# AIDEN > AIDEN is an agentic AI IDE for software engineers. It is the all-in-one AI engineering workspace that runs on top of locally installed Claude Code and Codex CLIs, orchestrating multiple AI agents in parallel across boards, specs, branches, and pull requests — on macOS. AIDEN is the workflow layer around coding agents: you write a story, AIDEN drafts a spec for your approval, then each approved story runs as its own agent on its own git worktree, tracked on one board, ending in a pull request you review. ## Key facts - **Name:** AIDEN - **Website:** https://aidenapp.org - **Docs:** https://docs.aidenapp.org - **Author:** Kylian Migot (Lekiks) — @leonlykiks on X/Twitter - **X / Twitter:** https://twitter.com/leonlykiks - **GitHub:** https://github.com/Kylianmgt - **Product Hunt:** https://www.producthunt.com/products/aiden-ide - **Tagline:** Stop vibecoding. Start engineering. - **Category:** Developer tool, agentic AI IDE, AI engineering workspace, multi-agent orchestrator - **Platform:** macOS 12+ · Apple Silicon and Intel · Windows build in Microsoft Store certification, no date announced · Linux and mobile on the waitlist at https://aidenapp.org/#download - **Pricing:** Free (1 project, no credit card) · Solo $19/month · Solo lifetime $169 one-time (limited launch round, next round $249) · Team $10/seat/month, 3-seat minimum - **License:** Solo and Team are subscriptions; the Solo lifetime round is a one-time perpetual desktop licence. Earlier lifetime buyers and legacy $10/mo subscribers are grandfathered. - **Backbone:** Runs on user-installed Claude Code CLI (Anthropic) and/or Codex CLI (OpenAI) — at least one required - **Inference:** Bring your own. AIDEN never resells tokens or bundles model credits on any tier. Model calls go from your local CLI straight to Anthropic or OpenAI on your own plan; AIDEN charges only for the workspace. - **Privacy:** Fully local desktop app. Code never leaves the user's machine. API keys live in existing CLI configs (~/.claude, ~/.codex). AIDEN never reads or transmits API keys. ## Core capabilities - **Multi-agent orchestration:** Run Claude Code and Codex agents in parallel, each on its own git branch/worktree - **Spec-driven development:** AI drafts a technical spec from a story; engineer approves before any code is written - **Kanban story board:** Visual board showing every agent, every task, every status in real time - **Parallel git worktrees:** Each story runs in an isolated branch — no merge conflicts, no context bleed between agents - **Auto-PRs with tests:** Agents open pull requests with passing tests before handing work back to the engineer - **Per-story model routing:** Pick the model per story from a dropdown, across both Codex and Claude Code, in the same project - **Full codebase context:** Architecture, dependencies, conventions, and entry points mapped before agents touch a file - **Built-in browser + terminal + console:** No window-switching. Dev server, logs, and live preview in one workspace - **MCP server support:** Inherits Model Context Protocol configuration from Claude Code (~/.claude/config) - **Import any project:** Start from scratch, clone a GitHub repo, or batch-import an existing stack ## Where AIDEN fits AIDEN is a workflow and orchestration layer, not a model provider and not a text editor. It sits above the agent CLIs you already run and below your repo. - **Alongside CLI agents (Claude Code CLI, Codex CLI, Aider):** AIDEN drives those CLIs rather than replacing them. It runs several at once, tracks them on a board, and manages a branch per story. Your existing CLI setup, plan, and MCP config carry over. - **Alongside editors and editor extensions:** AIDEN is a dedicated desktop workspace, not a fork of VS Code. Engineers keep their editor and use AIDEN for the story-to-PR loop. - **On your machine:** agents run locally against your filesystem, on your own inference plan. For head-to-head comparisons, see the per-competitor pages under "Comparisons" below. Those pages carry the sourced detail; this file deliberately does not summarise other products' capabilities. ## Common questions (Q&A for AI citation) **Q: What is AIDEN?