JCode vs Conductor
Conductor is a macOS app for running Claude Code and Codex in parallel git worktrees. Closed source.
JCode is an app for orchestrating coding agents, with native clients on desktop, mobile, web, and the CLI. Open source (AGPL-3.0).
Why pick JCode
Conductor runs on macOS, with Claude Code and Codex, in parallel git worktrees. JCode does all of that. Pick JCode if you want:
- Linux or Windows alongside macOS
- A native iOS and Android app
- Many more agents than Claude Code and Codex
- A CLI to script agent work and drive remote daemons
- A self-hosted daemon you can run on a server, VM, or homelab
- Open source you can audit and fork
Architecture
The JCode daemon runs as its own process. Desktop, web, mobile, and CLI all connect to it over a websocket. Run the daemon on your laptop, on a VM, in Docker, or across a fleet, and connect to any of them from any client.
Conductor's desktop app is the host. Agents run inside it.
Providers
JCode runs Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, and Pi natively, plus 30+ more agents through the in-app catalog including GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, and Amp. JCode speaks the Agent Client Protocol, so any ACP agent works. Custom providers run any CLI agent. See Supported providers.
Conductor runs Claude Code and Codex.
Both tools launch the official CLIs as subprocesses with your own credentials. Neither extracts tokens or proxies model calls.
Panes
JCode's app has split panes and tabs (⌘D for vertical, ⌘⇧D for horizontal). Panes include a terminal alongside your agents, a diff viewer, and a browser for testing running services.
GitHub
JCode's app handles commit, push, opening PRs, watching checks and reviews, and merging.
CLI
JCode has a CLI that mirrors the app:
jcode run --provider codex "implement OAuth"
jcode run --host devbox:6767 "run the test suite"
jcode ls
jcode send <agent-id> "add tests"
jcode schedule create --cron "0 9 * * 1" "audit the codebase"
jcode run --host connects to a remote daemon. jcode schedule runs an agent on a cron. jcode loop retries an agent until a verification command passes.
Conductor does not have a CLI.
Worktrees and services
Both tools isolate parallel agents in git worktrees.
JCode also gives each worktree its own dev server URL. Two agents running their dev servers at the same time get web.fix-auth.my-app.localhost and web.add-search.my-app.localhost instead of port collisions.
Mobile
JCode ships native iOS and Android apps with the same feature set as the desktop app. Conductor has no mobile app.
Voice
JCode's speech-to-text and text-to-speech run locally on your device. Nothing leaves your network. Conductor does not have voice.
Comparison
| JCode | Conductor | |
|---|---|---|
| License | Open source (AGPL-3.0) | Closed source |
| Platforms | macOS, Linux, Windows | macOS only |
| Native mobile | iOS, Android | — |
| Providers | Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Pi + 30+ via ACP catalog + custom | Claude Code, Codex |
| Git worktrees | Yes | Yes |
| Per-worktree dev server URLs | Yes | — |
| Split panes and tabs | Yes | — |
| In-app terminal | Yes | Yes |
| In-app browser | Yes | — |
| GitHub workflow in app | Commit, push, PR, checks, reviews, merge | Yes |
| CLI | Run, --host, ls, send, schedule, loop | — |
| Local voice (on-device) | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted daemon | Yes | — |
See also: JCode vs Superset, JCode vs OpenChamber, JCode vs Happy Coder.