What is this?
Emdash is an open-source desktop app for running multiple AI coding agents in parallel, each isolated in its own Git worktree so you can compare diffs and merge what works.
Emdash is an open-source desktop app for running multiple AI coding agents in parallel, each isolated in its own Git worktree so you can compare diffs and merge what works.Is this a CLI tool or a GUI app?It is a native desktop GUI application that wraps and orchestrates the coding-agent CLIs you already have installed, rather than being a CLI itself.
It is a native desktop GUI application that wraps and orchestrates the coding-agent CLIs you already have installed, rather than being a CLI itself.How do I install Emdash?On macOS run `brew install --cask emdash` (Apple Silicon or Intel); on Windows use the Installer or Portable build; on Linux x64/ARM64 use the AppImage, DEB, or RPM package from the latest release.
On macOS run `brew install --cask emdash` (Apple Silicon or Intel); on Windows use the Installer or Portable build; on Linux x64/ARM64 use the AppImage, DEB, or RPM package from the latest release.Do I need to install the coding agent CLIs myself first?Yes, Emdash orchestrates CLI agents you already have, such as Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, Amp, Devin, Qwen Code, Droid, and GitHub Copilot, and auto-detects whichever ones are installed.
Yes, Emdash orchestrates CLI agents you already have, such as Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, Amp, Devin, Qwen Code, Droid, and GitHub Copilot, and auto-detects whichever ones are installed.What happens with agents that don't support lifecycle hooks?For agents with lifecycle-hook support Emdash installs marker-tagged entries in the agent's config to track status and sessions; for agents without that support these hooks simply do nothing when run outside an Emdash session.
For agents with lifecycle-hook support Emdash installs marker-tagged entries in the agent's config to track status and sessions; for agents without that support these hooks simply do nothing when run outside an Emdash session.Can I run agents on a remote machine instead of locally?Yes, Emdash can connect to remote machines over SSH/SFTP (with agent, key, or password auth) and run the same parallel-worktree workflow on remote codebases.
Yes, Emdash can connect to remote machines over SSH/SFTP (with agent, key, or password auth) and run the same parallel-worktree workflow on remote codebases.Does Emdash send my code to its own servers?No, Emdash is local-first: app state lives in a local SQLite database and your code or chats are never sent to Emdash's servers, though the agent CLIs you use may send data to their own providers.
No, Emdash is local-first: app state lives in a local SQLite database and your code or chats are never sent to Emdash's servers, though the agent CLIs you use may send data to their own providers.Which issue trackers can feed tasks into an agent?Emdash can pull issues and tickets from Linear, GitHub, Jira, GitLab, Asana, Featurebase, Monday.com, Forgejo, or Plain directly into an agent session.
Emdash can pull issues and tickets from Linear, GitHub, Jira, GitLab, Asana, Featurebase, Monday.com, Forgejo, or Plain directly into an agent session.Can I review and merge agent work from inside Emdash?Yes, you can review diffs, create pull requests, inspect CI checks, and merge changes all from one place in the app.
Yes, you can review diffs, create pull requests, inspect CI checks, and merge changes all from one place in the app.Is telemetry collected by default?Telemetry is optional and can be disabled in Settings or by launching Emdash with a flag.
Telemetry is optional and can be disabled in Settings or by launching Emdash with a flag.Why is Emdash notable beyond being open source?It's backed by Y Combinator (YC W26) and positions itself as an 'Agentic Development Environment' for coordinating multiple coding agents at once.
It's backed by Y Combinator (YC W26) and positions itself as an 'Agentic Development Environment' for coordinating multiple coding agents at once.What are similar projects?agent-orchestrator, shipyard, 1code, agent-router, worktrunk, fractal, multi-agent-discuss, hyperfide
agent-orchestrator, shipyard, 1code, agent-router, worktrunk, fractal, multi-agent-discuss, hyperfideWhich topics is it in?linear, parallel-agents, containerization, jira, gitlab, git-worktrees, opensource, ssh, coding-agents, github, orchestration, agent-orchestration
linear, parallel-agents, containerization, jira, gitlab, git-worktrees, opensource, ssh, coding-agents, github, orchestration, agent-orchestration