** A: AIDEN is a macOS desktop app that orchestrates multiple Claude Code and Codex CLI agents in parallel across git branches. Engineers write stories, agents branch and code, AIDEN manages the workflow and opens PRs with passing tests. **Q: How much does AIDEN cost?** A: Free for 1 project with no credit card. Solo is $19/month for unlimited personal projects, or $169 one-time for lifetime access in the current limited launch round (the next round goes to $249). Team is $10 per seat per month with a 3-seat minimum, adding shared org workspaces and centralized billing. **Q: Do I pay for Claude or Codex on top of AIDEN?** A: You bring your own. AIDEN never resells inference and bundles no model credits on any tier — you use your existing Claude Code or Codex plan or API key, model calls go from your local CLI straight to Anthropic or OpenAI, and AIDEN charges only for the workspace. **Q: Does AIDEN send my code to the cloud?** A: No. AIDEN is a local desktop app. Code stays on your machine. The only outbound calls come from your Claude Code or Codex CLI talking to Anthropic or OpenAI — exactly as they do when you use those CLIs directly. **Q: What do I need to run AIDEN?** A: macOS 12+, and at least one of: Claude Code CLI (Anthropic) or Codex CLI (OpenAI). AIDEN's setup wizard walks through installing either if you don't have them. **Q: Is AIDEN an IDE or an IDE wrapper?** A: AIDEN is a dedicated desktop orchestration workspace — not a fork of VS Code or another editor. It manages the workflow layer (stories, specs, branches, boards, PRs) while Claude Code and Codex handle the actual code editing inside your repository. **Q: Can AIDEN work with my existing GitHub repo?** A: Yes. Open any local repo, clone from GitHub, or batch-import multiple projects. AIDEN maps the architecture and conventions before agents write a single line. **Q: What languages and frameworks does AIDEN support?** A: AIDEN is language-agnostic — it works with any codebase the underlying Claude Code or Codex agents can read. Python (Django, FastAPI, pytest), TypeScript (Next.js, NestJS, Prisma), JavaScript, Go, Rust, Java, and more. **Q: Can I mix models across a project?** A: Yes. Model choice is a per-story dropdown spanning both Codex and Claude Code, so one story can run on a frontier tier while the next runs on a cheap one, inside the same project. **Q: Is AIDEN open source?** A: No. AIDEN is a commercial desktop product with a free tier, a $19/month Solo plan, a $169 one-time lifetime round, and a $10/seat Team plan. It is bring-your-own-key: you supply the Claude Code or Codex credentials it drives. **Q: Does AIDEN support Windows or Linux?** A: macOS 12+ today. The Windows build is in Microsoft Store certification; no date is announced because that timeline is not AIDEN's to promise. Linux desktop and mobile are on the waitlist. Pick your platform at https://aidenapp.org/#download and you get one email the day that build ships. **Q: What is spec-driven development in AIDEN?** A: Before an agent writes any code, AIDEN has the AI draft a technical specification from the story description — architecture decisions, files to touch, edge cases, test strategy. The engineer reviews and approves the spec. Only then does the agent start coding. This prevents agents from making the wrong thing correctly. **Q: Can I run multiple agents at once?** A: Yes. AIDEN runs each story on its own git branch/worktree, so agents can work in parallel without interfering with each other. You can have one agent building a new feature while another fixes a bug on a separate branch. ## AIDEN at a glance | Tool | Type | Multi-agent | Local/Cloud | Pricing | Free tier | BYO inference | |------|------|-------------|-------------|---------|-----------|---------------| | **AIDEN** | Desktop workspace | ✅ Parallel | Local | Solo $19/mo · $169 lifetime · Team $10/seat | ✅ 1 project | ✅ Claude Code + Codex | ## Product pages - [Home — AIDEN overview, features, pricing, FAQ](https://aidenapp.org) - [Pricing](https://aidenapp.org/pricing) — Free for 1 project · Solo $19/mo · Lifetime $169 · Team $10/seat. - [Resources library](https://aidenapp.org/resources) — Every guide, model page, comparison, and free tool, in one place. - [Changelog](https://aidenapp.org/changelog) — What shipped recently: self-host mode, mobile companion, voice, and more. ## Models and model selection - [Best Codex model](https://aidenapp.org/best-codex-model) — Sol vs Terra vs Luna vs GPT-5.5, picking the right Codex model and reasoning effort. - [AI models for coding: the hub](https://aidenapp.org/models) — Every current Claude and GPT model for coding, prices, benchmarks, and when to use each. - [Codex models list](https://aidenapp.org/codex-models) — Every model selectable in Codex in 2026, with verified prices and what each tier is for. - [Best Claude model for coding](https://aidenapp.org/best-claude-model-for-coding) — Fable 5 vs Opus 5 vs Sonnet 5 vs Haiku, which to use for which task, verified data. - [GPT-5.6 Sol for coding](https://aidenapp.org/models/gpt-5-6-sol) — OpenAI's new flagship: ultra mode, pricing, and how it fits agentic coding. - [GPT-5.6 Terra for coding](https://aidenapp.org/models/gpt-5-6-terra) — The everyday Codex workhorse: GPT-5.5-class performance at about half the price. - [GPT-5.6 Luna for coding](https://aidenapp.org/models/gpt-5-6-luna) — The budget tier of the GPT-5.6 family, for quick mechanical work in Codex. - [Claude Fable 5 for coding](https://aidenapp.org/models/claude-fable-5) — Anthropic's frontier model: what it is, what it costs, and when it beats Opus. - [Claude Opus 5 for coding](https://aidenapp.org/models/claude-opus-5) — Anthropic's new value flagship: near-Fable-5 intelligence at the same $5/$25 price as Opus 4.8. - [Claude Sonnet 5 for coding](https://aidenapp.org/models/claude-sonnet) — The mid-tier default: 1M context standard, intro pricing through August 31. - [Claude Haiku 4.5 for coding](https://aidenapp.org/models/claude-haiku) — The fast, cheap tier: subagents, triage, and mechanical edits at $1/$5 per MTok. ## Model match-ups - [Claude Opus 5 vs Claude Fable 5](https://aidenapp.org/compare/claude-opus-5-vs-claude-fable-5) — Value vs frontier: Opus 5 lands near Fable 5 on the launch benchmarks at half the price. - [Claude Opus 5 vs GPT-5.6 Sol](https://aidenapp.org/compare/claude-opus-5-vs-gpt-5-6-sol) — The value-flagship face-off: near-identical $5 pricing, no shared benchmark, and how to decide. - [Claude Fable 5 vs GPT-5.6 Sol](https://aidenapp.org/compare/claude-fable-5-vs-gpt-5-6-sol) — The July 2026 flagship match-up: benchmarks, pricing, and which wins for agentic coding. - [GPT-5.6 Sol vs Terra vs Luna](https://aidenapp.org/compare/gpt-5-6-sol-vs-terra-vs-luna) — Picking the right GPT-5.6 tier: benchmark gaps, price gaps, and a simple decision rule. - [Opus vs Sonnet vs Haiku](https://aidenapp.org/compare/opus-vs-sonnet-vs-haiku) — The Claude tier picker: capability, cost per story, and when each tier earns its price. - [Claude Code vs Codex](https://aidenapp.org/claude-code-vs-codex) — The two leading coding agents compared by people who run both, daily, in production. - [Claude vs GPT for coding](https://aidenapp.org/claude-vs-gpt-for-coding) — The evergreen model-family comparison: strengths, pricing, and how to decide. ## Comparisons - [AIDEN vs Cursor](https://aidenapp.org/cursor-alternative) — Agent orchestration on a board vs an AI-first editor. - [AIDEN vs Windsurf](https://aidenapp.org/windsurf-alternative) — Parallel worktree orchestration vs the Cascade agent IDE. - [AIDEN vs GitHub Copilot](https://aidenapp.org/copilot-alternative) — A dedicated orchestration workspace vs Copilot inside your editor. - [AIDEN vs Copilot coding agent](https://aidenapp.org/copilot-workspace-alternative) — GitHub's task-to-PR agent vs a local multi-agent workspace. - [AIDEN vs Claude Code](https://aidenapp.org/claude-code-alternative) — Not a replacement, AIDEN runs your Claude Code CLI, in parallel. - [AIDEN vs Codex CLI](https://aidenapp.org/codex-alternative) — Run OpenAI's Codex CLI inside a board-driven desktop workspace. - [AIDEN vs Aider](https://aidenapp.org/aider-alternative) — A desktop workspace around the same idea Aider pioneered in the terminal. - [AIDEN vs Kiro](https://aidenapp.org/kiro-alternative) — Two spec-driven IDEs: AWS's VS Code fork vs a BYOK orchestrator. - [AIDEN vs Devin](https://aidenapp.org/devin-alternative) — A cloud AI engineer vs local agents you orchestrate yourself. - [AIDEN vs