Next Term vs Superset
Superset is a desktop app for running coding agents in parallel. Every task gets a workspace, an isolated git worktree on its own branch, with terminals, a diff viewer, an in-app browser, ports and pull requests. It runs Claude Code, Codex, Amp, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Cursor Agent and other command-line agents, shows each workspace’s status from hooks it installs into the agents, and adds automations, a CLI, an SDK, an iPhone app and an MCP server hosted at api.superset.sh. It is source-available under the Elastic License 2.0, free for one user with local workspaces, with a Pro plan for remote access, automations and teams, and runs on macOS, with an experimental Linux build. Next Term is a free, MIT-licensed, native macOS terminal and code editor where each agent runs in its own tab. It reads each agent’s status from its screen or its output, with nothing installed into the agent, sends a notification when one finishes or needs you (quoting Claude Code’s, Codex’s, Command Code’s and OpenCode’s questions), adds diffs with per-hunk staging and the Git Log, and is an MCP server that runs on your Mac with no account. Choose Superset for worktree-per-task workflows, automations and team features. Choose Next Term for a lighter, open-source, local-only setup.
At a glance
Section titled “At a glance”| Feature | Next Term | Superset |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | macOS 13 or later | macOS; an experimental Linux build; an iPhone app |
| Price and licence | Free, MIT | Free for one user with local workspaces; Pro per user; source-available (Elastic License 2.0) |
| Built with | Swift and AppKit, about a 33 MB download | Electron |
| Agents | ✓ Any agent that runs in a terminal; 21 recognised by name | ✓ Any command-line agent, and a built-in chat |
| Isolation per task | Partly, when you ask: Open in New Worktree… makes one in its own window, copying or linking what git ignores (such as node_modules and .env), or leaving it out, as you choose; agents offer to run parallel tasks in tabs of their own and to go on in a worktree that already has the work; Close and Remove Worktree cleans up. Nothing makes a worktree per task by itself | ✓ A git worktree and branch for every workspace |
| How status is known | ✓ Read from the agent’s screen for Claude Code, Codex, Command Code, Gemini CLI and OpenCode, from output timing for the rest; nothing installed | ✓ From lifecycle hooks and command wrappers it installs into each agent; agents launched through Superset only |
| Notifications | ✓ When an agent finishes or needs you, quoting Claude Code’s, Codex’s, Command Code’s and OpenCode’s questions; Dock badge; ⇧⌘U goes to the agent that has waited longest, in any window | ✓ When an agent finishes or waits for input |
| MCP server | ✓ Local: a Unix socket on your Mac, no account. Lists tabs with their agents’ state, starts agents, sends prompts, waits, reads screens, answers questions. Edits, commits and pane changes wait for your approval on the Mac | ✓ Hosted at api.superset.sh, signed in: tasks, workspaces, agents, terminals (send input, read the screen), automations |
| Reviewing changes | ✓ Git Diff (⌃⌘G): everything a branch changed in one tab, side by side or unified; stage, unstage or roll back uncommitted work per hunk; the Git Log and blame | ✓ A diff viewer, commits and pull requests |
| Other machines | ✓ Remote tabs over your ssh configuration, kept running in tmux or herdr; under herdr, a row, a notice and an MCP id for each of its agents | ✓ Hosts reached through Superset’s relay (Pro), off by default |
| Automations, teams, mobile | — | ✓ Scheduled agent runs, teams, Linear and Slack, an iPhone app |
Choose Superset if…
Section titled “Choose Superset if…”- You want a worktree per task, made for you, so many agents work on the same repository without touching each other’s files.
- You want automations: agent runs on a schedule, each producing a workspace to review.
- You work in a team, with Linear and Slack, shared hosts and an iPhone app.
- You want an SDK or a hosted MCP server that drives Superset from anywhere.
Choose Next Term if…
Section titled “Choose Next Term if…”- You want nothing installed into your agents. Next Term reads their status from their screens and output, so an agent you start by hand, in any tab, gets a status mark too.
- You want orchestration that never leaves your Mac. Next Term’s MCP server is a local socket with no account and no relay; it registers itself in Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI and seven more agents.
- You want a native, MIT-licensed app with no account, about a 33 MB download, that on its own talks only to GitHub for a daily update check and to your projects’ git remotes.
- You want your agents to see your editor. Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Qwen Code, Copilot CLI and OpenCode connect to Next Term as their IDE: your selection goes with the next prompt, and all but OpenCode open their edits as diffs to accept or reject.
- You reach your servers with your own ssh setup, and want agents there to keep running in tmux or herdr.
- You want your tasks in the app or tracker you already use, with no account. Tasks › Send Tasks To sends a project’s tasks to its todo folder, Reminders, Things, a Shortcut, Todoist or OmniFocus, or opens a filled-in GitHub, GitLab, Linear, Trello or Azure Boards issue in your browser, saved only when you submit it there. Next Term makes no request and holds no token.
- You want your agents’ API keys out of plain-text config files. Secrets keeps them sealed on your Mac; agents use a key by name, after you approve with Touch ID or your password, and never get its value back.
Use both
Section titled “Use both”- Open a Superset workspace in Next Term (
nxtrmand the workspace’s folder) to review the whole branch in Git Diff (⌃⌘G), stage its uncommitted work per hunk, or run another agent there. - Point an orchestrator at both. An agent can have Superset’s MCP server and Next Term’s registered at once, and use each for what it does.
Questions
Section titled “Questions”Why does Superset install hooks into my agents and Next Term does not?
Section titled “Why does Superset install hooks into my agents and Next Term does not?”Superset learns when an agent starts, finishes or waits from hooks and wrappers it adds to the agent’s configuration, so status works for agents launched through Superset. Next Term reads the state from what the agent shows in its terminal, for Claude Code, Codex, Command Code, Gemini CLI and OpenCode, and from output timing for other agents.
Is Superset open source?
Section titled “Is Superset open source?”It is source-available under the Elastic License 2.0, which limits offering it as a hosted service; that is not an OSI open-source licence. Next Term is MIT-licensed.
Does either one send my code anywhere?
Section titled “Does either one send my code anywhere?”Superset keeps local workspaces on your machine, and routes traffic through its relay when you turn on remote access. Next Term has no relay or server of its own; its MCP server is a Unix socket on your Mac.
Read more
Section titled “Read more”- Agent status in every tab
- Orchestrate agents (MCP)
- Security and privacy
- Remote tabs
- Next Term compared with other tools
Sources
Section titled “Sources”Checked October 2026 against Superset’s own site, documentation and repository. Products change quickly; if something here is out of date, please open an issue.
- Superset and pricing
- Superset docs: what is Superset? (worktree per workspace, Elastic License 2.0, iPhone app)
- Superset docs: install and FAQ (macOS, experimental Linux build, the relay)
- Superset docs: agent status (hooks and command wrappers)
- Superset docs: MCP server (hosted, capabilities)
- Superset docs: remote access
- Superset on GitHub (licence, Electron)