comparison · hands-on
Pane vs Crystal
TL;DR
Crystal was one of the first desktop apps for running several Claude Code sessions in parallel git worktrees, free and MIT-licensed. Stravu stopped developing it in February 2026: the final release, v0.3.5, opens with a popup telling you to move to Nimbalyst, its new product. Crystal only ever ran Claude Code and Codex, never shipped a Windows build and won't keep up with agent updates. If you're still on Crystal, Pane is a maintained alternative with the same core loop that runs any CLI agent, on Windows, WSL, macOS and Linux.
which one should you pick?
stay on crystal if
- → your setup works today and you're happy with no further updates
- → you rely on its projects, folders and sessions tree
- → you use its checkpoint commits after every prompt
- → or move to Nimbalyst, the successor its makers recommend
pick pane if
- → you want a tool that keeps up with Claude Code and Codex releases
- → you're on Windows, or keep code inside WSL
- → you use agents beyond Claude Code and Codex
- → you want each agent's real terminal instead of a re-drawn chat
- → you want to push and open pull requests from the same window
at a glance
yespartly, or with a catchno
| pane13 yes · 1 partly · 0 no | crystal6 yes · 2 partly · 6 no | |
|---|---|---|
| basics | ||
| what it is | desktop app: real terminals for agents, side by side | desktop app that ran Claude Code and Codex in worktrees |
| made by | Dcouple | Stravu, now building Nimbalyst instead |
| license | AGPL-3.0, free | MIT, free |
| maintenance | v2.4, releases most days | discontinued; final release v0.3.5, February 26, 2026 |
| keeps up with agent updates | yes | no; it already broke on a Codex format change |
| platforms | ||
| native Windows | yes (x64 and ARM64) | no build; source only |
| repos inside WSL | yes: agents, terminals and git run in the distro | not supported |
| macOS | yes (Apple Silicon and Intel, signed) | yes (not signed or notarized) |
| Linux | yes (AppImage, .deb) | yes (AppImage, .deb) |
| agents | ||
| agents | any CLI; Claude Code, Codex, Cursor built in | Claude Code and Codex only |
| how agents run | the agent's own terminal UI | headless, shown in Crystal's own chat view, plus terminal panels |
| agents that run agents | Sessions, plus the runpane CLI and an MCP server | no |
| everyday work | ||
| worktree per task | yes, on by default | yes |
| review changes | Changes panel and diff tabs | built-in diff viewer |
| commit and merge | buttons and shortcuts for commit, push, rebase and merge | checkpoint commits per prompt; squash and rebase or merge to main |
| push and pull requests | push from the app; a Session can open and track PRs | no push, no pull requests |
| organizing sessions | projects and panes | projects, nested folders and sessions |
basics
what it is
pane
crystal
desktop app that ran Claude Code and Codex in worktreesmade by
pane
crystal
Stravu, now building Nimbalyst insteadlicense
pane
crystal
MIT, freemaintenance
pane
crystal
discontinued; final release v0.3.5, February 26, 2026keeps up with agent updates
pane
crystal
no; it already broke on a Codex format changeplatforms
native Windows
pane
crystal
no build; source onlyrepos inside WSL
pane
crystal
not supportedmacOS
pane
crystal
yes (not signed or notarized)Linux
pane
crystal
yes (AppImage, .deb)agents
agents
pane
crystal
Claude Code and Codex onlyhow agents run
pane
crystal
headless, shown in Crystal's own chat view, plus terminal panelsagents that run agents
pane
crystal
noeveryday work
worktree per task
pane
crystal
yesreview changes
pane
crystal
built-in diff viewercommit and merge
pane
crystal
checkpoint commits per prompt; squash and rebase or merge to mainpush and pull requests
pane
crystal
no push, no pull requestsorganizing sessions
pane
crystal
projects, nested folders and sessionsFacts checked on October 3 and 4, 2026: Crystal v0.3.5 (final) and Pane v2.4.157. Crystal has no Windows build, so we ran its Linux AppImage under WSLg on the same Windows 11 PC as Pane 2.4.155.
what it's like to use
Crystal has no Windows build, so we ran its Linux version under WSLg. It opens with a popup pushing you to Nimbalyst, then a welcome guide and an analytics opt-in. Here's its first real step next to Pane's. Green notes work well, blue ones are nice touches, amber ones are confusing, and red ones are missing or broken.
