At a Glance:
Emdash is a desktop app for running multiple AI coding agents in parallel, each isolated in its own Git worktree, supporting local and remote workflows with provider CLIs like Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini.
Overview:
Emdash is a desktop application designed for running AI coding agents concurrently. It addresses the challenge of managing multiple agent-driven code tasks by executing each agent in an isolated Git worktree and branch. Developers can send issues from external trackers like Linear, GitHub, or Jira directly to an agent, then review diffs, create pull requests, and check CI results from a single interface. The app works with local projects and can connect to remote machines over SSH, supporting agents such as Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, and Gemini that are already installed on the system.
Key Decision Points:
Isolated task execution: Each agent runs in its own Git worktree and branch, allowing parallel exploration of multiple fixes or features without cross-contamination.
Remote development support: You can connect to your own remote machines via SSH/SFTP and run agents on remote codebases, not just local projects.
Provider CLI dependency: Emdash detects and uses provider CLIs already installed on your system; agent capabilities and data handling depend entirely on the chosen provider.
Issue tracker integration: Issues can be pulled from Linear, GitHub, Jira, GitLab, Asana, and several other trackers to trigger agent work.
Local-first data storage: App state is stored in a local SQLite database, and the app does not send your code or chats to Emdash servers.
Core Features:
Parallel agent execution: Run multiple AI coding agents simultaneously without managing separate terminals.
Git worktree isolation: Each agent operates in a dedicated Git worktree and branch, keeping changes isolated for easy review and merging.
Issue tracker ingestion: Send issues and tickets from platforms including Linear, GitHub, Jira, GitLab, Asana, Monday.com, and others directly to an agent.
Unified review interface: Review agent diffs, create pull requests, inspect CI checks, and merge changes from a single place.
Automatic agent detection: Emdash automatically discovers installed provider CLIs like Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, OpenCode, and Gemini on your system.
SSH remote connectivity: Connect to remote machines using SSH agent, key, or password authentication, with credentials stored in the OS keychain.
Use Cases:
Developers who want to explore multiple solutions to a single issue by running different agents or prompts in parallel on the same codebase.
Engineers working with remote development machines who want to run AI agent workflows directly on those codebases over SSH.
Maintainers triaging issues from multiple trackers who want to dispatch issues to agents for initial investigation or fixes.
Open-Source Alternative Value:
Emdash provides a local-first, transparent workflow for running AI coding agents without routing code through additional intermediary servers. App state is stored in a local SQLite database, and the tool works with CLI agents users already have installed. Its use of isolated Git worktrees gives developers a reviewable, branch-level change set for every agent task without requiring a managed platform.