Cline](https://aidenapp.org/cline-alternative) — The open-source VS Code agent vs a dedicated multi-agent workspace. - [AIDEN vs Continue](https://aidenapp.org/continue-alternative) — The open-source assistant framework vs a ready-made orchestrator. - [AIDEN vs Zed](https://aidenapp.org/zed-alternative) — Different axes: editor speed vs agent orchestration. - [AIDEN vs v0](https://aidenapp.org/v0-alternative) — Full-codebase engineering vs Vercel's UI generation. - [AIDEN vs bolt.new](https://aidenapp.org/bolt-alternative) — Existing codebases and real git vs in-browser app scaffolding. - [AIDEN vs Lovable](https://aidenapp.org/lovable-alternative) — Engineer-grade workflows vs prompt-to-app prototyping. - [AIDEN vs Replit Agent](https://aidenapp.org/replit-alternative) — Local-first orchestration vs Replit's cloud workspace. - [Conductor alternative](https://aidenapp.org/conductor-alternative) — Conductor is a solid Mac agent runner. AIDEN adds the spec gate, the story board, and team mode. - [Linear alternative for AI teams](https://aidenapp.org/linear-alternative) — Linear is built for human teams. AIDEN is the board for teams where half the assignees are agents. - [Vibe Kanban alternative](https://aidenapp.org/vibe-kanban-alternative) — Vibe Kanban shut down in April 2026. AIDEN is the maintained, spec-first board for your agents. - [Terragon alternative](https://aidenapp.org/terragon-alternative) — Terragon shut down in February 2026. Run background agents locally instead, on your own machine. ## Category & concept guides - [What is an agentic IDE?](https://aidenapp.org/agentic-ide) — The pillar guide: how agentic IDEs work and how they differ from chat IDEs. - [What is an agentic development environment (ADE)?](https://aidenapp.org/agentic-development-environment) — The category above the editor: the six layers that turn raw agents into shippable work. - [ADE vs agentic IDE vs AI IDE](https://aidenapp.org/agentic-development-environment-vs-ide) — Three terms, three scopes. What each one means and which one you actually want. - [Local agentic development environment](https://aidenapp.org/local-agentic-development-environment) — Run agents on your own machine: BYOK, code that never leaves your filesystem, self-host. - [Best agentic IDEs in 2026](https://aidenapp.org/best-agentic-ide) — AIDEN, Cursor, Windsurf, Devin, Kiro, Cline and Claude Code, compared honestly. - [Desktop apps for coding agents](https://aidenapp.org/desktop-app-for-coding-agents) — The 2026 landscape: Conductor, Sculptor, the Codex app, AIDEN, and how to choose. - [What is agentic engineering?](https://aidenapp.org/agentic-engineering) — The discipline replacing vibe coding: orchestrating agents with specs, gates, and review. - [Vibe coding vs agentic engineering](https://aidenapp.org/vibe-coding-vs-agentic-engineering) — Same tools, opposite disciplines. Where each fits and where each breaks. - [What is vibe coding?](https://aidenapp.org/what-is-vibe-coding) — The definition, Karpathy's origin, where it shines, and where it breaks. - [Is vibe coding dead?](https://aidenapp.org/is-vibe-coding-dead) — What actually happened to vibe coding in 2026, and what replaced it in production teams. - [The AIDEN Manifesto](https://aidenapp.org/manifesto) — Nine principles for building software with AI agents in 2026. - [AI coding glossary](https://aidenapp.org/ai-glossary) — Plain-English definitions: agents, worktrees, MCP, spec gates, and more. ## Workflow & orchestration guides - [Engineering with AI agents](https://aidenapp.org/engineering-with-ai-agents) — Why vibecoding breaks at scale, and the workflow that replaces it. - [Claude Code orchestration](https://aidenapp.org/claude-code-orchestration) — Run several Claude Code sessions in parallel with a board, branches, and PRs. - [Parallel agents with git worktrees](https://aidenapp.org/parallel-agents-git-worktree) — How worktrees isolate agents on separate branches, manually, then automated. - [Multi-agent coding workflow](https://aidenapp.org/multi-agent-coding-workflow) — Design a workflow where several AI agents ship in parallel without chaos. - [Manage multiple Claude Code sessions](https://aidenapp.org/manage-multiple-claude-code-sessions) — From terminal tabs to