splash

SplashCompareIntent

Splash and Intent, compared.

Splash and Intent are free, open-source desktop apps that run several coding agents over the Agent Client Protocol, using git worktrees to keep work apart. Intent runs its agents through a separate daemon and is built around workspaces where a Coordinator can split a living spec across a team of agents. Splash runs one agent per session.

Checked 10 October 202637 sourcesNot affiliated with SHV Labs

Splash

Helge Sverre

A desktop app for running several coding agents at once, each session in its project folder or its own git worktree. It drives agents over the Agent Client Protocol.12

splash.computer

Intent

SHV Labs

A desktop app for coordinating many coding agents, with each workspace on its own branch and, by default, its own git worktree. A Coordinator agent can write a living spec and delegate tasks to other agents; an iOS app steers it remotely.345

intentapp.dev

Side by side

SplashIntent
The basics
What it is Desktop app, plus a headless server you open in a browser16 Electron desktop app over a local Rust daemon (intentd), an iOS remote-control app, and a standalone daemon for remote hosts743
Release status v0.2.1, early development18 v2.212.1 stable (8 October 2026), with GitHub pre-releases such as v2.215.0 (10 October) in between; Windows and Linux builds are marked Alpha910113
License Open source (MIT)12 Open source (Apache 2.0); the iOS app’s code is private for now, and outside pull requests aren’t accepted yet4313
Price Free14 Free, iOS app included; no paid plans are documented. Model use runs through the provider accounts you sign in with35
Platforms macOS 14+ (Apple silicon and Intel), Windows 11 x64, Ubuntu 24.04 x6415 macOS (Apple silicon and Intel); Windows x64 and Linux x64 and arm64 in Alpha; iPhone and iPad app for iOS and iPadOS 18+395
Agents
Agents Ships launch commands for 20 agents, including Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, Gemini, Goose, OpenCode1617 Auggie, Claude Code, Antigravity, Grok Build, Codex, OpenCode, Pi and Unsloth, mixed per workspace; Droid and Cortex are hidden by default31819
How it runs agents Agent Client Protocol over stdio, natively or through a pinned adapter for the vendor’s CLI162 Each CLI’s ACP mode or a pinned npx adapter, run by the daemon over stdio; the Antigravity bridge Intent installs is limited to Apple silicon Macs201921
Agent sign-in Who pays for the model You install and sign in to each agent’s CLI yourself; Splash runs it with that login17 You sign in to each provider with your own account; turns stopped by usage limits can retry on another provider34
Account required Splash has no accounts; splash-server asks for a token it keeps in its data folder226 No Intent account appears in the setup steps; the iOS app needs none, and all state stays on your machine354
Permission requests When an agent asks before it acts Yes: Shown in the transcript and answered with the 1–9 keys; pending ones wait in Needs attention23 Partly: In source, the daemon approves tool requests by default; prompts that wait for you need INTENTD_PERMISSION_POLICY=interactive2425
MCP servers Partly: Read-only list of MCP servers from Claude Code, Codex, Pi, Pool and Glue config files2326 Yes: Add any MCP server globally or per workspace; Intent also hands agents its own workspace_api tool320
Working in parallel
Isolation per session Yes: The project folder, or a git worktree on its own branch per session23 Yes: A worktree and branch per workspace, shared by its agents, or the folder itself; opt-in per-agent copy-on-write sandboxes are being retired3202728
Setup scripts and dev servers No: A worktree is a plain git checkout; Splash runs no setup scripts or dev servers2329 Yes: Per-workspace setup scripts with path and branch variables, plus saved build, test and service commands; no port allocation is documented327
Agents handing off work One agent launching or messaging another No: Each session is one agent in one folder; sessions don’t hand work to each other123 Yes: A Coordinator plans in a living spec and delegates tasks to parallel Implementors, checked by a Verifier; the default is one Developer agent3
What needs you Yes: One queue for permission requests, connection failures and finished turns, kept across restarts2330 Yes: Home sorts workspaces under Needs you, Running and Done & idle, with a Fleet HUD overview; agents ask multiple-choice questions inline3
Built-in browser No: No built-in browser; the workbench holds git changes, a file tree, diff and file tabs, and a terminal23 Yes: A browser panel per workspace that agents drive for end-to-end tests, taking screenshots and checking layout, accessibility and console errors3
Review and shipping
Review changes Yes: Latest response, failed tools and every changed file as a diff, with a box to send feedback23 Yes: Changes panel with side-by-side diffs; accepting commits, rejecting asks the agent for fixes or undoes; a PR Reviewer specialist reviews PRs3
Create pull requests No: Shows the PR for a session’s branch and starts worktrees from PR heads; does not create PRs2331 Yes: Opens PRs with title, description and target branch prefilled or generated, merges them in the app, or merges into trunk locally3
GitHub Yes: Issues, pull requests and Actions runs across repositories, through the gh CLI2331 Yes: OAuth or token sign-in, with GitHub Enterprise support in the daemon; shows a PR’s merge state, checks and review comments, and agents can act on PR feedback3432
Issue trackers Partly: GitHub (github.com), through the gh CLI; no Linear or Jira2331 Yes: Start workspaces from Linear issues in Home; Sentry can be connected; GitHub issues are marked coming soon; Jira isn’t mentioned327
Where it runs
Remote access Yes: splash-server runs on the machine with your code; you use it in a browser over an SSH tunnel. Single user.6 Yes: Run or transfer workspaces on paired machines running intentd, such as VMs or AWS hosts; no Intent-hosted cloud is documented3184
Mobile app No: No mobile app; builds cover macOS, Windows, Ubuntu and a headless server15 Yes: Free iOS and iPadOS remote control; its App Store description asks for the same local network, while the docs add a Tailcat tunnel53
Auto-update No: Download new versions from GitHub Releases; the app does not update itself1533 Yes: The packaged app checks GitHub Releases for updates and downloads them; settings offer Stable, Beta and Alpha channels or turning updates off4327
History and search
Existing agent history Conversations started outside the app Yes: Browse, preview and import conversations agents list over ACP, including ones started outside Splash2330 Not documented: Not documented; imports cover earlier Intent installs, workspace export files and Claude Code agent definitions, not outside sessions273
Search transcripts Yes: Search titles, folders and saved transcript text, archived sessions included23 Yes: The command palette (Cmd+K) searches notes across workspaces and has a chat messages group; the daemon full-text indexes agent transcripts32734
Fork a conversation Partly: Experimental: fork the current conversation when the agent supports it, not from an earlier message2330 Yes: Branch a conversation from any message in it3

