Platform guide · Linux
AI agent managers for Linux
TL;DR
Most agent managers run on Linux, but they come in two shapes: desktop apps shipped as an AppImage, .deb or .rpm, and terminal tools that live in tmux or run as a server.
Pane, Orca, Emdash, Paseo and T3 Code ship full desktop apps. Herdr, Claude Squad and Sidecar are the strongest terminal options, and they're the right pick for a headless box. Conductor, cmux and Solo have no Linux build, and Superset's is experimental.
Pane ships an AppImage and a .deb for x64 and ARM64, and needs no tmux.
Where each tool runs
Linux support is wide. What varies is the package format and what it expects your system to have.
Desktop apps
| Tool | Windows | WSL repos | macOS | Linux | On Linux |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pane | yes | yes | yes | yes | AppImage and .deb for x64 and ARM64, no tmux needed. |
| Orca | yes | yes | yes | yes | AppImage, .deb and .rpm for x64 and ARM64. |
| Emdash | yes | no | yes | yes | AppImage, .deb and .rpm. |
| Paseo | yes | no | yes | yes | AppImage, .deb, .rpm, Nix and a Docker image. |
| T3 Code | yes | partly | yes | yes | AppImage, .deb and AUR; several open AppImage bugs. |
| Maestri | yes | yes | yes | yes | .deb and AppImage for x64 and ARM64. |
| Ghostex | yes | yes | partly | yes | .deb, .rpm and AUR for x64. |
| Kandev | yes | partly | yes | yes | Desktop app and an npx CLI. |
| Traycer | yes | partly | yes | yes | AppImage, .deb and .rpm; needs systemd. |
| Agent Orchestrator | yes | no | yes | yes | AppImage, .deb and .rpm. |
| Reliant | yes | no | yes | yes | AppImage for x64 and ARM64. |
| Waku | yes | no | partly | yes | x64 and ARM64 tarballs. |
Orca
AppImage, .deb and .rpm for x64 and ARM64.
Maestri
.deb and AppImage for x64 and ARM64.
Ghostex
.deb, .rpm and AUR for x64.
Kandev
Desktop app and an npx CLI.
Traycer
AppImage, .deb and .rpm; needs systemd.
Agent Orchestrator
AppImage, .deb and .rpm.
Reliant
AppImage for x64 and ARM64.
Waku
x64 and ARM64 tarballs.
Terminal and server tools
| Tool | Windows | WSL repos | macOS | Linux | On Linux |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herdr | yes | yes | yes | yes | A single 30 MB binary; agents survive disconnects. |
| Claude Squad | no | partly | yes | yes | Needs tmux and gh. |
| Sidecar | no | yes | yes | yes | Static tarballs for x64 and ARM64. |
| claude-tmux | no | partly | yes | yes | Build from source with cargo. |
| recon | no | partly | yes | yes | Build from source with cargo. |
| Clor | partly | yes | yes | yes | CLI and runner with systemd units. |
| Omnigent | partly | yes | yes | yes | Desktop app (.deb, AppImage) and server; terminal agents need bubblewrap. |
| HumanLayer | partly | partly | partly | partly | Daemon and browser app; no desktop app. |
| bb | partly | yes | partly | partly | Alpha AppImage, or npx. |
Sidecar
Static tarballs for x64 and ARM64.
Clor
CLI and runner with systemd units.
Desktop app (.deb, AppImage) and server; terminal agents need bubblewrap.
bb
Alpha AppImage, or npx.
Experimental, discontinued or missing
| Tool | Windows | WSL repos | macOS | Linux | On Linux |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superset | no | no | yes | partly | Experimental: a 947 MB AppImage and a .deb, still marked untested. |
| Silo | partly | no | yes | partly | AppImage and .deb; needs WebKitGTK 4.1. |
| Crystal | no | no | partly | yes | AppImage and .deb; discontinued in February 2026. |
| Solo | yes | yes | yes | no | No Linux build yet. |
| Conductor | no | no | yes | no | Mac-only; no Linux build. |
| cmux | no | no | yes | no | No app; a separate TUI and a nightly browser build. |
Experimental: a 947 MB AppImage and a .deb, still marked untested.
Silo
AppImage and .deb; needs WebKitGTK 4.1.
Solo
No Linux build yet.
Checked October 2026. Versions change fast; tell us if something here is out of date.
Desktop app or terminal tool
A desktop app shows you diffs and git buttons. A terminal tool keeps everything in tmux and works over SSH.
Desktop apps like Pane, Orca and Emdash give each agent its own git worktree, show changes in a diff viewer, send notifications, and commit or open a pull request with a button. They're easiest when you sit at the machine.
Terminal tools like Herdr, Claude Squad, claude-tmux and recon run inside a multiplexer. You switch between agents with keys and read changes as text. They're light, they survive a dropped SSH connection, and they fit people who already live in tmux.
Packages and dependencies
An AppImage runs almost anywhere. Watch for tools that need systemd, WebKitGTK or bubblewrap.
Most desktop apps ship an AppImage plus a .deb, and many add an .rpm: Orca, Emdash, Paseo, Traycer and Agent Orchestrator do all three. Paseo also has Nix and a Docker image, and T3 Code is on the AUR. Waku and Sidecar ship plain tarballs.
A few tools expect more from your system. Traycer needs systemd. Silo needs WebKitGTK 4.1. Omnigent's terminal agents need bubblewrap. Superset's Linux build is a 947 MB AppImage marked experimental and untested.
Pane's AppImage needs FUSE, which most desktop distros already have, and its .deb installs its libraries through apt. You need git, and the GitHub CLI if you want to open pull requests from Pane.
Servers and SSH
For a headless box, use a terminal or server tool, or a desktop app that connects over SSH.
Herdr is a single 30 MB binary that keeps agents running when you disconnect. Claude Squad and Sidecar work in any terminal you can SSH into. Clor ships a runner with systemd units, and HumanLayer runs a daemon you open in a browser.
If you'd rather keep a desktop app on your laptop and run agents on a server, see remote development options compared.
Which to pick
Desktop at your desk, terminal on a server.
- → Linux desktop, several agents: Pane, Orca or Emdash.
- → Headless server or SSH only: Herdr, Claude Squad or Sidecar. See Pane vs Herdr.
- → Coming from Conductor or cmux: see Conductor alternatives for Linux and cmux alternatives for Linux.
- → ARM64 Linux: Pane, Orca, Maestri, Reliant, Waku and Sidecar publish ARM64 builds.
Quellen
- Was wir getestet haben
- → Terminal and server tools run hands-on in Ubuntu 24.04 on WSL2
- → Release assets and package lists checked for each tool in October 2026
- → Mac-only tools checked against their own download pages
- Korrekturen
- Wenn hier etwas falsch oder veraltet ist, sag uns Bescheid. Wir korrigieren es und aktualisieren das Datum oben. Issue auf GitHub öffnen
- Quellen
häufig gestellte fragen
Von Parsa Khazaeepoul, Mitgründer von Pane. .