A pane is an isolated workspace for one task. A panel is a tab inside that workspace. You create panes for different features. You create panels for different tools working on the same feature.
think of it like this
A pane is a desk. A panel is something on that desk: your editor, your terminal, your notebook. You can have multiple things on one desk, all related to the same project. But if you start a completely different project, you get a new desk.
Pane: "login-rewrite" ← one task, one branch
├── Panel: Claude Code ← implementation agent
├── Panel: Codex ← review agent
├── Panel: Terminal ← for running tests
└── Panel: Diff Viewer ← see what changed
Pane: "signup-flow" ← different task, different branch
├── Panel: Claude Code ← implementation agent
└── Panel: Terminal ← for running tests
when to create a new pane
- You're starting a new feature or bug fix
- You want a separate branch and isolated files
- Two agents shouldn't touch each other's code
- Each piece of work will become its own PR
when to create a new panel
- You want another agent to review the same code
- You need a terminal to run tests alongside your agent
- You want to see the diff while the agent works
- You want Claude and Codex to both look at the same PR
what persists
Both panes and panels persist across app restarts. Close Pane, reopen it, and your sessions are exactly as you left them. Terminal scrollback, agent state, panel layout, all of it.
A pane is an isolated workspace for one task. It has its own git worktree (a separate copy of your repo on its own branch), and it can contain multiple tabs (panels) inside it.
A panel is a tab inside a pane. It runs its own terminal, agent, or tool. You can have a Claude tab, a Codex tab, a terminal tab, and a diff viewer tab all in the same pane.
Because panels do more than tabs. They can be split side-by-side, they persist their state across restarts, and they have their own independent processes. 'Panel' signals that it's more than a view switcher.
As many as you need. A typical setup is one implementation agent, one review agent, and a terminal for running tests. All in the same pane, all working on the same worktree.
Yes. You can split horizontally or vertically, like VS Code. Keep the diff viewer open on one side while your agent works on the other.
New pane = new task, new branch, new isolated workspace. New panel = another tool or agent inside the same workspace. If two agents should work on different features, give them different panes. If two agents should review the same code, put them in panels inside the same pane.
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
