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The Conductor Alternative With a Sandbox and a Vault
Conductor is a macOS app for running coding agents in parallel git worktrees and merging what they produce.
Updated
Conductor already runs several coding agents in parallel across git worktrees, which is most of what people want from a Conductor alternative. Forkbench matches that and adds what Conductor leaves out: a kernel-enforced folder lock, a Vault so agents use keys they never read, a live view of which agent is working or stuck, and the option to share one job with a teammate or client.
People usually leave Conductor for one of three reasons: they run an agent it does not support, they got nervous about what an agent can reach, or they need to bring somebody else into the work. Forkbench answers all three.
| Forkbench | Conductor | |
|---|---|---|
| Agents locked to your project folders | Yes. The macOS kernel seals off the rest of your home folder, per Thread | Git worktrees only |
| API keys the agent never sees | Yes. The Vault runs the command and the agent only gets the result | No secrets handling |
| Every agent at a glance | Yes. A live pulse on every tab and the task each agent claimed | Yes, per workspace |
| Know when an agent is stuck | Instantly. It turns red and the Thread counts who needs you | Per workspace |
| Share one job with a teammate or client | Yes. Invite them to one Thread, never your machine | A live workspace link and shared config |
| Human sign-off before work counts as done | Always. Agents report, only you accept | Review and merge |
| Works with | Any CLI agent: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor CLI, Gemini CLI, Aider, your own scripts | Claude Code and Codex |
| Price | Free | Free |
Why developers pick Forkbench
- Runs any CLI agent, not just Claude Code and Codex.
- Locks a job to its folders at the kernel level, so a runaway command stays in its lane.
- Keys live in the Vault; the agent gets the result of the command, never the value.
- A live pulse and a red needs-you flag tell you which agent to look at next.
What Conductor does well
- An opinionated review-and-merge flow.
- Free and simple to start with.
The verdict
Switching costs you nothing: your agents, your subscriptions and your repos stay exactly as they are. What you gain is a boundary around every job and a clear view of every agent, which is the part Conductor never set out to do.
Conductor questions
Will my Conductor workflow carry over?
Mostly, yes. You keep the same agents and the same repos. One click puts a session on its own worktree in Forkbench, and the board replaces the workspace list with tasks your agents claim and report on.
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