A pane is an isolated workspace for one feature. 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.

Why not just call them tabs?

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.

How many panels can I have in one pane?

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.

Can I split panels side by side?

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.

When do I create a new pane vs a new panel?

New pane = new feature, 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.

glossary

pane vs panel: what's the difference?

TL;DR

In Pane, a pane is an isolated workspace for one feature, with its own branch and worktree. A panel is a tab inside that pane: an agent, a terminal, a diff or an editor, all working on the same feature. Start a new pane for a new feature, and add a panel for its reviews, fixes and QA.

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A pane is an isolated workspace for one feature. 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 the task. Panels are the tools working on it.

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 with four panes listed in the sidebar and a Claude Code panel open in the selected pane — Panes in the sidebar, panels as tabsFour panes from one repo in the sidebar, each on its own worktree. The selected pane, main-2, has a Claude Code panel open, a + to add more, and a terminal panel at the bottom.
1.Panes: One per feature. Each has its own worktree and branch; the dot shows the agent's status.
2.A panel: A tab inside the pane, here running Claude Code.
3.Add a panel: Open another agent, a terminal, a diff or files in the same pane.
4.The pane's branch: Every panel in this pane works on main-2.
5.Terminal panel: A plain shell in the same worktree, for running tests.
Pane 2.4.155 on Windows 11, repo inside WSL2

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

New feature, new branch, new pull request: 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

Same task, another tool or agent: 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

Layouts and conversations come back after a restart; processes restart fresh.

Both panes and panels come back after a restart. Close Pane, reopen it, and your panes, tabs, layout and terminal output are where you left them. Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and OpenCode pick up their conversations. The agent processes themselves stop when Pane quits and start fresh when it reopens.

→ Panels - the full docs reference
→ Panes & Worktrees - how panes map to git worktrees
→ What Is a Git Worktree?

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

→ Panels docs
→ Panes & Worktrees docs

frequently asked questions

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By Parsa Khazaeepoul, co-founder of Pane. Last reviewed October 2026.