1.adding a project and starting work
Pane
Crystal
crystal is discontinued
Crystal still opens, but it won't get updates, and its makers point you to Nimbalyst.
Crystal's final release, v0.3.5 from February 26, 2026, only added a notice: you can keep using Crystal, but it won't be updated. On launch it shows "Crystal is now Nimbalyst" with a big Download Nimbalyst button and a smaller Continue with Crystal. Asked whether the project was dead, its author said yes, and that its functionality had moved to Nimbalyst.
That matters more for an agent manager than for most apps. Crystal drove Claude Code and Codex through their machine output formats, and it already broke once when Codex changed its format. Each future agent update is a chance for it to break again, with nobody to fix it.
the real difference: a re-drawn chat or the real terminal
Crystal ran agents headless and drew their output itself. Pane shows each agent exactly as it is.
Crystal ran Claude Code and Codex in the background and rendered their output in its own chat view, with separate terminal panels for your own commands. That made features like per-prompt checkpoint commits and running the same prompt through Claude and Codex possible, but agent features that need their own interface weren't there, and parsing bugs showed up as app bugs. By default it passed --dangerously-skip-permissions to Claude.
Pane starts each agent's real command line tool in a real terminal, so every command, prompt and shortcut works as its makers built it, and any CLI agent works, not just two.
windows and wsl
Crystal never shipped for Windows. Pane is a native Windows app that also runs WSL repos.
Crystal's README said Windows was supported if you built it from source with Visual Studio 2022, but no release ever included a Windows installer, and WSL had rendering bugs and was never supported. Its macOS builds weren't signed or notarized either.
Pane installs as a native Windows app on x64 and ARM64, runs agents, terminals and git inside WSL for repos you keep there, and ships signed builds for macOS.
moving from crystal to pane
Your repos and branches carry over; open the repo in Pane and start a pane per feature.
Crystal kept its worktrees as ordinary git worktrees and branches, so nothing is locked in. Commit or merge what you want to keep, open the repository in Pane, and create a pane for each feature; Pane makes a fresh worktree on its own branch. Claude Code conversations live in Claude Code's own history, so you can resume them in a pane with claude --resume.
What you won't find in Pane is Crystal's nested folder tree or its automatic commit after every prompt. What you gain is any agent, Windows and WSL, push and pull requests, an orchestrator, and an app that's still being developed.
our verdict
Crystal deserves credit for being early, open and thoughtful. But it's frozen, and an agent manager that can't follow agent updates will break eventually.
If you want the same parallel-worktree workflow in a maintained app, with any agent and on Windows and WSL too, pick Pane. If you'd rather stay with Crystal's makers, they recommend Nimbalyst.
how we tested
On October 3 and 4, 2026 we downloaded Crystal's final release, v0.3.5, and ran its Linux AppImage under WSLg on Windows 11, since there's no Windows build. We got through the launch popups and the Add Project form; our scripted session couldn't create a project under WSLg, and a later relaunch crashed, so we didn't run agents in it. Everything about Crystal's agent features comes from its source code, release notes and issue tracker. Pane 2.4.155 ran the full task on the same PC.
Facts about each product come from its own docs, release notes, 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
- → Crystal 0.3.5 (final) Linux AppImage under WSLg; launch and Add Project only
- → Crystal's agent features checked against its source code and release notes
- Who wrote this
- We make Pane, so we have a stake in this. We tried to be fair: Crystal'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. .