splash

SplashCompareKiro Crew

Splash and Kiro Crew, compared.

Splash and Kiro Crew are both open-source apps that drive coding agents over the Agent Client Protocol. Kiro Crew is a persistent workspace: a Gateway on your own hardware that keeps memory, runs scheduled work and uses Kiro CLI on a Kiro plan by default. Splash is a desktop app that runs many vendors’ agents side by side.

Checked 10 October 202646 sourcesNot affiliated with AWS

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

Kiro Crew

AWS

An open-source development workspace from Kiro that runs on your own hardware. Its Gateway, reached from a desktop app, browser, CLI or chat apps, keeps memory across sessions, runs scheduled work and coordinates parallel agents.345

kiro.dev

Side by side

SplashKiro Crew
The basics
What it is Desktop app, plus a headless server you open in a browser16 A Python Gateway with a React dashboard, used from an Electron desktop app, a browser, the kirocrew CLI or chat apps753
Release status v0.2.1, early development18 v0.8.0 (October 2026), pre-1.0 with frequent releases on Stable, Insider and Nightly channels; several features are in Preview9101112
License Open source (MIT)13 Open source (Apache License 2.0)143
Price Free15 No fee; needs a Kiro plan: Free (50 credits), Pro $20, Pro+ $40, Pro Max $100 or Power $200 per user a month316
Platforms macOS 14+ (Apple silicon and Intel), Windows 11 x64, Ubuntu 24.04 x6417 Desktop: macOS universal, Windows x64, Linux x64 and arm64 (.deb, .rpm, AppImage; glibc 2.34+). Also a multi-arch Docker image9711
Agents
Agents Ships launch commands for 20 agents, including Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, Gemini, Goose, OpenCode1819 Kiro CLI by default; in Preview, behind Developer Mode: Claude Code, KAS, Codex, OpenCode, Pi, goose and, since 0.8.0, DeepSeek12203109
How it runs agents Agent Client Protocol over stdio, natively or through a pinned adapter for the vendor’s CLI182 Agent Client Protocol: the Gateway launches kiro-cli acp by default, or a harness from a fixed list of ACP integrations2132223
Agent sign-in Who pays for the model You install and sign in to each agent’s CLI yourself; Splash runs it with that login19 Kiro sign-in, billed in Kiro plan credits; the Preview Claude Code harness can send chat turns to your own Anthropic-compatible endpoint32312
Account required Splash has no accounts; splash-server asks for a token it keeps in its data folder246 A Kiro account, signed in once through Kiro CLI, which the 0.8.0 desktop app bundles; Crew itself keeps no user accounts3119
Model and mode pickers Yes: Model, mode and effort pickers when the agent offers them25 Yes: A model chip in the composer sets the model and reasoning effort; Kiro’s models include Auto, Claude, GPT-5.6 and open-weight models2616
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 attention25 Yes: Automatic by default: calls that clear deny, governance and sandbox checks run unprompted; Interactive mode asks, with bulk approve or reject27
MCP servers Partly: Read-only list of MCP servers from Claude Code, Codex, Pi, Pool and Glue config files2528 Yes: Two managed servers built in, servers you add and one-click connectors such as Linear and Atlassian; the Pi harness receives none of them293012
Working in parallel
Isolation per session Yes: The project folder, or a git worktree on its own branch per session25 Partly: Chats keep their own context and approvals, with no worktree documented; Task Runner tasks and a follow-up action get git worktrees313233
What needs you Yes: One queue for permission requests, connection failures and finished turns, kept across restarts2534 Yes: Tabs show thinking, waiting or idle; approval and question cards; desktop alerts for approvals and, if enabled, finished chats3127359
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 other125 Yes: Isolated subagents, Crew Mode sub-sessions (a feature preview), peer session control and Python Workflows scripts that fan work out across agents363120
Scheduled tasks Agents that start without a prompt from you No: No scheduler; an agent starts when you create, continue or prompt a session37 Yes: Cron jobs, each in its own session, authenticated webhooks, and heartbeat monitors that react to PR, deploy and pipeline changes383
Built-in browser No: No built-in browser; the workbench holds git changes, a file tree, diff and file tabs, and a terminal25 Yes: The agent can drive a real browser, clicking and filling in forms, while you watch it from the dashboard20
Terminal Yes: A terminal in the session folder25 Yes: Shell tabs in each chat’s side panel start in its working directory; the Project menu opens one in the project folder3926
Review and shipping
Review changes Yes: Latest response, failed tools and every changed file as a diff, with a box to send feedback25 Yes: Diff chips in the transcript expand to patches, with a side-by-side view; line comments sent to the agent aren’t documented2640
Files and diffs Partly: File tree, git changes and diff tabs; files open read-only, with no editor2541 Yes: A side-panel file tree to browse, search and edit project files, plus a Git panel for repo status and commit history2640
GitHub Yes: Issues, pull requests and Actions runs across repositories, through the gh CLI2542 Yes: Code Review Sage, a shipped app you switch on, reviews PRs through gh and stages a draft review; PR watches wake the agent; creating PRs isn’t documented4339
Issue trackers Partly: GitHub (github.com), through the gh CLI; no Linear or Jira2542 Yes: Issue Radar, a shipped app you switch on, triages GitHub, GitLab and Azure DevOps issues; Jira links open in a side panel; Linear and Atlassian connect via MCP432630
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: Remote Gateways over SSH tunnels; an opt-in hub reaches crews over SSH, SSM or Fargate, with remote chats in Preview7544
Mobile app No: No mobile app; builds cover macOS, Windows, Ubuntu and a headless server17 Partly: No native Crew app described; the dashboard installs as a phone PWA, and chats continue in Slack, WhatsApp and other apps3455
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 Splash2534 Not documented: Not documented; Crew imports its own exported sessions, and setup imports MCP servers and workspaces from Gemini CLI and Antigravity3110
Search transcripts Yes: Search titles, folders and saved transcript text, archived sessions included25 Partly: Finds sessions on all connected Gateways by title, PR or issue number; full-text search of transcripts isn’t documented31
Fork a conversation Partly: Experimental: fork the current conversation when the agent supports it, not from an earlier message2534 Yes: Sessions can be forked or resumed, survive Gateway restarts and move between machines as exported files31

