Maestro, from RunMaestro, is a local-first desktop app for running a fleet of coding agents in parallel, with a keyboard-driven interface and a Group Chat where a moderator agent routes questions to the others. Friday is a free, MIT-licensed desktop app that runs more coding tools side by side, with a task board and line-by-line review. Facts about Maestro are from its GitHub README, read on 4 November 2026; we did not read its docs site.
Why would you look for a Maestro alternative?
Your work shouldn’t own your day, and a command centre for many agents is a good way to get that. Maestro runs agents across projects at once, creates worktree sub-agents from the git branch menu, and lets you consult one agent from another chat by typing its name.
People look for an alternative for fit. Its licence is AGPL-3.0, and it is built around the keyboard. Others want a task board agents take work from, a wider list of tools by name, or a hand-off when a tool hits its usage limit.
How does Friday compare with Maestro?
| Friday | Maestro (from its README) | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A free desktop app that runs your coding agents side by side on your own computer | A cross-platform, local-first desktop app described as an agent orchestration command centre |
| Which agents | Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and 13 more by name, plus any ACP agent | Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and Factory Droid, with Copilot CLI, Qwen3 Coder and Oh My Pi in beta; Gemini CLI is planned |
| Keeping agents apart | Each agent can work in its own git worktree | Worktree sub-agents created from the git branch menu, each in its own directory |
| Agents working together | A task board agents take tasks from; agents message each other, and when one hits its usage limit the task moves to another with a record of what the first did and changed | Group Chat with a moderator agent that routes to the others and returns a synthesis, @-mentions to consult another agent, and Auto Run playbooks of markdown checklists; we found no task board in the README |
| Review | Each run’s changes line by line, with notes sent back to the agent, and git built in | A diff viewer, commit logs, and one-click pull requests from a worktree sub-agent |
| Remote access | Runs on the computer where you started it | A built-in web server with a QR code, and remote access through a Cloudflare tunnel |
| Licence and price | MIT; free, no account; anonymous usage counts you can turn off | AGPL-3.0; the README mentions no price. Read each licence before you use it at work |
Last checked: 4 November 2026
Check its GitHub page and runmaestro.ai for what has changed since 4 November 2026. At that date its repository had about 3,500 stars; we could not read its release list.
Where is Maestro stronger?
It is built for people who live on the keyboard and run many agents across many projects, with a Group Chat that coordinates several agents in one conversation, playbooks that run checklists, and phone access through its web server. Its community is also much larger than Friday’s.
When is Friday the better pick?
If you want a task board that agents take tasks from, checked before they count, more coding tools in one place, agents that hand a task on when one hits its usage limit, and a permissive MIT licence. Friday’s agents run on your computer, so they stop if it sleeps.
See how to run multiple coding agents at once, and the other comparisons.
What is Friday?
Friday is a free, open-source (MIT) harness for coding agents that work as a team. It runs on your own computer with no account: the desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux, or one command with Node.js 22 and Git.
- Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and 13 more coding tools (16 by name, plus any ACP agent) run side by side on their own plans and sign-ins.
- One agent splits a job into a task board, the others pick up tasks, and every finished task is checked before it counts as done.
- Agents message each other as they work, and each can work in its own copy of the repository.
- When a tool runs out of usage mid-task, the task moves to the agent best placed to finish it.
- Review each run’s changes line by line, with git built in.
- No account; anonymous usage counts you can turn off; it listens on 127.0.0.1 only.
Install it with npx github:splashxmoon/friday or from GitHub; see the docs. Friday Team, the hosted version for several people in one session, is available to companies: talk to us.