Open source alternative to Conductor
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Orchestrate parallel AI coding agents on an infinite canvas, each in its own git worktree, with live status and cross-device workspace sync.
Open five worktrees, start one agent per worktree, and monitor all of them from one canvas. Cate shows each agent's state and notifies you the moment any session needs input, so you spend less time watching terminals and more time reviewing results.
If you run only one agent at a time and do not need to monitor parallel sessions, a plain terminal or existing IDE is simpler and sufficient.
Invite a collaborator to your workspace and both of you see the same live terminals, editor buffers, and agent conversations. Changes either person makes are visible immediately, and presence indicators show who is connected.
If your team works asynchronously on separate branches and never needs to observe each other's sessions in real time, a shared git repository and separate editors are a lighter setup.
Start agents on your laptop, then follow their progress from your phone using the iOS app. Send prompts or approve permission requests from the iOS app without opening your laptop.
If you work only at one machine and do not use a phone or secondary computer for coding tasks, the multi-device capability adds no value.
Teams that relied on a paid orchestration layer for parallel agent work need a replacement before that service closes. Cate covers the same core use case: multiple agents, branch isolation, shared workspace state, and agent status at a glance.
If you are not currently using an agent orchestration tool and have no plans to run agents in parallel, Cate's orchestration capabilities are more than you need.
Running multiple AI coding agents in parallel means managing several terminal sessions that look identical, with no easy way to tell which one is waiting for your input, which finished its task, or which branch belongs to which job. Teams end up tabbing through windows, losing context, and approving agent prompts long after the agent has stalled.
The git coordination problem sits on top of that. Each agent should work on its own branch to avoid conflicts, but setting up multiple worktrees for five simultaneous tasks means several manual steps before any agent starts. Most developers skip the isolation entirely and let agents work on the same branch, then sort out the conflicts afterward.
Supported agent CLIs report turn start, turn end, and permission prompts, so each panel on the canvas shows whether its agent is running, waiting for input, or finished. When an agent needs a decision, Cate sends a notification rather than silently blocking, so you catch the pause without watching each session.
Type a task description and Cate creates the git worktree and branch, starting from a local branch, a remote branch, or an open pull request. Each worktree gets its own colored territory on the canvas, keeping five parallel tasks visually distinct instead of a pile of overlapping editor tabs.
Terminals, Monaco editors, browsers, PDF and image viewers, and nested canvases float freely or dock into tabs and splits. Panels detach into their own windows. Layout persists per project, so reopening a workspace restores the arrangement you left.
Pair another device using a QR code or pairing code and both devices see the same live workspace, including files, terminals, agent conversations, and canvas layout. The iOS app lets you follow agent conversations, send prompts with file or photo attachments, and use panels from your phone. Connections work over a local network or through Cate Connect from anywhere, with end-to-end encryption.
Send prompts with file or photo attachments from the app or the command-line interface. The runtime holds each panel's queue, so connected clients share the same view of pending and failed prompts. This keeps collaborators and paired devices in sync when multiple people send instructions to the same agent.
An overview in the sidebar tracks workspace token usage and API-equivalent cost broken down by time period, agent, and model. Claude Code and Codex subscription limits are visible from the same view, so you can see how much of your subscription quota each parallel task is consuming.
Both tools address the same problem: running multiple AI coding agents in parallel with branch isolation and shared workspace state. Conductor was a paid, hosted service in this category; Cate is the MIT-licensed, self-hosted open source alternative.
Conductor stops working on 2026-11-20. Teams relying on it for orchestration need a replacement.
| Feature | Cate | Conductor |
|---|---|---|
| License | MIT | Proprietary |
| Hosting | Self-hosted desktop app | Hosted service |
| Agent support | Any agent CLI | Proprietary |
| Pricing | Free | Paid |
| Active development | Yes | Ending 2026-11-20 |
Cate covers the full orchestration use case Conductor served: parallel agent sessions, one git worktree per branch, status visibility across sessions, and workspace sharing with other devices. Because Cate runs the actual agent CLIs in its own terminals rather than wrapping them in a proprietary interface, users keep access to every flag and configuration option those CLIs expose. The canvas layout, worktree management, and prompt queue system replace the coordination layer Conductor provided.
Install on macOS with Homebrew; signed installers for Windows and Linux are available on GitHub Releases.
```sh
brew install --cask cate
```Cate ships signed installers for all three platforms: DMG and ZIP for macOS (arm64 and x64), an NSIS installer and ZIP for Windows (x64), and AppImage, DEB, and tar.gz for Linux (x64). The macOS Homebrew cask is also available. All platforms receive the same feature set.
Cate's agent-aware status (running, waiting, finished, permission prompt notifications) is built for Claude Code and Codex. Any other agent CLI also runs in Cate's terminals; it will work correctly, though Cate may not display its detailed turn status unless that agent CLI reports compatible events. The cate CLI that agents can call in their sessions works with any agent.
Yes. Open Share in a workspace and pair another device with a QR code or pairing code. Devices connect over the same local network or through Cate Connect from anywhere, with end-to-end encryption. The iOS app gives you access to panels, terminals, agent conversations, and prompt queues from your phone.
Cate is MIT-licensed open source software. There is no paid tier or subscription. Cate Connect, the relay for remote access from outside a local network, is part of the same project; the README documents no separate pricing for it.
It depends on the workspace availability setting. In Workspace Settings under Availability, you can choose whether the workspace runtime keeps running after you close Cate, stops once running work finishes, or stops with Cate. Choosing to always stay available means agents continue running on the machine even when the app is closed.
Self-hosted AI agent management with org charts and budgets
#1 in the Conductor guide
Drop-in Conductor replacement with 27 or more agents on macOS, Windows, and Linux under MIT
#2 in the Conductor guide
MIT-licensed control plane for 6 or more agents with mobile and web clients and a large community
#3 in the Conductor guide
Daemon-based architecture for agents running on a VM or Docker host with full mobile parity
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