Where they differ

How agents connect

Both speak the Agent Client Protocol. Kiro Crew’s Gateway starts kiro-cli acp by default; Claude Code, KAS, Codex, OpenCode, Pi and goose are Preview harnesses, picked from a fixed list behind Developer Mode. Splash ships launch commands for many agents and runs each natively or through a pinned adapter, with the login of that agent’s own CLI.211222318192

Accounts, pricing and license

Kiro Crew is Apache-2.0 software with no fee of its own; it needs a Kiro account and plan, and by default its model requests, scheduled runs included, use your plan’s credits, from the 50-credit Free tier to Power at $200 per user a month. Splash is MIT-licensed, free and has no accounts; each agent runs with its own CLI’s login.1431613152419

Where it runs and how you reach it

Kiro Crew’s Gateway runs on your computer, a remote host or in Docker, reached from the desktop app, a browser dashboard that installs on a phone, the kirocrew CLI or chat apps such as Slack and WhatsApp. Splash runs on macOS, Windows and Ubuntu, or as splash-server, used in a browser over an SSH tunnel.746545176

What each is built around

Kiro Crew keeps working between conversations: it remembers projects and learned lessons, starts work from cron jobs, webhooks and heartbeat monitors, and its Task Runner breaks a spec into checkpointed steps on its own branch. Splash centers on sessions you start, one agent each, with a Needs attention queue, a review screen and import of conversations begun elsewhere.338321372534

Permissions and sandboxing

Kiro Crew approves tool calls automatically by default once they clear its deny, governance and sandbox checks; Interactive mode asks first. An OS sandbox hides credential folders such as .gnupg from agent processes, and strict mode also hides .ssh and .aws. Splash shows each permission request the agent sends in the transcript and keeps pending ones in Needs attention.2725

Which one fits

Splash may suit you if

  • You want a free, MIT-licensed app with no account, running each agent on the CLI login you already have.
  • You want Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, Copilot and other agents side by side, each session in its project folder or its own worktree.
  • You want permission requests answered in the transcript and gathered with finished turns in one Needs attention queue.
  • You want to import and search conversations your agents started outside the app.

