If you’ve been experimenting with AI coding assistants like Claude Code, OpenCode, GPT Engineer, or any other CLI-based agent, you’ve probably run into the same bottleneck we have:
You can only run one at a time.
Or at least, that’s what we thought. until we started using Superset.
Over the past year, our team has tested, benchmarked, and written about dozens of open-source AI coding tools. We’ve seen incredible projects push what’s possible with AI-assisted development. But Superset? It’s not just another tool, it’s the orchestration layer we’ve been missing.
What Is Superset?
Superset is a free terminal environment built specifically for running multiple CLI coding agents in parallel on your local machine.
Think about it: instead of waiting for Claude Code to finish before you spin up Codex, you run both at once. Or three agents. Or ten. You can start new coding tasks while others are still thinking, switch between them as they need your attention, and manage everything from a single unified interface.
It’s like having a team of AI developers working simultaneously on different branches, and you’re the (very organized) technical lead.
⚙️ How It Works (Without the Hype)
Under the hood, Superset uses git worktrees to create isolated workspaces for each agent. Each task runs in its own branch, with its own terminal session, dependencies, and environment variables, all managed through a clean config file (.superset/config.json).
No more manually copying .env files, reinstalling packages, or juggling terminal tabs. Superset automates the setup so you can focus on the output.
Here’s the dev experience in practice:
# Clone and set up
git clone https://github.com/superset-sh/superset.git
bun install
bun run dev
And just like that, you’re orchestrating agents.
Why This Changes Everything
We’ve been using Superset internally for a few months now, and here’s what stands out:
1. Parallel Processing, Actually Working
You can launch a refactoring task with one agent, a bug fix with another, and a feature spike with a third, all concurrently. The throughput boost is unreal.
2. Built-in Diff Viewer & Editor
Superset doesn’t just run agents, it helps you review their work. There’s a clean diff view and a lightweight editor baked right in, so you can inspect, edit, and merge changes without leaving the tool.
3. Notifications & Coordination
Agents notify you when they’re done or stuck. You can jump between tasks, provide clarifications, or tweak prompts without losing context.
4. It’s a Superset of Your Existing Tools
This isn’t a walled garden. Each workspace is just a folder on your machine, open it in VS Code, Zed, your terminal, or any tool you already use.
Tech Stack That Makes Sense
Superset is built with a modern, pragmatic stack:
- Electron for the desktop app
- React + TailwindCSS for the UI
- Bun as the runtime
- Turborepo for monorepo management
- Vite, Biome, Drizzle ORM, Neon, tRPC, basically a who’s who of productive, type-safe dev tools
It’s clearly built by developers who care about both performance and developer experience.
One Caveat (For Now)
While the tech stack is cross-platform, Superset Desktop has currently only been built and tested on macOS. The team behind it is transparent about this, other platforms might work, but they’re officially unsupported for now. Something to keep in mind if you’re on Windows or Linux.
Our Take After Months of Use
In our quest to find the best open-source AI coding tools for developers, we’ve evaluated everything from standalone code generators to full IDE plugins.
Superset stands out not because it replaces those tools, but because it makes them exponentially more useful.
It turns AI coding from a “one conversation at a time” experience into a scalable workflow. For teams experimenting with AI-assisted development, for solo developers managing multiple projects, or for anyone who wants to parallelize their experimentation, this is a game-changer.
If you’re serious about integrating AI coding agents into your daily workflow, Superset might be the most impactful tool you try this year.
Getting Started
If you’re ready to give it a spin:
git clone https://github.com/superset-sh/superset.git
cd superset
bun install
bun run dev
Optionally set up environment variables, or just run with export SKIP_ENV_VALIDATION=1 to jump straight in.
Sometimes the most powerful tools aren’t the AI models themselves, but the interfaces that let us use them effectively. Superset feels like one of those foundational pieces, the orchestrator that turns interesting prototypes into production workflows.
We’ll definitely be keeping this one in our toolkit.
