xcb vs Conductor
Conductor and similar apps give each agent its own Git worktree, diff, and merge flow, so you can review parallel attempts at one repository. xcb sends each task to one of your accounts, sandboxes the run, and keeps it going after you close the terminal, but it has no worktree or pull request flow.
Which one to pick
Pick Conductor when
- You want several agents working on one repository at once, each on its own branch.
- You review diffs, open pull requests, and merge from one app.
- You want Cursor’s agent alongside Claude Code, Codex, and OpenCode.
- You want paid cloud workspaces, live collaboration, or a mobile app.
Pick xcb when
- You pay for more than one of Claude, Codex, and Devin, or several accounts at one provider, and want each task on one that can take it now.
- You want each run sandboxed instead of running with your user permissions.
- You want tasks to keep running on your own machine after you close the terminal.
- You want another agent to hand off work with
xcb --json route.
Side by side
| Aspect | Conductor | xcb |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A Mac app with a workspace, branch, terminal, and diff for each agent | A router and terminal that sends each task to one of your accounts |
| Parallel work | Many agents on one repository, each in its own Git worktree | Tasks in different projects run at the same time; tasks in one project run one at a time |
| Accounts | The sign-ins already saved on your machine, or API keys | Several accounts per provider; one task per account at a time |
| Sandboxing | Local agents run directly on your system without sandboxing | Every provider run is sandboxed; commands run in an offline Linux VM on macOS ARM64 |
| Closing the app | Local sessions end; paid cloud workspaces keep running | Managed tasks keep running under a background supervisor |
| Review and merge | Diffs, pull requests, and merging in the app | None; workers see Git status and diffs read-only |
| Agents | Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, and OpenCode | Claude Code, Codex, and the Devin CLI |
| Price | Free; Pro is $50 a month and adds cloud workspaces, an API, and a mobile app | Free and open source under the MIT license |
Claude Squad, Superset, and Emdash
Claude Squad ↗ is a terminal app that runs Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, Aider, and other local agents in separate tmux sessions and Git worktrees, with an optional auto-accept mode. It needs tmux and the GitHub CLI, and it is licensed under AGPL-3.0.
Superset ↗ runs Claude Code, Codex, or another CLI agent with terminals, code review, and browser previews in one workspace, with a worktree for each task. Its README notes that worktrees “do not sandbox processes or prevent merge conflicts”. It targets macOS, with experimental Linux builds, under the Elastic License 2.0.
Emdash ↗ is a desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux that runs each task in its own worktree, locally or on a remote machine over SSH. It works with Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Amp, Devin, and more, under the Apache 2.0 license.
Each of them works with the agents and sign-ins you already have. xcb picks an account for each task and sandboxes each run, and it can run beside any of them.
Sources
- Conductor home page ↗Checked
- Conductor FAQ ↗Checked
- Conductor pricing ↗Checked
- Claude Squad on GitHub ↗Checked
- Superset on GitHub ↗Checked
- Emdash on GitHub ↗Checked
- xcb: Accounts and modelsChecked