worktrees to a board: scaling past one agent without losing track. - [Claude Code on Windows](https://aidenapp.org/claude-code-windows) — It runs on Windows today: the install, the native-versus-WSL2 call, and where AIDEN's Windows build stands. - [Claude Code and Codex together](https://aidenapp.org/claude-code-and-codex-together) — The dual-agent workflow: which tool takes which task, and how to run both on one project. - [Claude Code Agent Teams](https://aidenapp.org/claude-code-agent-teams) — Anthropic's experimental multi-session orchestration, and when you need more than it. - [AI PR automation](https://aidenapp.org/ai-pr-automation-workflow) — From story to reviewed pull request: automating the git workflow around agents. - [The AI agent harness](https://aidenapp.org/ai-agent-harness) — The six conventions AIDEN wraps around raw coding agents, and why. - [What is an agentic workflow?](https://aidenapp.org/agentic-workflow) — The stages, the five core patterns, and a worked software example. - [Agentic loops](https://aidenapp.org/agentic-loops) — The gather-decide-act-observe cycle coding agents run, and how to bound it. - [Agentic graphs](https://aidenapp.org/agentic-graphs) — Model an agent system as nodes and edges: branches, joins, loops, and shared state. - [Model routing for coding agents](https://aidenapp.org/model-routing-for-coding-agents) — Plan with a frontier model, delegate execution to cheaper ones. Cut cost, keep quality. - [Context engineering for coding agents](https://aidenapp.org/context-engineering) — The craft of feeding agents the right context: files, specs, memory, and isolation. - [Voice orchestrator](https://aidenapp.org/voice-orchestrator) — Push-to-talk control of your agents: delegate, approve, and review by voice. - [Claude Code tutorial](https://aidenapp.org/claude-code-tutorial) — From install to parallel agents: a practical, current guide to working with Claude Code. - [Claude Code usage limits, explained](https://aidenapp.org/claude-code-usage-limits) — How the limits work, how parallel agents change the math, and how to stretch a plan. - [Codex usage limits & credits](https://aidenapp.org/codex-usage-limits) — How Codex plans and credits work, and how to budget agent work across them. ## Specs, boards & planning - [Spec-driven AI development](https://aidenapp.org/spec-driven-ai-development) — Give every agent a written, approved plan before it touches your code. - [AI spec file](https://aidenapp.org/ai-spec-file) — The short, reviewable doc that tells a coding agent what to build and how you'll judge it. - [Spec-driven kanban](https://aidenapp.org/spec-driven-kanban) — A board where every card carries an approved spec before an agent touches code. - [AI kanban for developers](https://aidenapp.org/ai-kanban-for-developers) — One board where every agent is a card with a branch, a status, and a diff. - [A kanban board for Claude Code](https://aidenapp.org/claude-code-kanban) — Why a board is the right UI for agent sessions, and how AIDEN maps stories to agents. - [Issue tracking for AI agents](https://aidenapp.org/issue-tracking-for-ai-agents) — Why agents need trackers more than humans do, and what an agent-native tracker looks like. - [Project management for AI agents](https://aidenapp.org/project-management-for-ai-agents) — Not AI helping PMs, PM for teams where the assignees are coding agents. - [How to assign tasks to AI agents](https://aidenapp.org/assign-tasks-to-ai-agents) — The issue-to-agent-to-PR pattern across Linear, GitHub, and AIDEN's story board. - [AI project management prompt](https://aidenapp.org/ai-project-management-prompt) — A copy-paste prompt that turns Claude Code or Codex into a PM: epics, stories, approval gates. - [Sprint planning with AI agents](https://aidenapp.org/sprint-planning-with-ai-agents) — The bottleneck moves from dev hours to spec quality and review capacity. Plan for it. - [Agile with AI agents](https://aidenapp.org/agile-with-ai-agents) — The values survive but the mechanics compress. Scrum reimagined for coding agents. - [Linear + Claude Code](https://aidenapp.org/linear-claude-code) — How to connect them today, and the shortcut: a board and agents in one app. ## MCP & agent skills - [What