Does a remote command move my agent?

No. workspace exec runs a command in the destination shell and returns its output. Your current agent stays where it is. Handoff starts a fresh agent with a note and the sender's code revision.

Who can reach my machines?

Workspaces uses your Tailscale owner identity. Treat devices signed into that account as trusted: exec can run commands and write can change files with the destination account's permissions. Use runpane workspace disable to take a machine out.

Use case

Coding agents across Mac, Windows and WSL

TL;DR

Your agent is on your Mac. The file or tool it needs is on Windows. Pane Workspaces lets that agent reach your other machines through runpane, without you copying commands and results between terminals.

Choose where the work runs

Use workspace exec for a command on another machine. Your current agent keeps the task and gets the command's output. Use handoff when you want a fresh agent on that machine to continue the task from a written note.

Connect your own machines

Use the npm runpane CLI. Run Pane on each machine and sign Tailscale into the same owner account. Tailscale gives your machines a private network. Workspaces joins automatically in Pane's default data directory when Tailscale is signed in. List your machines and check that the destination has joined before sending work.

Borrow a tool from Windows

These are command examples, not captured output. Replace windows-pc with a name from workspace list and the path with your own. The read runs on Windows. The exec asks Windows which Node version is installed; it doesn't start a second coding agent.

runpane workspace list
runpane workspace windows-pc read 'C:\work\my-app\package.json'
runpane workspace windows-pc exec -- 'node --version'

Where WSL fits

WSL is the Windows Subsystem for Linux. A Windows filesystem path and a Linux checkout inside WSL aren't the same execution environment. Workspaces can translate supported path forms, but exec uses the destination machine's shell. WSL to its own Windows host has a known daemon-routing failure with a fix pending. Don't rely on that route yet. Handoff to a receiving WSL environment is unsupported.

Try it step by step

Run runpane doctor on each machine to check its setup.
Run runpane workspace list and choose the destination by name.
Read the file or run the command there. Keep the result with the task in your current agent.
If the next step needs an agent on that machine, use the task handoff guide.

The Workspaces and Handoff docs are being added alongside these guides. If a link is unavailable, use the released source below.

Sources

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

→ Pane v2.4.166 source
→ runpane CLI contract

frequently asked questions

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. Last reviewed October 2026.