comparison · hands-on

Pane vs Sidecar

TL;DR

Sidecar and Pane share a core idea: each agent gets its own git worktree and runs its real CLI, with git and diffs alongside. Sidecar (from Haplab, MIT) is a terminal UI built on tmux, fully keyboard-driven, with git, files, notes, td tasks and an all-agents Sessions view in one screen, for macOS and Linux and Windows through WSL. Pane (AGPL-3.0) is a desktop app that needs no tmux, shows several agent terminals side by side, and runs natively on Windows x64 and ARM64 as well as inside WSL. Pick Sidecar if you live in tmux; pick Pane if you're on Windows or want a desktop app with mouse and keyboard.

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which one should you pick?

pick sidecar if

  • → you live in the terminal on macOS or Linux and already use tmux
  • → you want git, files, notes and td tasks in the same screen
  • → you run agents across SSH machines
  • → you want a fully keyboard-driven, vim-style tool

pick pane if

  • → you're on Windows, natively or with WSL
  • → you don't want to install or learn tmux
  • → you want to watch more than two agents at once
  • → you want a mouse-friendly diff view as well as shortcuts

at a glance

yespartly, or with a catchno

pane12 yes · 0 partly · 0 nosidecar8 yes · 3 partly · 1 no
basics
what it isdesktop app: real terminals for agents, side by sideterminal UI over tmux: agents, git, files and notes
made byDcoupleHaplab (Marcus)
licenseAGPL-3.0, freeMIT, free
platforms
native Windowsyes (x64 and ARM64)no
repos inside WSLyes, from the Windows apprun it inside WSL (experimental)
macOSyesyes
Linuxyes (AppImage, .deb)yes (static binaries)
needs tmuxnoyes, 3.4 or newer
agents
agentsany CLI22 presets plus custom
live terminals on screenseveral, in split tabsup to 2
everyday work
worktree per taskyesyes, with setup hooks
review and gitChanges panel, diff tabs, git buttonsGit tab with stage, commit, amend, push and a merge checklist
notes and tasksnonotes and td tasks
remote and teams
other machinesRemote Pane host over SSH, Tailscale or HTTPSSSH remote hosts (behind a flag)
safety and setup
analyticson by default; one switch in Settingsnone
account needednono

basics

what it is

pane

desktop app: real terminals for agents, side by side

sidecar

terminal UI over tmux: agents, git, files and notes

made by

pane

Dcouple

sidecar

Haplab (Marcus)

license

pane

AGPL-3.0, free

sidecar

MIT, free

platforms

native Windows

pane

yes (x64 and ARM64)

sidecar

no

repos inside WSL

pane

yes, from the Windows app

sidecar

run it inside WSL (experimental)

macOS

pane

yes

sidecar

yes

Linux

pane

yes (AppImage, .deb)

sidecar

yes (static binaries)

needs tmux

pane

no

sidecar

yes, 3.4 or newer

agents

agents

pane

any CLI

sidecar

22 presets plus custom

live terminals on screen

pane

several, in split tabs

sidecar

up to 2

everyday work

worktree per task

pane

yes

sidecar

yes, with setup hooks

review and git

pane

Changes panel, diff tabs, git buttons

sidecar

Git tab with stage, commit, amend, push and a merge checklist

notes and tasks

pane

no

sidecar

notes and td tasks

remote and teams

other machines

pane

Remote Pane host over SSH, Tailscale or HTTPS

sidecar

SSH remote hosts (behind a flag)

safety and setup

analytics

pane

on by default; one switch in Settings

sidecar

none

account needed

pane

no

sidecar

no

Facts checked on October 3 and 4, 2026: Sidecar v1.15.1 and Pane v2.4.157.

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 the change. Here's what you see. Green notes work well, blue ones are nice touches, amber ones are confusing, and red ones are missing or broken.

1.agents 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

Sidecar

Sidecar: worktrees in a terminal UIA list of worktrees, each with its branch, agent and state, and the selected agent's real terminal beside it.Sidecar 1.15.1 in WSL2, three agents in worktrees, October 3, 2026

2.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

Sidecar

Sidecar: a Git tabChanged and untracked files on the left, a unified diff on the right, and stage, commit and push on single keys.Sidecar 1.15.1, the Git tab after the agent finished

the real difference: terminal UI or desktop app

Same workflow, different shell. Sidecar lives in tmux; Pane is a desktop app.

Both give each task a worktree and run the agent's real CLI. Sidecar does it inside a terminal: a Bubble Tea UI over tmux sessions, entirely keyboard-driven, with git, files, notes, td tasks, a Sessions view across projects and a merge checklist that walks a branch through PR and cleanup. It shows at most two live terminal panes at once.

Pane does it in a desktop window: panes in a sidebar, the agent's terminal and diffs as tabs you can split side by side, a Changes panel, git on buttons and about 45 shortcuts, and Sessions to start and steer agents in other panes.

windows and wsl

Sidecar needs WSL on Windows. Pane runs natively and handles WSL repos.

Sidecar builds only for macOS and Linux; on Windows you run it inside WSL, where its installer says support is experimental. In our test, the recommended installer failed twice before a manual install worked, and it idled at 11 to 16% of a CPU core. Pane ships native x64 and ARM64 Windows builds, and for a repo inside WSL it runs the agent, terminals and git in the distro from the Windows app.

our verdict

Sidecar is a well-made terminal cockpit if you already live in tmux on macOS or Linux. If you're on Windows, don't want tmux, or want to see more agents at once, Pane is the better fit.

how we checked

On October 3, 2026 we ran Sidecar 1.15.1 inside WSL2 (Ubuntu 24.04) on Windows 11, its documented Windows path, with two Claude Code agents and one Codex agent, through review, commit and the merge flow, and ran Pane 2.4.155 on the same PC.

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
  • → Sidecar 1.15.1 inside WSL2 on the same PC with Claude Code and Codex
  • → The same small task in both
Who wrote this
We make Pane, so we have a stake in this. We tried to be fair: Sidecar'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

Pane vs Claude SquadPane vs HerdrPane vs Terminal Multiplexers
See also: tmux agent managers · terminal multiplexers
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. .