microManager vs Conductor
Both run coding agents in parallel, each in its own git worktree, with review and pull requests. The difference now is availability: Conductor stopped new Mac app downloads on 4 November 2026 and winds down in early 2027, while microManager is free, local-only, reads Conductor’s settings files and imports its workspaces.
Updated
How do they compare?
Conductor facts come from Conductor’s site, documentation, announcement and App Store listing and from SiliconANGLE, all read on 8 November 2026; they describe Conductor’s local Mac app unless a row says otherwise.
| Topic | microManager | Conductor |
|---|---|---|
| Status (as of 8 November 2026) | Available to download. | No new sign-ups or downloads since 4 November 2026; the Mac app gets new models and critical fixes until early 2027. |
| Price | Free. No account and no paid tier. | Had a Pro plan; existing Pro users keep Pro features at no charge, and free users can no longer upgrade. |
| Where it runs | On your own computer: macOS (Apple Silicon, and Intel when a release has an Intel build), Windows x64 or Linux x64. | A Mac app, plus Conductor Cloud (closing on 20 November 2026) and an iPhone app for controlling cloud agents. |
| Built-in agents | Claude Code, Codex, Grok Build, OpenCode, Gemini CLI, and any ACP agent you add. | Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and OpenCode. |
| Isolation | One git worktree and branch per workspace. | One git worktree and branch per workspace. |
| Repository settings | Reads .conductor/settings.toml, settings.local.toml, conductor.json and .worktreeinclude, plus its own .micromanager files. | Its own .conductor settings files. |
| Environment variables | MICROMANAGER_* and the same values as CONDUCTOR_* (such as CONDUCTOR_PORT). | CONDUCTOR_* (such as CONDUCTOR_PORT). |
| Reviewing and shipping | Diff view with comments sent back to the agent, agent review comments, pull request creation, checks and merge. | A diff viewer, checks, pull requests and merge. |
| Your data later | Stays in a local database on your computer; no server copy. | Cloud data deletion begins 20 November 2026; the Mac app’s user data is deleted when it winds down in early 2027. |
What else does microManager include?
- Checkpoints before every message, with Revert to here.
- Native ACP support, so Grok Build runs with
grok agent stdioand no adapter. - MCP tools named like Conductor’s: AskUserQuestion, GetWorkspaceDiff, DiffComment, GetDiffComments and GetTerminalOutput.
- A one-click, read-only import from Conductor.
Which should I use?
If Conductor’s local app works for you today, you can keep using it until early 2027. If you want something that will keep getting updates, need to set up a new Mac, or work on Windows or Linux, microManager takes over your existing workspaces without changing them, and on a Mac you can run both side by side while you decide. If you relied on Conductor Cloud or its iPhone app, look at the alternatives, since microManager has neither.
Sources
- Conductor is joining Meta, Conductor. Read 8 November 2026.
- Conductor home page, Conductor. Read 8 November 2026.
- Conductor documentation: introduction, Conductor. Read 8 November 2026.
- Conductor documentation: workspaces and branches, Conductor. Read 8 November 2026.
- Conductor.build on the App Store (iPhone), Apple App Store. Read 8 November 2026.
- Meta acquires AI coding startup Conductor, whose app runs several coding agents at once, SiliconANGLE, Duncan Riley, 4 November 2026. Read 8 November 2026.
- Meta acquires AI coding startup Conductor, TechCrunch, Lucas Ropek, 4 November 2026. Read 8 November 2026.
Questions about the comparison
Is microManager a fork or copy of Conductor?
No. microManager is an independent app with its own code and design. It reads Conductor’s settings file formats and environment variable names so that existing repositories and scripts keep working.
Does microManager support Cursor like Conductor did?
Not as a built-in profile. The built-in agents are Claude Code, Codex, Grok Build, OpenCode and Gemini CLI, and any agent that speaks the Agent Client Protocol can be added as a custom profile.
Is there anything Conductor had that microManager does not?
Yes: Conductor Cloud, where agents ran in the cloud, an iPhone app for controlling them, and a built-in Cursor agent. microManager runs only on your own computer, on macOS, Windows or Linux, and has no cloud, mobile app or Cursor profile.
Get microManager
Free, no account, for macOS, Windows and Linux. It runs the agent CLIs you already have installed and signed in.
curl -fsSL https://micromanager.win/install.sh | sh That installs it on macOS and Linux. On Windows, paste this into PowerShell:
irm https://micromanager.win/install.ps1 | iex