Starkomand vs Emdash.
Both run the agent’s own CLI in a terminal. Emdash is free and open source, runs on every desktop and gives each task its own git worktree, with diff review, issue trackers, automations and SSH hosts built in. Starkomand lays the terminals out side by side on a Mac canvas and puts recaps, diagrams, briefs and voice around them, for one price.
v1.0.6 · Apple silicon · free for 3 days · no account
Where they differ.
Starkomand next to Emdash, from both products’ public pages on 9 October 2026.
| Criterion |  Starkomand |
Emdash |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Your CLIs in real terminal windows on one canvas, with the tools around them. | A desktop app that gives each task’s agent its own git worktree, with diff review, automations and a built-in browser. |
| The CLI you know | The real TUI in a real pty. Flags, slash commands, keybindings and config, untouched. | The agent’s own CLI in a terminal, one per task. |
| Agents | Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Grok CLI, GitHub Copilot, OpenCode, Amp, Pi, Aider, Goose, and any CLI you configure.Several sessions of the same provider, each signed in as you. | 35 CLIs, among them Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Amp, OpenCode, Droid, Qwen Code and Pi. |
| Where your code runs | Your Mac. No account. The local server listens on 127.0.0.1 only. | Your machine or an SSH host. Cloud workspaces on request. Anonymous telemetry on by default, off in Settings. |
| Price | $49 to $169 once, per Mac, with a year of updates. Free for 3 days.Launch prices, set by seats sold. See the ladder. | Free and open source (Apache 2.0). Cloud and Enterprise plans: get in touch. |
| Hand work to another agent | A saved brief with the objective and criteria, bounded review rounds, then Ready for human review. | — |
| Catch up on every window | Hold Space. Every window flips to a recap of what it did and where it is. | — |
| Diagrams | An agent draws the architecture beside its terminal. Editable. | — |
| Issues and pull requests | Drop a GitHub issue on a window. The Flight board shows pull requests by stage.A task can run on its own branch in a separate git worktree. | Tasks from Linear, Jira, GitHub, Notion and Asana. Diff review, pull requests and CI checks. |
| Voice and hands | Hold ⌥ and speak to an agent by name. Pinch, pan, clap to tidy. On-device, and optional. | — |
| Workspaces | Unlimited. Each keeps its crew, folder, layout and backdrop, your own image included. | Projects, each with its tasks, and a git worktree per task by default. |
| Platform | macOS on Apple silicon. | macOS (Apple silicon and Intel), Windows, Linux. |
Same on both. A browser beside the terminals for previews.
A dash means the product’s own site does not advertise it. Prices and features are from each product’s public pages on 9 October 2026 and may have changed since; product names belong to their owners. Spotted a change? Tell us.
Which one.
Pick Emdash if
you want free and open source, work on Windows or Linux, want a git worktree, diff review and pull request for every task, or run agents on an SSH host or on a schedule.
Pick Starkomand if
you want every agent in view at once on a canvas rather than in a list, to hand work between agents with a saved brief, or recaps, diagrams, voice and issue notes beside the terminals.
Alsovs AgentGridvs Maestrivs Conductorvs Supersetvs CNVSvs 49Agentsvs Zeronvs hosted agents
MoreEmdash alternativesRun multiple Claude Code agents in parallel
Try it against your own setup.
Every feature, every provider, free for 3 days. Your CLIs are already installed; the canvas takes a minute.
v1.0.6 · Apple silicon · no account