Claude Code session managers for Mac (2026)

At a glance

How to choose

Start with where you want to chat. If you're happy in the official Claude app (and perhaps the Codex app), look at its own sidebar first and then at an overlay that adds to it. If you're ready to move into a new interface, the workspace and terminal tools give you more control over isolation and review.

• You like the Claude app and only use Claude Code: start with the app's own Code sidebar.
• You use the Claude and Codex desktop apps together: an overlay such as Pairbar keeps both apps and puts their chats in one list.
• You want many agents isolated in worktrees with diff review: Superset, Conductor or Nimbalyst.
• You want to steer agents from your phone or the web: Paseo.
• You live in the terminal: Claude Squad, CCManager or cmux.
• You want a Claude Code GUI with usage and cost views: opcode.

The tools

Claude desktop app (Code tab)

Anthropic's own sidebar lists your sessions and runs several in parallel, with filters by status, project or environment, notifications when a session finishes, a usage ring, optional worktrees, Local, Cloud, SSH and WSL environments, and scheduled Routines. It doesn't list Codex chats. Suits: anyone who mainly uses Claude Code and wants a first-party, cross-platform option.

Pairbar

Pairbar draws one sidebar over the Claude and Codex desktop apps and lists Claude Code sessions and Codex threads together, with status, plan-limit rings, search inside conversations, a Tasks view that groups chats by branch or worktree with PR checks and suggestions you approve first, a basket that docks both apps side by side, optional live status through the apps' hooks, a skills library, handoff between the apps, scheduled workflows, and agent actions (a second opinion, review or helper chat a chat asks for, run only once you approve it in Pairbar). It doesn't run agents in a UI of its own and has no diff viewer; it needs macOS 26 on Apple silicon, is paid after a 7-day trial, and reads undocumented local files of the apps that an update can change. Suits: people who use both official apps on a recent Mac.

Superset

An agentic IDE that runs any CLI coding agent in its own terminal and git worktree, in parallel, with a diff viewer, browser preview and agent status. Free for one user; Pro adds remote workspaces and Automations. Suits: people running many agents at once, including ones beyond Claude Code and Codex. See Pairbar vs Superset.

Conductor

A Mac app that runs Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and OpenCode agents in isolated workspaces, each with its own branch, files, terminal, diff and review path. It bundles its own Claude Code and Codex. Suits: Mac users who want a workspace per task and a free start. See Pairbar vs Conductor.

Paseo

A free, open-source (Apache-2.0) platform whose daemon runs Claude Code through the claude CLI, Codex through the codex CLI, and OpenCode, Pi and many ACP agents, driven from its desktop, iOS, Android, web and CLI clients over an end-to-end encrypted relay. It has workspaces with optional worktrees, schedules and heartbeats on cron, and an MCP server through which agents can start other agents. Suits: people who want to run agents on their own machines and check on them from anywhere. See Pairbar vs Paseo.

Claude Squad

A free, AGPL-3.0 terminal app that manages several local agents in separate tmux sessions and worktrees, with an auto-accept mode and review before applying changes. Needs tmux and gh. Suits: terminal users. See Pairbar vs Claude Squad.

Nimbalyst

The successor to Crystal: an open-source (MIT) visual workspace for Claude Code and Codex with parallel sessions, a kanban board, optional worktree isolation, inline diff review and visual editors, on macOS, Windows, Linux and iOS. Suits: people who want a free, cross-platform GUI. See Pairbar vs Crystal (now Nimbalyst).

CCManager

A command-line session manager that doesn't need tmux, installed with npm i -g ccmanager. It shows each session as Idle, Busy or Waiting, creates, merges and deletes worktrees, supports several agents and can run hooks when a status changes. MIT, on Linux, macOS and Windows. Suits: CLI users who want status hooks without tmux.

opcode

A Tauri desktop GUI for Claude Code (AGPL-3.0) with a session browser and resume, custom agents, a usage and cost dashboard, MCP server management and checkpoints. Suits: Claude Code users who want a separate GUI with usage and cost views.

cmux

A native macOS terminal built on Ghostty that works with any terminal agent, with notification rings and sidebar badges so you can see which pane wants attention. Free, with an optional Founder's Edition. Suits: people who run agents in a terminal and want a Mac-native one aware of them.

Retired or winding down

• Crystal is deprecated and replaced by Nimbalyst (February 2026).
• Vibe Kanban (a kanban board for agents in worktrees, run with npx vibe-kanban) says it is sunsetting.

Who each is best for

• Claude desktop app: Claude Code-only users who want the first-party list, on any platform.
• Pairbar: People who use both the Claude and Codex desktop apps on macOS 26 with Apple silicon.
• Superset: Running many different CLI agents in parallel worktrees, free to start, with team plans.
• Conductor: A Mac workspace per task for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and OpenCode.
• Paseo: A free, open-source daemon with phone, web and desktop clients for Claude Code, Codex and other CLI agents.
• Claude Squad: A free tmux-based manager in the terminal.
• Nimbalyst: A free, cross-platform visual workspace (Crystal's successor).
• CCManager: A lightweight CLI manager without tmux, with status hooks.
• opcode: A Claude Code GUI with usage and cost dashboards.
• cmux: A Mac-native terminal that flags which agent needs you.

Sources

Facts about other products come from their public pages, checked September 2026. Products change quickly: check the source before deciding.

• Claude Code desktop app docs
• Claude Code desktop scheduled tasks
• Superset
• Superset pricing
• Superset on GitHub
• Conductor
• Conductor docs
• Conductor pricing
• Paseo
• Paseo docs: supported providers
• Paseo on GitHub
• Claude Squad on GitHub
• Crystal on GitHub
• Nimbalyst
• Nimbalyst on GitHub
• CCManager on GitHub
• opcode on GitHub
• cmux on GitHub
• Vibe Kanban on GitHub