Kiro Crew may suit you if

  • You already have a Kiro plan and want it to power a workspace on your own machines.
  • You want an agent that remembers your projects and learns lessons from one session to the next.
  • You want cron jobs, webhooks and heartbeat monitors that start work while you are away.
  • You want to pick up the same conversations from a browser, the CLI, a phone or chat apps such as Slack.

Sources

Facts about Kiro Crew come from its public website, documentation and repositories as they read on 10 October 2026; we haven't confirmed each one by running Kiro Crew. 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 Kiro Crew AWS · kiro.dev · checked 2026-10-10
  4. 4 Quick start AWS · kiro.dev · checked 2026-10-10
  5. 5 Interfaces AWS · kiro.dev · 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 Installation AWS · kiro.dev · checked 2026-10-10
  8. 8 Splash releases Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  9. 9 Release v0.8.0 kirodotdev/KiroCrew on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  10. 10 CHANGELOG.md kirodotdev/KiroCrew on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  11. 11 README.md kirodotdev/KiroCrew on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  12. 12 Agent backends (Preview) AWS · kiro.dev · checked 2026-10-10
  13. 13 LICENSE Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  14. 14 LICENSE kirodotdev/KiroCrew on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  15. 15 Download Splash splash.computer · splash.computer · checked 2026-10-09
  16. 16 Pricing AWS · kiro.dev · checked 2026-10-10
  17. 17 Splash README: Download the app Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  18. 18 src/agents/registry.rs Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  19. 19 Splash README: Agents Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  20. 20 Features AWS · kiro.dev · checked 2026-10-10
  21. 21 Installing and Running Kiro Crew kirodotdev/KiroCrew on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  22. 22 src/kiro_crew/agent_sdk/backends.py kirodotdev/KiroCrew on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  23. 23 Running the agent on an Anthropic-compatible LLM endpoint kirodotdev/KiroCrew on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  24. 24 Splash README: Build from source Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  25. 25 Splash README: Features Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  26. 26 Chat AWS · kiro.dev · checked 2026-10-10
  27. 27 Security AWS · kiro.dev · checked 2026-10-10
  28. 28 src/agents/customize.rs Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  29. 29 Integrations (MCP) AWS · kiro.dev · checked 2026-10-10
  30. 30 Connections kirodotdev/KiroCrew on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  31. 31 Sessions AWS · kiro.dev · checked 2026-10-10
  32. 32 Task Runner AWS · kiro.dev · checked 2026-10-10
  33. 33 Follow-up Suggestions kirodotdev/KiroCrew on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  34. 34 Splash README: Existing sessions and review Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  35. 35 Agent questions (ask_question) kirodotdev/KiroCrew on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  36. 36 Subagents AWS · kiro.dev · checked 2026-10-10
  37. 37 Splash README: How it works Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  38. 38 Scheduling AWS · kiro.dev · checked 2026-10-10
  39. 39 Web Dashboard kirodotdev/KiroCrew on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  40. 40 Crew changelog AWS · kiro.dev · checked 2026-10-10
  41. 41 app/src/components/FileTab.svelte Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  42. 42 Splash README: GitHub view Splash on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-09
  43. 43 Apps and the App Store kirodotdev/KiroCrew on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  44. 44 Multi-instance AWS · kiro.dev · checked 2026-10-10
  45. 45 Remote Hosts and Mobile Access kirodotdev/KiroCrew on GitHub · github.com · checked 2026-10-10
  46. 46 Running 24/7 AWS · kiro.dev · checked 2026-10-10