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Comparison

Nix Agents vs Conductor: parallel coding agents, Windows or Mac

Conductor and Nix Agents solve the same first problem — one task per agent, one worktree per task, so two agents never edit the same file — and then stop at different places.

The overlap

Both apps take the same idea seriously: an agent without its own checkout is an agent that will collide with the next one. Conductor puts each Claude Code or Codex session in its own git worktree and gives you a review-and-merge flow when the work comes back. Nix Agents does that too, and calls the result a workspace rather than a runner.

If that is all you need, both tools will do it.

Where they differ

The first difference is the platform, and it is worth stating precisely rather than flattering ourselves: Conductor runs on macOS. Nix Agents ships for Windows today — x64 and native ARM64 — with Linux and macOS among the build targets but no published installer yet. If you are on a Mac, Conductor is available and this app is not. The Windows side is the gap this project was started to fill.

The second difference is what surrounds the agents. In Nix Agents a session is one of five modes on the same board:

  • Agent — a tool loop that reads, edits, runs and reports back.
  • Code — terminals, worktrees and diffs on one board.
  • Chat — questions about the project, with answers that cite the files.
  • Loop — one task run until it passes, against an exit condition you set.
  • Swarm — several agents, several worktrees, one merge queue.

Which one to pick

On a Mac, running Claude Code and Codex and wanting a focused merge queue, Conductor is a good answer and this page is not going to pretend otherwise.

Pick Nix Agents if you are on Windows, if you run more than two CLI agents, if you want the worktrees, terminals, source-control links and project chat in one window, or if you want to reach a remote machine over SSH and run the same board against it.

Questions

Do I need a Claude subscription for Nix Agents?
Not for the app itself. Nix Agents runs the CLIs you already have installed and authenticated — Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Copilot and others. Your provider relationship stays yours.
Is Conductor available for Windows?
Conductor is a macOS app. Nix Agents is the Windows-native answer to the same problem, which is why the project exists at all.
Does Nix Agents run on macOS or Linux?
Not yet — there is no published installer for either. Windows x64 and Windows ARM64 are the builds you can download today, and the other two targets are listed as planned rather than offered.
Can I import existing git worktrees?
Yes — Nix Agents works on ordinary git repositories and creates worktrees inside them, so nothing about your repo layout changes.
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