splash

SplashCompareCate

Splash and Cate, compared.

Splash and Cate are both open-source desktop apps that run several coding agents at once, with git worktrees to keep their work apart. Cate places agent terminals, chat panels, editors and browsers on an infinite canvas and reads agent status from each CLI’s hooks; Splash drives every agent over the Agent Client Protocol and shows its work as a transcript.

Checked 10 October 202647 sourcesNot affiliated with 0-AI UG

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

Cate

0-AI UG

An MIT-licensed Electron app that puts terminals, editors, browsers and agent chats on an infinite canvas, gives each git worktree its own area, and runs agents locally or on SSH and WSL hosts.345

cate.cero-ai.com

Side by side

SplashCate
The basics
What it is Desktop app, plus a headless server you open in a browser16 Desktop app that lays out terminals, agent chats, editors and browsers on an infinite canvas, with a cate CLI for agents738
Release status v0.2.1, early development19 v2.0.5, released 30 September 2026; the stable 2.0 line began on 13 September 2026 after three betas1011
License Open source (MIT)12 Open source (MIT)45
Price Free13 No documented price or paid plan; Product Hunt lists it as free. A paid, hosted Cate Cloud is planned, not released71415
Platforms macOS 14+ (Apple silicon and Intel), Windows 11 x64, Ubuntu 24.04 x6416 macOS (Apple silicon and Intel; the Homebrew cask needs 12+), Windows x64, Linux x64 as AppImage, .deb or tar.gz31017
Built with Rust, with a Svelte 5 frontend in a webview, built on the Elyra framework18 Electron, React and TypeScript, with xterm.js terminals on node-pty and Monaco editors519
Agents
Agents Ships launch commands for 20 agents, including Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, Gemini, Goose, OpenCode2021 Terminal hooks for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Grok, Hermes, Kiro and OpenCode; other CLIs run without status. The README lists five of these plus Antigravity for chat panels2232324
How it runs agents The protocol or interface Agent Client Protocol over stdio, natively or through a pinned adapter for the vendor’s CLI202 CLIs run in a terminal and report through their own hooks; chat panels embed T3 Code, which uses vendor SDKs, the Codex app-server or ACP251926527282930
Agent sign-in You install and sign in to each agent’s CLI yourself; Splash runs it with that login21 For chat panels, Cate runs each vendor CLI’s own login command; model requests go straight from your computer to your provider, with local credentials3132
Account required Splash has no accounts; splash-server asks for a token it keeps in its data folder336 No Cate account is documented; GitHub features use a signed-in gh CLI, and optional T3 Connect needs a T3 Connect account323435
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 attention36 Yes: Chat panels show approvals; terminal CLIs prompt as usual and Cate flags the panel as waiting, except for Cursor and Kiro337
Working in parallel
Isolation per session Yes: The project folder, or a git worktree on its own branch per session36 Yes: A git worktree and branch per task, from a local or remote branch or open PR, in its own canvas area3
Setup scripts and dev servers No: A worktree is a plain git checkout; Splash runs no setup scripts or dev servers3638 No: None documented, and a workspace needs no config files; new worktrees get the project’s agent skills synced in339
Terminal Yes: A terminal in the session folder36 Yes: xterm.js terminals on the canvas or in docks; after a restart they return with scrollback, each agent resuming its session319
What needs you Yes: One queue for permission requests, connection failures and finished turns, kept across restarts3640 Yes: Per-terminal status (working, finished, waiting on you) and a notification when an agent needs input; none for CLIs without hooks323
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 other136 Yes: With CLI permission, an agent can list, message, wait on and read other visible agent panels, terminal or T3, through cate agent8
Built-in browser No: No built-in browser; the workbench holds git changes, a file tree, diff and file tabs, and a terminal36 Yes: Browser panels on the canvas; agents drive them with JavaScript through the cate CLI, and their clicks show in the panel38
Review and shipping
Review changes Yes: Latest response, failed tools and every changed file as a diff, with a box to send feedback36 Yes: Diff Review of working-tree, staged, commit or branch changes, with notes; can start a review agent or request changes from one11418
Files and diffs Partly: File tree, git changes and diff tabs; files open read-only, with no editor3642 Yes: Monaco editors, source control across repos, a file tree with git badges, split diffs, ripgrep search, PDF, image and DOCX viewers3
Create pull requests No: Shows the PR for a session’s branch and starts worktrees from PR heads; does not create PRs3643 Yes: A review panel can stage, commit, push and open a PR with gh pr create, or GitHub’s compare page without gh114445
GitHub Yes: Issues, pull requests and Actions runs across repositories, through the gh CLI3643 Yes: Through gh: PRs you opened or were asked to review, with check status; worktrees start from open PRs. Merging PRs isn’t documented3411344
Issue trackers Partly: GitHub (github.com), through the gh CLI; no Linear or Jira3643 No: No Linear, Jira, GitLab or GitHub Issues integration is documented3
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: SSH or WSL hosts run agents, terminals, git and search via cate-runtime; the canvas stays local. T3 Connect remote access is for local workspaces, not remote hosts3461126
Auto-update No: Download new versions from GitHub Releases; the app does not update itself1647 Yes: Packaged builds check GitHub for new versions and update through electron-updater; the Homebrew cask marks the app as self-updating3251117
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 Splash3640 Not documented: Not documented; restored terminals resume each CLI’s own session, and cate agent read reads a live agent’s conversation83
Search transcripts Yes: Search titles, folders and saved transcript text, archived sessions included36 Not documented: No search across agent sessions is documented8

