The Best Tools to Run Multiple Claude Code Agents (2026)

A lot changed since we first wrote this in June. Claude Code grew its own agent teams, Crystal became Nimbalyst, Conductor moved into the cloud, Vibe Kanban announced it is winding down, and Emdash arrived. Here is the current picture, checked on 10 September 2026.

What kinds of tools run multiple Claude Code agents? #

Four kinds, and knowing which one you need is most of the decision.

• Built in. Features inside Claude Code itself. Nothing new to install, and the team lives in one session.
• Session managers. Many agents in terminal sessions, driven from one keyboard friendly interface.
• Parallel workspace apps. A desktop app that gives each agent an isolated workspace and a place to review what it changed.
• Coordinated offices. Agents with roles, mailboxes, shared long term memory and an orchestrator that routes the work.

The tools at a glance #

Claude Code agent teams: the built in option #

Agent teams are Claude Code’s own way to run a team, and they are still experimental. Set CLAUDE_CODE_EXPERIMENTAL_AGENT_TEAMS=1 and a lead session can spawn teammates. Each teammate is a separate Claude Code instance with its own context window. They share a task list, claim work, and message each other directly. You can keep them all in one terminal, or give each one a split pane with tmux or iTerm2.

• Strengths: nothing to install, first party, and teammates genuinely talk to each other.
• Where it stops: Anthropic’s docs list the limits. A session has exactly one team, in process teammates are not restored when you resume a session, and token use grows with every teammate. Every teammate is Claude.

Best for: research, review and debugging jobs you finish in one sitting.

Claude Squad: the lean terminal manager #

Claude Squad is a terminal app that manages several agents, including Claude Code, Codex, Gemini and Aider, each in its own workspace. It needs tmux and installs as cs.

• Strengths: light, fast, keyboard driven, and comfortable over SSH.
• Where it stops: its README describes managing sessions. It does not describe shared memory or agents messaging each other, so deciding who does what stays with you.

Best for: terminal people running a handful of independent tasks. More in Claude Squad vs Munder Difflin.

Conductor: the polished Mac app, now with a cloud #

Conductor started as a Mac app for running coding agents in parallel, each in its own workspace. It now runs Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and OpenCode, and pitches itself as a way to run a team of coding agents in the cloud. The free plan covers running agents in parallel in local workspaces on your Mac. Cloud workspaces come with paid plans, and its Teams plan adds live collaboration on shared workspaces.

• Strengths: a refined interface, quick review, and cloud workspaces that can run for hours.
• Where it stops: the desktop app is macOS only today, with iOS listed as coming soon, and the cloud and multiplayer parts are paid.

Best for: Mac users who want polish and are happy to pay for cloud runs. See a Conductor alternative.

Nimbalyst: what Crystal became #

Crystal was deprecated in February 2026 and replaced by Nimbalyst, which describes itself as an open source visual workspace for building with Codex, Claude Code and more. It runs parallel sessions with optional git worktree isolation, adds visual editors for markdown, mockups, diagrams and data models, and organises sessions on a kanban. The desktop apps for macOS, Windows and Linux are MIT licensed.

• Strengths: open source, cross platform, and good at reviewing what agents change, including non code files.
• Worth checking: its pricing page, for the team and collaboration features.

Best for: developers who want an open, visual, cross platform workspace. Our older Crystal comparison still explains the worktree model it grew from.

Emdash: the open source newcomer #

Emdash is an open source agentic development environment backed by Y Combinator. It runs coding agents in parallel with any provider, schedules repeat work, previews apps in a built in browser, pulls issues from Linear, Jira and GitHub, and manages prompts, skills and MCP tools. It runs on macOS, Windows and Linux under Apache 2.0.

• Strengths: wide agent support, issue tracker integrations, and every desktop platform.
• Worth checking: remote development is its newest area, so test it on your own setup first.

Best for: teams that live in an issue tracker and want agents fed straight from it.

Vibe Kanban: the board, winding down #

Vibe Kanban turns agent work into cards you plan, prompt and review. It runs with npx vibe-kanban and works with Claude Code, Codex and other agents. Its site now says the project is sunsetting and will continue as open source, maintained by the community.

• Strengths: a familiar board for planning work and reviewing agent output.
• Where it stops: with its company stepping back, future fixes depend on the community.

Best for: people already on it who are comfortable with a community maintained tool. See a Vibe Kanban alternative.

Munder Difflin: the coordinated office #

Munder Difflin is ours, and it lives in the fourth camp. It wraps twelve terminal coding CLIs (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Antigravity, Grok, Kimi Code, Qwen, OpenCode, Crush, Pi, Copilot and Cursor) and runs them as real processes on your machine. Each agent gets a desk on an office floor, a mailbox and long term memory. Michael, your clone, turns what you ask for into tasks, hires workers and routes messages between them. Questions that need you land on an ASK ME board.

• Strengths: memory and messaging that outlast a session, one orchestrator for the whole floor, engines from different vendors on the same team, and it runs on the subscriptions you already pay for. Free and MIT licensed on macOS, Windows and Linux.
• Where it stops, honestly: an office floor is more app than a terminal manager, and your machine has to stay on for the agents to keep working. Hosted sandboxes are not available yet. For one or two quick parallel tasks, a lighter tool is less to think about.

Best for: anyone running enough agents that coordination, not parallelism, is the real cost. The free app does all of the above. Optional paid plans exist too: Pro puts the office in one window and adds Stapler, and Teams lets your clone work with your teammates’ clones. Details are on the pricing page.

How do you choose? #

Match the tool to the bottleneck:

• “I only use Claude Code and need a team for one job.” Try agent teams first.
• “I want parallel agents in the terminal, now.” Claude Squad.
• “I am on a Mac, I want polish, and I will pay for cloud runs.” Conductor.
• “I want an open, visual, cross platform workspace.” Nimbalyst or Emdash.
• “My agents need to remember, talk to each other and stop colliding, across more than one vendor.” Munder Difflin.

For a more structured pass, there is a buyer’s checklist and a criteria based orchestration tools comparison.

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There is no universal best. The right tool is the one that removes your bottleneck, and that bottleneck moves from parallelism to coordination the day you start running a real team of agents.

FAQ

What is the best tool to run multiple Claude Code agents?

It depends on your bottleneck. Claude Code agent teams are the built in option for a single session. Claude Squad is the leanest terminal manager. Conductor is the polished Mac app, with cloud workspaces on paid plans. Nimbalyst and Emdash are open source desktop apps. Munder Difflin adds long term memory, messaging and an orchestrator across twelve CLIs.

Does Claude Code have a built in way to run multiple agents?

Yes, two. Subagents handle short helper jobs inside one session. Agent teams, which are experimental and stay off until you set CLAUDE_CODE_EXPERIMENTAL_AGENT_TEAMS=1, let a lead session spawn teammates that share a task list and message each other.

What happened to Crystal?

Its maker deprecated Crystal in February 2026 and replaced it with Nimbalyst, an MIT licensed visual workspace for Claude Code and Codex.

Is Vibe Kanban still maintained?

Its website says Vibe Kanban is sunsetting and will continue as an open source, community maintained project.

Are these tools free?

Most have a free option. Claude Squad (AGPL 3.0), Nimbalyst (MIT), Emdash (Apache 2.0), Vibe Kanban (Apache 2.0) and the Munder Difflin app (MIT) are open source. Conductor has a free plan for local workspaces and paid plans for cloud and team features. Check pricing before you commit, because this space moves fast.

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