Where they differ

How agents connect

Both drive agents over the Agent Client Protocol on stdio, with pinned adapters for CLIs that need one. Intent puts this in a separate daemon, intentd, which stores state in SQLite and serves a JSON-RPC API to the desktop and iOS apps, a CLI and other agents. Splash runs agents as child processes of the app or of splash-server.2019416216

One agent or a coordinated team

Intent is built around workspaces where a Coordinator writes a living spec, hands tasks to Implementors working in parallel and has a Verifier check the results, with notes and task blocks as shared context. Its docs note that coordination uses more tokens, and one Developer agent is the default. In Splash each session is one agent in one folder.3123

Where agents run

Intent runs agents on your computer or on paired machines running intentd, such as VMs or AWS hosts, and moves workspaces with their notes, chats and repository between them. An iOS app steers it; the frontend also builds from source into a self-hosted browser client. Splash runs agents locally or under splash-server, which one user opens through an SSH tunnel.31847516

License, price and origins

Both are free and open source: Intent under Apache 2.0, though its public repository takes no outside pull requests yet, and Splash under MIT. Intent began as Intent by Augment; an Augment Code page last updated in June 2026 describes it as a macOS app that is not open source and uses Augment credits; the current docs, license and releases differ. SHV Labs, which lists Intent among its projects, sells the iOS app.4133536393751214

