PortBayvsConductor
ConductorConductor is a polished Mac app for running Claude Code, Codex and Cursor in parallel, each agent in its own git worktree, with a diff-first review flow and, on its paid tiers, multiplayer collaboration on the same session. It's excellent at that job. PortBay overlaps on dispatching agents but adds a structured Kanban board (assign, move, comment, @mention) and — the real difference — a live local dev environment, so the agent works against a running database and a real HTTPS domain instead of a bare checkout.
Which one is right for you
You want the full stack, open source.
You want a real task board (Pending → Todo → In Progress → Done) with comments and @mention dispatch, a wider agent roster than Conductor's three, open source, and an agent that works inside a running environment with a database, HTTPS and a shareable tunnel. You also want the whole thing at $10/month rather than $50.
It already fits your workflow.
Your whole need is running Claude Code, Codex and Cursor in parallel git worktrees with a fast diff-and-merge review UI, and you don't need a task board or a provisioned dev environment. Conductor is purpose-built and very good at exactly that — and if you want more than one person in the same agent session, its Multiplayer collaboration has no PortBay equivalent at any price.
Where PortBay and Conductor actually differ
The table below has the row-by-row detail. These are the three shapes it cannot draw: the job you already use one of them for, the job only one of them does, and what survives the move.
PortBay and Conductor overlap on the everyday job: a local site on a real domain, over HTTPS, with the services it needs. If that is all you need, either will do it.
Claude Code
Codex
CursorMove a card to To Do and PortBay launches Claude Code, Codex or Cursor against a project that is already running. Conductor has no board to dispatch from.
Point PortBay at the folders you already have. They stay where they are, .test domains are re-issued on the first run, and databases are imported rather than rebuilt.
Feature by feature
Conductor rows come from Conductor’s own site and docs, on the date below. PortBay rows come from the app’s source. We mark partial support honestly — including where the other side wins.
Conductor facts on this page were last checked against conductor.build/pricing on . Pricing and limits change — check their site before you decide.
Coming from Conductor
Conductor and PortBay can run side by side. Keep Conductor for fast parallel-worktree review of Claude Code, Codex and Cursor; reach for PortBay when a card needs the app actually running — a database to migrate, a page to load over HTTPS, a tunnel to send a client. PortBay dispatches a wider roster, Antigravity and Ollama among them, which Conductor does not.
Install PortBay and add your project — it provisions the runtime, database and HTTPS.
Create a card and assign an agent; move it to Todo to dispatch it against the running app.
Keep Conductor for parallel diff-and-merge runs where you don't need the environment.
PortBay vs Conductor, in plain terms
Don’t see your question answered here? The docs go deeper — every feature, flag and failure mode.
Read the docsNot in the task-board sense. Conductor shows your parallel agent workspaces and a diff-first review UI, but it isn't a Kanban board with Pending/Todo/In Progress/Done columns, card comments and @mention dispatch. PortBay is a full board: you move a card to Todo to dispatch an agent, it comments what it did, and the card advances to Done.
A real task board and a running dev environment. PortBay gives the agent a managed runtime, a per-project database, trusted HTTPS on a real .test domain and a one-click public tunnel, plus a Kanban board with comments and @mention dispatch. Conductor focuses on running Claude Code, Codex and Cursor in parallel git worktrees with a review-and-merge flow.
No — Conductor is macOS only. PortBay ships a signed, notarized macOS build for Apple Silicon and Intel (macOS 11+) and a Linux x86_64 build (AppImage, deb and rpm). There is no Windows build yet. So a Linux box runs PortBay and not Conductor; neither runs on Windows.
No. Conductor is closed source and publishes no repository. Its free tier runs local workspaces on your Mac with your own agent subscriptions; Conductor Pro is $50/month, Teams is $60 per user per month and invite-only, and Enterprise is custom. PortBay's desktop app is open source under AGPL-3.0, free for six projects, with a $10/month Pro tier.
Choose Conductor if your single need is parallel Claude Code, Codex and Cursor worktrees with a great diff-and-merge review on a Mac, or if several people need to collaborate live on the same agent session. Choose PortBay if you want a structured task board, a wider agent roster, open source, a Linux build, a lower paid tier, and an agent that works inside a real running environment.
Give your projects and your agents a real local home.
Download for macOSFree & open source · macOS 11+ on Apple Silicon · Pro from $10/mo