PortBayvsSuperset
SupersetSuperset calls itself the code editor for AI agents: a fast-moving YC-backed desktop app where each agent works a branch in its own git worktree, with a PR-centric sidebar, built-in diff viewer and a preview button. PortBay organizes the same agents differently — as cards on a Kanban board — and runs the environment underneath them: managed PHP and Node, a per-project database, trusted HTTPS on a real .test domain and a one-click public tunnel. One is branch-first; the other is task-first with a running app behind every card.
Which one is right for you
You want the full stack, open source.
You think in tasks, not branches — you want cards you assign, comment on and move to Done, with an audit trail of what the agent did. And you want the environment handled: a database the agent can query, an HTTPS URL it can load, email capture, a tunnel to share. One open-source macOS app that's also your everyday local dev tool.
It already fits your workflow.
You think in branches and PRs — Superset's create-from-PR flow, CI/review status and built-in diff viewer make reviewing parallel agent output fast. You want an open roster — it runs Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Cursor Agent, Gemini CLI, Copilot or any CLI agent that runs in a terminal — plus remote access for offloading runs, or Linear and Slack integration for team flow. You want SOC 2 Type II, SSO and audit logs, which PortBay does not offer at any tier. You're comfortable wiring your own stack via setup scripts.
Where PortBay and Superset 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 Superset 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. Superset 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
Superset rows come from Superset’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.
Superset facts on this page were last checked against superset.sh/pricing on . Pricing and limits change — check their site before you decide.
Already using Superset?
Nothing to import — Superset manages workspaces, not projects. Point PortBay at the repository your Superset worktrees branch from, press play, and the runtime, database and HTTPS come up around it. Then dispatch the same Claude Code or Codex from a card that has a live application behind it. The two coexist cleanly: keep Superset for wide parallel branch work and PR review, use PortBay where the agent needs the app actually running — or where you want the task tracked as a card instead of a branch.
Install PortBay and add the project folder your Superset workspaces branch from.
Press play — PortBay provisions the runtime, database and HTTPS for that project.
Create a card, assign Claude Code or Codex, move it to Todo, and the agent works against the running app.
PortBay vs Superset, in plain terms
Don’t see your question answered here? The docs go deeper — every feature, flag and failure mode.
Read the docsTwo things. The board: PortBay tracks agent work as Kanban cards with comments, assignment and @mention dispatch — Superset organizes work as branches in a sidebar, with no task cards or comments. The environment: PortBay provisions managed PHP/Node runtimes, a per-project MySQL or PostgreSQL database, trusted HTTPS on a real .test domain, email capture and a one-click Cloudflare tunnel. Superset gives each workspace a port range and environment variables, and leaves runtimes, databases and HTTPS to your own setup scripts.
Source-available, not open source. Superset's code is public on GitHub under the Elastic License 2.0, which is not an OSI-approved open-source license and restricts certain commercial uses. PortBay is open source under AGPL-3.0.
Architecturally yes — each workspace is an isolated git worktree with its own terminals and port range, so nothing stops you from opening many. In practice the ceiling on both tools is the same one: how many diffs a person can actually review. PortBay isolates the same way — a git worktree per card, on its own branch — and adds a board-level concurrency cap plus a lease so two agents never claim the same card.
Both have free tiers. Superset is free for one user with local workspaces, the desktop app, GitHub integration and the CLI; Pro is $20 per user per month, or $15 per user per month billed yearly, and adds unlimited users, remote access and the Linear and Slack integrations; Enterprise is custom and annual-only, with SSO/SAML, SCIM, audit logs and a SOC 2 Type II report. PortBay is free and open source for up to 6 local projects, including the agent task board; Pro is $10 per month and removes the project limit, adds custom Cloudflare tunnels and account sync.
Choose PortBay when the agent needs a real running environment — a database to query, a site to load over HTTPS, a tunnel to demo — and you want tasks tracked as cards in an open-source macOS app that's also your daily local dev tool. Choose Superset when your workflow is branch-and-PR-first, you want maximum parallel throughput with per-workspace port management, and you're happy scripting the environment yourself.
Give your projects and your agents a real local home.
Download for macOSFree & open source · macOS 11+ on Apple Silicon · Pro from $10/mo