Superset alternatives: when to stay, and what to switch to

Superset is a source-available desktop app with a free plan that gives each coding agent task its own Git worktree, and its Free plan covers one user with local workspaces, the desktop app and the CLI. Look elsewhere if you want live collaboration in shared workspaces (Conductor), a GPL-licensed terminal you script yourself (cmux), or several separate projects open side by side on one canvas (Armadai, a paid Mac app). Superset, Conductor and Armadai do not run on Windows today, and cmux offers only a Mac download.

What Superset gives you

Superset's unit of work is the workspace: an isolated Git worktree on its own branch, with its own directory, terminal sessions and ports. You start one per task, run any command-line agent in it (Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Cursor Agent and many more), review the diff in the app and turn the branch into a pull request. Worktrees are kept under ~/.superset/worktrees/ as ordinary Git worktrees, so nothing stops you from opening them in another editor; Superset can hand a worktree straight to VS Code, Cursor, Xcode or a JetBrains IDE.

Around that core it has a lot:

• Persistent terminals. Agents run in terminals owned by a background daemon, so closing the window, quitting with ⌘Q or installing an update does not stop them. Choosing Quit Superset Completely, restarting or logging out does.
• A task view. Tasks lists Linear issues alongside tasks you create in Superset, as a table or a kanban board, and Run in workspace starts one workspace per task with an agent already working.
• An in-app browser. Preview a dev server in a pane, open DevTools beside it, or use Design mode to click an element and send it to an agent.
• Scripting. A CLI, a TypeScript SDK and an MCP server, so scripts and other agents can create workspaces and drive the app.
• Paid extras. Remote Access adds any machine as a host, Automations start agents on a schedule or an event and open pull requests, and the iPhone and iPad app lets you check on agents away from your desk.

Superset's Free plan costs $0 for one user and covers local workspaces, the desktop app and the CLI, without a credit card. Pro costs $20 per user a month, or $15 per user a month billed yearly. Your Claude Code and Codex subscriptions are separate, and Superset says it never proxies model calls.

Reasons to look at something else

The useful question is what Superset does not cover. These are the cases where another tool fits better, each taken from the vendors' own pages.

• You need Windows. Superset supports macOS on Apple Silicon and Intel, ships an experimental Linux x64 AppImage, and says Windows is planned with no date. Conductor and cmux are Mac apps too, and Armadai runs on macOS only. Conductor alternatives lists tools that do run on Windows.
• You want an OSI-approved open source licence. Superset publishes its code under the Elastic License 2.0 and says plainly that this is source-available, not open source. cmux is GPL-licensed.
• You want to prompt agents together with other people. Superset and Conductor both offer cloud workspaces on paid plans, so agents can keep working while your laptop sleeps. Conductor's Pro plan adds live collaboration in shared orgs of up to five Pro users. Note that Conductor's local sessions end when you close the app or your Mac shuts off, while Superset's local terminals survive quitting the app.
• You do not want a task model at all. Superset projects must be Git repositories and each project workspace is a branch; for work outside a repository it offers sessions in a scratch folder. If you would rather keep your own terminal habits and let your agents or scripts handle worktrees, a terminal such as cmux suits you better.
• Your problem is several projects, not several branches. Superset shows workspaces in a sidebar and on a List or Board page grouped by status, rather than laying several projects out spatially. If what you juggle is your product, a client's repository and an experiment, each with its own agents, browser and notes, a canvas layout shows all of them at once.

The alternatives side by side

Conductor and Superset solve the same problem in the same way, and the deciding questions are price, licence and whether you want hosted sandboxes. Conductor vs Superset vs cmux goes through those three in detail. Superset and Conductor prices above were read on their pricing pages on 21 October 2026.

Armadai, if you work across several projects

Armadai is a native macOS app that lays work out on an infinite canvas. Each project folder becomes a workspace, several workspaces sit side by side on the same canvas, and each holds tiles for Claude Code, Codex, terminals, a code editor, a multi-tab browser, notes and a task board. You zoom out to see every project and zoom in to work on one, or switch to Tab View for a workspace per tab.

Against Superset, the differences that matter in practice:

• What a workspace is. In Superset a workspace is one task on one branch. In Armadai it is one project, with as many agents as you add to it. Armadai gives a run its own Git worktree when you hand a task off from the task board to Claude Code or Codex, and successful work comes back as a draft pull request for your review. Its homepage does not describe a new worktree for every agent you start, so if one worktree per task is what you want most, Superset is the more direct fit.
• Seeing who needs you. Both show agent status. Armadai's sidebar lists every session across all workspaces as working, idle or waiting for approval, and for requests the sidebar supports you can approve from the sidebar without leaving the project you are in.
• A lead agent. Armadai's master agent runs Claude Code or Codex and can open workspaces, launch and message agents, read their replies and arrange the canvas from one conversation.
• Agents talking to each other. Armadai's Coordinate connects Claude Code and Codex inside one project to exchange plans and reviews, with a message budget you set and a transcript that stays on your Mac.
• Keeping agents running. Superset keeps terminals alive after you quit by default. Armadai does it once you enable the background session helper and choose Keep Running and Quit; its Codex Agent and IDE tiles still close with the app, and sessions do not survive logging out or shutting down.

And where Superset is ahead:

• Price. Superset is free for one person working locally. Armadai costs $20 a month or $120 a year, the 7-day free trial needs no card, and there is no free plan.
• Phone and remote machines. Superset's iPhone and iPad app is on the App Store for Pro users, and Remote Access reaches agents on another machine. Armadai for iPhone has not shipped yet; Remote describes what is coming.
• Platforms and source. Armadai runs on macOS only, needing macOS 14 or later on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
• Automation. Armadai can auto-run Ready tasks from its board, but its homepage describes no scheduled or event-triggered agents comparable to Superset's Automations.

Plans and what each includes are under pricing.