Where they differ

How agents connect

Cate runs each agent’s CLI in a terminal and reads its state from hooks it configures in workspace files. Its chat panels embed T3 Code 0.0.39, which reaches Claude and OpenCode through their SDKs, Codex through its app-server protocol, and Cursor and Grok over ACP. Splash speaks the Agent Client Protocol with every agent, natively or via an adapter.252326527282930202

Canvas or conversation

Cate lays out terminals, Monaco editors, browsers, document viewers and review panels on an infinite canvas, gives each worktree a colored area, and offers a cate CLI through which agents drive panels and message other agents. Splash is organized around the conversation: a rendered transcript, a Needs attention queue, a review screen and full-text search of saved sessions.381136

Where agents run

Cate runs agents on your computer or on an SSH or WSL host, which pulls its own cate-runtime daemon, while the canvas, editors and browser stay on your machine. Its T3 Connect remote-access setup (2.0.4) is for local workspaces, not remote hosts. Splash runs agents on your computer, or under splash-server on a machine you open in a browser through an SSH tunnel.346112616

Review and pull requests

Cate’s review panels cover working-tree, staged, commit and branch diffs, record agent findings through the cate CLI, and can stage, commit, push and open a pull request with gh pr create. Splash reviews a session’s latest response and changed files, shows a branch’s PR and lists GitHub issues, PRs and Actions runs; it does not create PRs.118443643

Platforms, price and updates

Both are MIT-licensed. Splash is free; Cate documents no price, and its repository plans a paid, hosted Cate Cloud that has not shipped. Cate builds cover macOS, Windows x64 and Linux x64 and check GitHub for updates. Splash builds cover macOS 14+, Windows 11 x64 and Ubuntu 24.04 x64, and you download new versions from GitHub Releases yourself.471533212131647

Which one fits

Splash may suit you if

  • You want every agent driven over the Agent Client Protocol, each session shown as a transcript with permission requests answered in it.
  • You want one Needs attention queue and full-text search across saved sessions, archived ones included.
  • You want to import conversations your agents started outside the app.
  • You want a GitHub view of issues, pull requests and Actions runs across repositories.

Cate may suit you if

  • You want terminals, editors, browsers and agent chats arranged on an infinite canvas, one colored area per worktree.
  • You want each agent’s own CLI in a terminal, with hook-based status and sessions that resume after a restart.
  • You want to review branch diffs, then commit, push and open a pull request from the same panel.
  • You want agents to drive browser panels and message or read other agents through a CLI.

Sources

Facts about Cate come from its public website, documentation and repositories as they read on 10 October 2026; we haven't confirmed each one by running Cate. 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 README.md 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  4. 4 LICENSE 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  5. 5 package.json 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.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 CATE · Canvas Terminal Editor 0-AI UG · cate.cero-ai.com · checked 2026-10-10
  8. 8 skills/cate-cli/SKILL.md 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  9. 9 Splash releases Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  10. 10 Release v2.0.5 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  11. 11 CHANGELOG.md 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  12. 12 LICENSE Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  13. 13 Download Splash splash.computer · splash.computer · checked 2026-10-09
  14. 14 Cate on Product Hunt Product Hunt · producthunt.com · checked 2026-10-10
  15. 15 Cate Cloud: EC2 Remote Workspaces (plan.md) 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  16. 16 Splash README: Download the app Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  17. 17 Homebrew cask: cate Homebrew · formulae.brew.sh · checked 2026-10-10
  18. 18 Splash README: How it works Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  19. 19 AGENTS.md 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  20. 20 src/agents/registry.rs Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  21. 21 Splash README: Agents Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  22. 22 src/shared/agents.ts 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  23. 23 How we made six coding-agent CLIs observable without wrapping their processes 0-AI UG · cate.cero-ai.com · checked 2026-10-10
  24. 24 builtInDrivers.ts at v0.0.39 pingdotgg/t3code on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  25. 25 src/shared/agentHooks.ts 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  26. 26 src/main/t3Agent/T3HarnessManager.ts 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  27. 27 t3@0.0.39 registry metadata npm · registry.npmjs.org · checked 2026-10-10
  28. 28 CodexAdapter.ts at v0.0.39 pingdotgg/t3code on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  29. 29 CursorAdapter.ts at v0.0.39 pingdotgg/t3code on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  30. 30 src/runtime/capabilities/agentChangeEdits.ts 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  31. 31 src/main/t3Agent/providerAuth.ts 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  32. 32 Privacy Policy 0-AI UG · cate.cero-ai.com · checked 2026-10-10
  33. 33 Splash README: Build from source Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  34. 34 src/main/github/pullRequests.ts 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  35. 35 docs/user/remote-access.md pingdotgg/t3code on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  36. 36 Splash README: Features Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  37. 37 docs/agent-activity.md 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  38. 38 src/worktree.rs Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  39. 39 src/main/ipc/git.ts 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  40. 40 Splash README: Existing sessions and review Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  41. 41 src/renderer/panels/ReviewControls.tsx 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  42. 42 app/src/components/FileTab.svelte Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  43. 43 Splash README: GitHub view Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  44. 44 src/runtime/capabilities/vcs.ts 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  45. 45 src/renderer/panels/GitReviewPanel.tsx 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  46. 46 electron-builder.yml 0-AI-UG/cate on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  47. 47 app/src/components/settings/About.svelte Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09