Questions
Asked before installing.
The things people want to know about Nix Agents before they download it — answered plainly, including the parts that are still beta.
- What is Nix Agents?
- A desktop workspace for coding agents. It runs the CLI agents you already have — Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Copilot and about thirty more — each in its own git worktree, in real terminals, with the diffs in reach before anything is merged.
- Is Nix Agents related to the Nix package manager?
- No. Nix Agents is an agent development environment (ADE) built by BTA Labs for running coding agents in one desktop workspace. It has no connection to Nix, NixOS or nixpkgs, is not a package manager, and does not use the Nix build system. The name is not a reference to that project.
- Does Nix Agents need an API key?
- Not for coding agents. In Code mode the CLIs it launches authenticate themselves, exactly as they do when you run them by hand, and the app does not proxy their model calls. Chat mode is the exception: it talks to a model provider you choose, with your own API key or subscription, stored on your machine.
- Which agents does it support?
- Around thirty-seven are in the launcher, including Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot, Cursor’s CLI, Aider, opencode, Goose, Crush, Amp, Cline, Qwen Code and Droid.
- Which operating systems does it run on?
- Windows ships today — x64 and native ARM64 installers, with real PTY terminals rather than an emulation layer. Linux and macOS are on the build target list but have no published installer yet.
- Does my code leave my machine?
- Only where the agent you chose sends it, which is the same place it would go if you ran that CLI yourself. Nix Agents adds no server in between and keeps no copy of your repository.
- How is it different from an AI code editor?
- The unit of work. An editor optimises the loop where you and a model edit files together; a workspace optimises handing a task to an agent, walking away, and reviewing a diff when it comes back.
- What happens if two agents edit the same file?
- In one checkout, they overwrite each other and the failure is quiet. That is why each session gets its own worktree — separate branch, separate working copy, nothing shared but the object database.
- Can I keep using my own configuration and MCP servers?
- Yes. The sessions run the binaries you installed with the configuration files you already have, so project instructions, settings and MCP servers carry over unchanged.
- Is Nix Agents open source?
- No. It is a fork of Orca, which is MIT-licensed, and the fork’s lineage and changes are documented on the comparisons page rather than left to a diff.
- What does it cost?
- Free covers unlimited chat, one code session, one terminal and one agent CLI. Starter is $20 a month (or $16 billed yearly) and raises that to three code sessions, with terminal tabs included, and Loop, Swarm and bots with @mentions as they arrive (coming soon). Builder is $50 a month (or $40 yearly) and removes the session and terminal limits. The pricing page is generated from the same list the app enforces.
- How do I try it?
- Download the Windows installer from the download page, or join the beta waitlist to test the Dev build, where the coming-soon modes are enabled early.
- Does it work with private repositories?
- Yes. It works on ordinary local git repositories, including private ones, and it never uploads them anywhere.
Something not answered here? Write to us — the address goes to a person. For the plans in detail, see pricing.