Platforms and updates

Intent ships for macOS, with Windows and Linux builds marked Alpha, plus an iOS app; it updates itself from GitHub Releases on a Stable, Beta or Alpha channel, and pre-releases ship between stable versions. Splash builds for macOS 14+, Windows 11 x64 and Ubuntu 24.04 x64 plus a headless server, and is updated by downloading a new release from GitHub.391142751533

Which one fits

Splash may suit you if

  • You want Gemini, Copilot, Goose and other agents alongside Claude Code and Codex, each in its own session.
  • You want permission requests shown in the transcript and gathered in one Needs attention queue.
  • You want to import conversations your agents started outside the app and search them with the rest.
  • You want one view of GitHub issues, pull requests and Actions runs across your repositories.

Intent may suit you if

  • You want a Coordinator to turn a spec into tasks for parallel agents, with a Verifier checking the work.
  • You want to create and merge pull requests and start workspaces from Linear issues in the same app.
  • You want setup scripts per workspace, a browser your agents can test in, and an app that updates itself.
  • You want an iOS app and remote machines you can move workspaces between.

Sources

Facts about Intent come from its public website, documentation and repositories as they read on 10 October 2026; we haven't confirmed each one by running Intent. Facts about Splash link to its source. Products change, so check the linked pages before deciding. Something wrong or out of date? Open an issue.

  1. 1 Splash README Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  2. 2 Agent Client Protocol agentclientprotocol.com · agentclientprotocol.com · checked 2026-10-09
  3. 3 Docs Intent · intentapp.dev · checked 2026-10-10
  4. 4 README.md intent-hq/intent on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  5. 5 Intent Mobile Apple App Store · apps.apple.com · checked 2026-10-10
  6. 6 Splash README: Run as a web app over SSH Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  7. 7 README.md intent-hq/cloudlands-fe on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  8. 8 Splash releases Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  9. 9 Intent v2.212.1 intent-hq/cloudlands-releases on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  10. 10 Updates Intent · intentapp.dev · checked 2026-10-10
  11. 11 Intent v2.215.0 intent-hq/cloudlands-releases on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  12. 12 LICENSE Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  13. 13 CONTRIBUTING.md intent-hq/intent on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  14. 14 Download Splash splash.computer · splash.computer · checked 2026-10-09
  15. 15 Splash README: Download the app Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  16. 16 src/agents/registry.rs Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  17. 17 Splash README: Agents Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  18. 18 Intent Intent · intentapp.dev · checked 2026-10-10
  19. 19 crates/intent-providers/src/config.rs intent-hq/intentd on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  20. 20 Architecture intent-hq/intent on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  21. 21 crates/intent-providers/src/antigravity.rs intent-hq/intentd on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  22. 22 Splash README: Build from source Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  23. 23 Splash README: Features Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  24. 24 crates/intentd/src/main.rs intent-hq/intentd on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  25. 25 Permission flow (protocol §8) intent-hq/intent on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  26. 26 src/agents/customize.rs Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  27. 27 messages/en.json intent-hq/cloudlands-fe on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  28. 28 crates/intent-services/src/agent_ops/tests.rs intent-hq/intentd on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  29. 29 src/worktree.rs Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  30. 30 Splash README: Existing sessions and review Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  31. 31 Splash README: GitHub view Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  32. 32 README.md intent-hq/intentd on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  33. 33 app/src/components/settings/About.svelte Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  34. 34 search.* and drafts.* methods intent-hq/intent on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  35. 35 NOTICE intent-hq/intent on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  36. 36 Emdash vs Intent (2026): Open-Source ADE or Paid Platform? Augment Code · augmentcode.com · checked 2026-10-10
  37. 37 Projects SHV Labs · labs.shv.com · checked 2026-10-10