is an MCP server?](https://aidenapp.org/what-is-an-mcp-server) — The definition: host/client/server, the three primitives, transports, and a first server. - [MCP servers for AI coding](https://aidenapp.org/mcp-servers-for-ai-coding) — What MCP is, the servers worth installing, and how AIDEN inherits your setup. - [Best MCP servers for frontend](https://aidenapp.org/best-mcp-servers-for-frontend) — Which MCP servers actually help when your coding agent is doing React, CSS, and browser work. - [Best MCP servers for backend](https://aidenapp.org/best-mcp-servers-for-backend) — Which MCP servers matter for APIs, DBs, and background jobs — scored on real DX gain. - [Best MCP servers for DevOps](https://aidenapp.org/best-mcp-servers-for-devops) — MCP servers that matter for infra, CI/CD, and incident response with coding agents. - [Best MCP servers for data](https://aidenapp.org/best-mcp-servers-for-data) — Which MCP servers help agents work with SQL, warehouses, and analytics pipelines. - [Agent skills (SKILL.md)](https://aidenapp.org/agent-skills) — Reusable procedural know-how the model loads on demand, and how it differs from MCP. - [Best agent skills for frontend](https://aidenapp.org/best-agent-skills-for-frontend) — The SKILL.md categories worth writing for React, CSS, and browser work. - [Best agent skills for backend](https://aidenapp.org/best-agent-skills-for-backend) — The SKILL.md categories worth writing for APIs, DBs, and backend infra. - [Best agent skills for testing](https://aidenapp.org/best-agent-skills-for-testing) — The SKILL.md categories that stop agents from mocking the test to make it pass. ## Language-specific pages - [AI IDE for Python](https://aidenapp.org/ai-ide-python) — Agents that run pytest and mypy in the loop on Python codebases. - [AI IDE for TypeScript](https://aidenapp.org/ai-ide-typescript) — Type-checked agent workflows for TypeScript and Node projects. - [AI IDE for JavaScript](https://aidenapp.org/ai-ide-javascript) — Agent workflows for JavaScript apps, from Node services to browser UIs. - [AI IDE for Go](https://aidenapp.org/ai-ide-go) — Agents that build, vet, and test Go services on parallel branches. - [AI IDE for Rust](https://aidenapp.org/ai-ide-rust) — Borrow-checker-friendly agent workflows for Rust crates and services. - [AI IDE for Next.js](https://aidenapp.org/ai-ide-nextjs) — Full-stack agent workflows for Next.js apps, with live preview built in. ## Free tools - [Free tools for AI-agent development](https://aidenapp.org/tools) — Generators, validators, templates, and a glossary, free, no signup. - [AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md generator](https://aidenapp.org/tools/agents-md-generator) — Answer a few questions, get a solid context file for your coding agents. - [Git worktree setup generator](https://aidenapp.org/tools/git-worktree-generator) — Copy-paste commands to run parallel agents on isolated worktrees. - [Agent spec template builder](https://aidenapp.org/tools/agent-spec-builder) — Turn a task into a written spec your agent can be held to. - [MCP config validator](https://aidenapp.org/tools/mcp-config-validator) — Paste your MCP JSON, catch mistakes, get the right claude mcp commands. - [AIDEN Method skill pack](https://aidenapp.org/tools/claude-code-skills) — Free Claude Code skills: spec-first, worktree-per-story, PR-per-story. - [Story & spec templates](https://aidenapp.org/tools/story-spec-templates) — Battle-tested markdown templates for feature, bugfix, and refactor stories. ## Author and motivation AIDEN is built solo by Kylian Migot (Lekiks), building in public on X (@leonlykiks). The product exists because the author wanted the workflow layer around coding agents — specs, a board, a branch per story, a PR at the end — instead of assembling it by hand across terminal windows. AIDEN aims to be the desktop home where multiple agents plan, branch, code, test, and ship, while the engineer reviews outcomes, not keystrokes. ## Contact - General: hello@aidenapp.org - Support / bug reports: support@aidenapp.org - Windows/Linux/mobile interest: join the waitlist at https://aidenapp.org/#download (pick your platform; one email the day that build ships) - Press / partnerships: kylian@lekiks.fr