inside WSL2). Shorter bars are better. Agents themselves add about 300 MB each in both apps.

what it's like to use

We gave both apps the same small job in a test repo: add a --version flag to a CLI, then review and commit it. Here's what you see at each step. Green notes work well, blue ones are nice touches, amber ones are confusing, and red ones are missing or broken.

1.starting a task

Pane

Pane: a short create dialogPick the repo, base branch and name, and Pane makes a worktree. You pick the agent and type the task once the pane opens.Pane 2.4.155 on Windows 11, repo inside WSL2, October 3, 2026

Claude Squad

Claude Squad: name, prompt, branchPress n, type a name, then an overlay asks for the prompt and the branch. Everything is keyboard-driven.Claude Squad 1.0.20 in WSL2, October 3, 2026

2.an agent at work

Pane

Pane: the agent's real terminalPane runs the agent's own terminal UI, exactly as it looks anywhere else, with several panes going at once.Pane 2.4.155, three panes running Claude Code

Claude Squad

Claude Squad: a list and one previewInstances sit in a list with live line counts. The right side mirrors the selected agent's tmux pane; press Enter to attach full-screen.Claude Squad 1.0.20, three Claude Code instances

3.reviewing the change

Pane

Pane: Changes panel and diff tabsPane lists every touched file with its line counts. Click one and its diff opens as a tab next to the agent.Pane 2.4.155, after the agent finished

Claude Squad

Claude Squad: a plain git diffThe Diff tab shows git diff for the whole worktree as text, with a summary of additions and deletions.Claude Squad 1.0.20, Diff tab

4.committing

Pane

Pane: one shortcutCtrl+Shift+K commits. The header says Ready to merge, and push and merge are one click each.Pane 2.4.155, right after Ctrl+Shift+K

Claude Squad

Claude Squad: push asks firstp commits everything and pushes the branch with the GitHub CLI after you confirm. c checks the branch out so you can test it.Claude Squad 1.0.20, push confirmation

the real difference: tmux TUI or desktop app

Claude Squad is the smallest, most terminal-native way to run agents in parallel. Pane trades size for a full review, git and notification loop.

Claude Squad is a single Go binary that wraps each agent in a tmux session and a git worktree. Sessions are ordinary tmux sessions, so agents keep running when you close the UI or lose an SSH connection, and you can attach to them with tmux directly. It has no account, no telemetry and no background service.

Pane is a desktop app around the same idea. You see several agents side by side, review each file's diff, commit, push, pull, rebase and merge with buttons and shortcuts, and get a notification when an agent finishes or needs you. Sessions, the runpane CLI and an MCP server let agents start and steer other panes.

windows and wsl

Claude Squad needs tmux, so on Windows it only works inside WSL. Pane runs natively and also runs WSL repos inside the distro.

Claude Squad ships a Windows zip, and the interface opens, but creating an instance fails because tmux doesn't exist on Windows: in our test the instance just vanished, and the log said "unsupported". A pull request for Windows support has been open for about eight months. The Linux build runs well inside WSL, which isn't documented but is how we tested it.

Pane installs as a native Windows app on x64 and ARM64, and runs agents, terminals and git inside WSL for repos you keep there.

review and git

Pane gives you per-file diffs and normal git. Claude Squad commits everything at once with a fixed message.

Claude Squad's Diff tab is git diff as text. Pushing commits every change with a fixed [claudesquad] message, passes --no-verify so your hooks don't run, and pushes through the GitHub CLI; there's no pull request creation, merge, rebase or partial staging. Its checkout key is clever, though: it commits, frees the worktree and copies the branch name so you can test it in your main checkout, then resumes the agent later.

In Pane, Changes lists every file with its counts, each diff opens as a tab in split or unified view, and commit, push, pull, rebase, merge and undo all have buttons and shortcuts, with your own messages and hooks.

maintenance

Claude Squad is maintained part-time, with six releases in 2026. Pane ships most days.

In March 2026 the maintainers said both work full-time jobs and would focus on bug fixes and the most requested improvements. The most-reacted issues are titled "No more updates?" and "Project seems abandoned". The last release, v1.0.20, came out in August 2026 and made sessions survive a reboot, though agents restart fresh rather than resuming their conversations.

Pane releases most days, and after a restart Claude Code, Codex and Cursor resume their conversations.

what we measured

Claude Squad is far smaller and starts instantly. Pane used much less CPU with agents idle.

Claude Squad's download is under 2 MB and it installs as one 4.8 MB file. It starts in about half a second and uses 13 MB of memory, plus about 30 MB for tmux. Pane is a 115 MB download, starts in 3.6 seconds and uses 780 MB at idle. With three idle agents, though, Claude Squad's process used about 20% of a CPU core polling their panes, against Pane's 0.1%.

our verdict

If you live in tmux on a Mac, Linux or a server, and want the lightest possible way to run a few agents in parallel, Claude Squad is still a good pick.

If you're on Windows or WSL, or you want a real review loop, git buttons, notifications and agents side by side, pick Pane. Both are free and AGPL-licensed, and they don't conflict.

how we tested

On October 3, 2026 we ran Claude Squad 1.0.20 inside WSL2 (Ubuntu 24.04, tmux 3.4) with real Claude Code agents, three in parallel, and also ran its native Windows build to check whether it could start agents. We gave it and Pane 2.4.155 the same task in a private test repo. We read the source to confirm defaults like the fixed commit message, --no-verify and the 10-session cap. We backed up every agent config before the test and restored anything an app changed.

Facts about each product come from its own docs, release notes, issue tracker and source code, checked on the same dates. Measurements are single-machine numbers, not lab benchmarks.

What we ran
  • → Pane 2.4.155 on Windows 11, native and WSL2 (Ubuntu 24.04) repos
  • → Claude Squad 1.0.20 in WSL2 with tmux 3.4, three Claude Code agents; native Windows build also tried
  • → Claude Code (Opus 5.5) on the account's existing login
Who wrote this
We make Pane, so we have a stake in this. We tried to be fair: Claude Squad'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

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See also: tmux agent managers · agent manager tools
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By Parsa Khazaeepoul, co-founder of Pane. .