comparison

Pane vs CodexHost

TL;DR

CodexHost is a free, LGPL-3.0 add-on that attaches to OpenAI's Codex Desktop and adds Claude Code, Pi, Oh My Pi, OpenCode, Grok and about 15 other agents to its menu, so they share Codex's chat, diff review, forks and worktrees, and can hand tasks to each other. Pane is a free, AGPL-3.0 desktop app of its own that runs Codex, Claude Code and any other CLI side by side, each in its real terminal and worktree. Pick CodexHost if you love Codex Desktop and want other agents inside it. Pick Pane if you want a tool that doesn't depend on another app's internals, any agent in its own UI, and WSL support.

or
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which one should you pick?

pick codexhost if

  • → you love Codex Desktop and want other agents inside that exact UI
  • → you want Pi or Oh My Pi in Codex's chat, diff and fork views
  • → you use DeepSeek Harness, Kimi Code, Qoder or CodeBuddy
  • → you want #claude-code-style hand-offs between agents in one thread list

pick pane if

  • → you want a standalone app that doesn't break when another app updates
  • → you want any CLI agent, not just ones with an adapter
  • → you want each agent's own terminal UI, with its commands and shortcuts
  • → your code lives inside WSL

at a glance

yespartly, or with a catchno

pane11 yes · 0 partly · 0 nocodexhost3 yes · 6 partly · 2 no
basics
what it isa standalone desktop appan add-on that patches Codex Desktop at runtime
made byDcouplea mostly solo, Chinese-language open-source project
licenseAGPL-3.0, freeLGPL-3.0, free
platforms
Windowsyes (x64 and ARM64)yes (x64 and ARM64), unsigned
repos inside WSLyes: agents, terminals and git run in the distronot supported
macOSyes, signed and notarizedyes, not notarized
Linuxyes (AppImage, .deb)npm only, with the official ChatGPT .deb or .rpm
agents
agentsany CLI19 adapters; no custom command
how agents runthe agent's own terminal UICodex Desktop's chat view
agents that run agentsSessions and the runpane CLI#agent delegation into child threads
everyday work
worktree per taskyes, on by defaultfrom Codex Desktop, when you choose one
reviewChanges panel, commit, push, mergeCodex Desktop's diff review
safety and setup
survives other apps' updatesyesbreaks on some Codex updates
analyticson by default; one switch in Settingsnone found
account needednoChatGPT sign-in for Codex Desktop

basics

what it is

pane

a standalone desktop app

codexhost

an add-on that patches Codex Desktop at runtime

made by

pane

Dcouple

codexhost

a mostly solo, Chinese-language open-source project

license

pane

AGPL-3.0, free

codexhost

LGPL-3.0, free

platforms

Windows

pane

yes (x64 and ARM64)

codexhost

yes (x64 and ARM64), unsigned

repos inside WSL

pane

yes: agents, terminals and git run in the distro

codexhost

not supported

macOS

pane

yes, signed and notarized

codexhost

yes, not notarized

Linux

pane

yes (AppImage, .deb)

codexhost

npm only, with the official ChatGPT .deb or .rpm

agents

agents

pane

any CLI

codexhost

19 adapters; no custom command

how agents run

pane

the agent's own terminal UI

codexhost

Codex Desktop's chat view

agents that run agents

pane

Sessions and the runpane CLI

codexhost

#agent delegation into child threads

everyday work

worktree per task

pane

yes, on by default

codexhost

from Codex Desktop, when you choose one

review

pane

Changes panel, commit, push, merge

codexhost

Codex Desktop's diff review

safety and setup

survives other apps' updates

pane

yes

codexhost

breaks on some Codex updates

analytics

pane

on by default; one switch in Settings

codexhost

none found

account needed

pane

no

codexhost

ChatGPT sign-in for Codex Desktop

Facts checked on October 3 and 4, 2026: CodexHost v0.12.2 and Pane v2.4.157. Rechecked against CodexHost's site, docs and releases on November 5, 2026: CodexHost v0.17.3.

the real difference: inside Codex or on its own

CodexHost extends someone else's app. Pane is its own app.

CodexHost attaches to Codex Desktop through its debugging port and hooks private, minified objects in its interface, so Claude Code, Pi and the rest appear in Codex's own menu, chat, diff review and fork views. It's a clever way to keep the Codex experience and add agents. The cost is that Codex updates have repeatedly broken it: sessions vanished from the sidebar, menus stopped working and every external agent's connection check failed until hotfixes shipped, and the project keeps a playbook just for diagnosing Codex upgrades.

Pane doesn't depend on any other app. It starts each agent's own CLI in a real terminal, Codex included, with its own worktree and Changes panel, so an update to one agent only affects that agent.

agents

CodexHost runs agents it has adapters for, as chat. Pane runs any CLI as itself.

CodexHost has 19 adapter plugins, including Chinese-market agents few other tools cover, but no way to add an arbitrary CLI, so Gemini CLI, Amp, Aider and Goose are out, and agents lose their own terminal UI and keybindings. Pane runs anything you can type in a terminal, with Codex, Claude Code and Cursor one click away and Pi, Oh My Pi, OpenCode or Grok as custom commands.

platforms

Pane handles WSL and is signed on Mac; CodexHost is narrower.

CodexHost has no supported WSL path, its Windows executables are unsigned and have been quarantined by Defender, the macOS app isn't notarized, and on Linux it needs the official ChatGPT .deb or .rpm. Pane runs natively on Windows x64 and ARM64 with first-class WSL repos, has signed and notarized Mac builds, and Linux AppImage and .deb packages.

our verdict

If Codex Desktop is your home and you want Claude Code or Pi in it, CodexHost is the only tool that does that, as long as you can live with fixes lagging Codex updates. If you want Codex and any other agent side by side in a tool that stands on its own, with WSL support, Pane is the better fit.

how we checked

On October 4, 2026 we installed CodexHost 0.12.1 on Windows 11 and ran its launcher, CLI and web console; we didn't sign in to Codex Desktop, so its in-app behaviour comes from CodexHost's docs, release notes and issues. Pane 2.4.155 ran on the same PC with WSL2 (Ubuntu 24.04).

Facts about each product come from its own docs, release notes, issue tracker and source code, checked on October 3 and 4, 2026.

What we ran
  • → Pane 2.4.155 on Windows 11, native and WSL2 (Ubuntu 24.04) repos
  • → CodexHost 0.12.1 launcher, CLI and console on the same PC
Who wrote this
We make Pane, so we have a stake in this. We tried to be fair: CodexHost'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

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See also: agent manager tools · desktop agent managers
or
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

By Parsa Khazaeepoul, co-founder of Pane. .