What is an agentic coding workspace, and how to pick one.

The short answer

• It's for agents, not typing

  An editor is built around you writing code. A workspace is built around agents doing whole tasks while you steer and review.

• Pick by your agents

  Only use Claude or only Codex? That company's own app is the simple choice. Use several? Look at apps that run more than one vendor's agent.

1What should an agentic coding workspace do?

Eight things to check before you pick one:

1. Which agents it runs. One vendor's agent, or the Claude Code, Codex and other CLIs you already pay for.
2. Where it runs. Windows, Mac, Linux, and whether your code stays on your computer or goes to a cloud machine.
3. Parallel work that doesn't collide. Several agents at once, each in its own git worktree or with file locks, so they don't overwrite each other.
4. Honest status. At a glance: who's working, who's waiting on you (for example a permission prompt), who's done.
5. Review. A way to see what changed before you keep it: diffs, staging, commits.
6. Preview. See the app the agents are building, running, without leaving the workspace.
7. Limits and accounts. What happens when an agent hits its usage limit: wait, switch accounts, or hand the task to another agent.
8. Price. Included in a plan you already have, free and open source, or a separate subscription on top of your agent plans.

2What are the options in 2026?

The main kinds, with facts from each maker's own pages (checked 2026-09-27). This isn't every tool; new ones appear monthly.

Official apps from the agent makers

• Claude Code desktop (Anthropic)

  Windows, macOS, Linux in beta. Parallel sessions with git worktrees, integrated terminal, file editor, diff review and in-app preview. Comes with Claude Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. Runs Claude. Better if Claude is your only agent.

• ChatGPT desktop app with Codex (OpenAI)

  macOS, Windows and Linux, per OpenAI's docs; Codex comes with ChatGPT plans. Runs OpenAI's agent. Better if Codex is your only agent.

Editors with an agent view

• VS Code

  Runs Claude and Codex agents next to GitHub Copilot, locally, in the background or in the cloud; some modes need a Copilot Pro+ subscription. Better if you want a full code editor and already live in VS Code.

Multi-agent apps (orchestrators)

• Conductor

  Runs Claude Code, Codex and Cursor agents in parallel, isolated workspaces. Mac only. Better if you're on a Mac and want a polished, focused tool.

• Emdash

  Open source (Apache-2.0), on macOS, Windows and Linux. Detects many agent CLIs and gives each task its own git worktree; connects to issue trackers. Better if you want free and open source.

• Technically Not (us)

  Windows 10/11 and Linux. Runs the Claude Code, Codex, Cursor Agent and OpenCode CLIs you installed in real terminal panels, with a live status card per agent, tnai send between agents, account switching on usage limits, Live preview and on-device voice prompts. Paid: $15/month or $144/year, no free plan or trial. Better if you run several vendors' agents on Windows and want to see them all at once.

No workspace at all

• Terminal windows or tabs

  One CLI per window. Free and lightest; you check each one yourself and copy text between them. Better if you run one or two agents and like the terminal.

How do they compare at a glance?

Where does Technically Not fit?

Technically Not is a desktop app for Windows and Linux that runs the AI coding agents you already use (Claude Code, Codex and others) side by side in real terminals, shows what each one is doing, and previews what they build.

• Compared with Anthropic's app

  What it adds and where Anthropic's app is better: Claude Code GUI for Windows.

• Two vendors, one project

  How the agents share one project and pass work along: run Claude Code and Codex together.

Questions

Sources

Technically Not is an independent app and isn't affiliated with any company named here.