--- title: "Cork vs Amp: one agent in many orbs, or many agents on one codebase · Cork" description: "Cork vs Amp: Amp runs its agent in cloud orbs you can share. Cork keeps Claude Code, Codex and Cursor agents from overwriting each other on one repo." canonical: "https://corkcli.com/blog/cork-vs-amp" last_updated: "2026-11-14" published: "2026-10-03" author: "Kevin Vera" --- # Cork vs Amp: one agent in many orbs, or many agents on one codebase Cork vs Amp: Amp runs its agent in cloud orbs you can share. Cork keeps Claude Code, Codex and Cursor agents from overwriting each other on one repo. By Kevin Vera · October 3, 2026 · [Comparisons](https://corkcli.com/blog/c/comparisons) · 8 min read How is Cork different from Amp? Amp is a coding agent and development environment: you give Amp a task and it works in an "orb," a remote machine it creates for that thread, which you can follow from the web, the Mac and iOS apps or the CLI. Cork is not an agent. It is a [coordination layer](https://corkcli.com/blog/coordination-layer-ai-coding-agents) for the agents you already run on your machine (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor), keeping them, and the people running them, from overwriting each other on one codebase and handing each agent what the others already learned. Put simply: Amp gives every task its own machine; Cork makes many agents share one codebase safely. ## Cork vs Amp at a glance | Topic | Cork | Amp (as of October 2026) | |---|---|---| | What it is | Coordination layer for multiple AI coding agents | "A coding agent and development environment built for the frontier" | | Where agents run | Where they already run, on your machine | In orbs (remote machines per thread), on your own runners, or locally via the CLI | | Agents covered | Claude Code, Codex, Cursor via hooks; any MCP client via MCP | Amp's own agent, using several models | | What is shared | Signatures, callers, recent changes, live edits, notes anchored to code | Threads, multiplayer threads and orbs, portals, plugins and skills | | Conflict handling | Write gate, live awareness and [semantic lint](https://corkcli.com/blog/semantic-lint) while agents edit | Each orb thread has its own working copy; the Ship flow rebases, runs tests and resolves conflicts at push time | | Install | `curl -fsSL https://corkcli.com/install.sh \| sh` | No install on the web; macOS/iOS apps and a CLI | | Pricing | Free (local, and 10 agent hours a month in the cloud); $20 a month per 100 agent hours, pooled | Hobby free; Individual tier $20/mo; Teams no extra charge; Enterprise custom | ## What is Amp? Amp's manual calls it "a coding agent and development environment built for the frontier." It is multi-model, using several frontier and fast models "for what each model is best at," and it is the same agent and the same threads on every surface: ampcode.com, the macOS and iOS apps, and a terminal CLI. Features relevant to running agents in parallel: - **Orbs.** "Remote machines where Amp agents work without using your computer." Every orb thread gets a fresh, isolated environment with your code and tools, keeps working when your laptop is closed, and sleeps (at no cost) when idle. - **Agent to agent.** Amp agents can start other agents, send them instructions, exchange files and bring results back. Amp's docs are clear that each new thread gets "its own conversation, context window, working copy, and orb" and does not share uncommitted files automatically. - **Puck.** A personal assistant that starts, monitors and coordinates agents for you, including from Slack. - **Multiplayer.** Teammates in a workspace can prompt the agent together in the same thread and access its orb, terminal and portals. - **Ship.** By default, the Ship button tells the agent to commit, rebase onto the latest base branch, run the full test suite and push, resolving conflicts if the base moved. ## What is Cork? Cork (corkcli.com, by Lithometric) keeps several AI coding agents, and the people running them, from overwriting each other on one codebase, and hands each agent what the others already learned. It does not run agents or host machines. Hooks in Claude Code, Codex and Cursor run the protocol with no extra model calls, and an MCP server (https://mcp.corkcli.com) serves any MCP client. - **Briefing:** each agent gets the exact signatures, callers and recent changes of the code it is about to touch, so it searches less. - **Live awareness and a [write gate](https://corkcli.com/blog/write-gate):** another agent's rename or new signature reaches yours on its next step, and an edit against code someone is changing right now is held until your agent has their version. - **Semantic lint:** teammates' renames and signature changes become lint rules your agents are checked against. - **Landing:** `git push` rebases onto teammates' commits, reruns the tests and pushes in one step. - **Messaging and tools:** agents can message each other, and MCP tools include get_symbol, blast_radius, recap and remember/recall. ## Where Amp stands out - **Agents that keep going without your laptop.** Orbs run remotely, pause when idle and wake with files and services intact. Cork provides no machines at all. - **Real multiplayer sessions.** Teammates can prompt the same thread, share the orb's terminal and join a voice or video Space attached to the thread. - **Proof in a full environment.** An agent in an orb can install dependencies, run your app, open browsers and show its work through portals. - **A polished ship step.** Amp's default Ship flow already rebases, runs tests and resolves conflicts at push time. - **Flexible model billing.** Bring your own keys or a ChatGPT subscription, and Amp says it adds no markup on provider API prices for individuals and non-enterprise workspaces. ## Where Cork wins - **Coordination while agents work, not only at ship time.** Amp's orbs have separate working copies, and its docs advise keeping work in one thread "when tasks need constant coordination or edit the same files." Cork is built for exactly that case: several agents on the same code at the same time, with a write gate and live awareness of each other's changes. - **Any agent, not one.** Cork coordinates multiple Claude Code agents alongside Codex and Cursor, run by different people. Amp coordinates Amp agents. - **Agents start informed.** Briefings cut the searching an agent does before editing. In Cork's benchmark (12 Claude Code agents at once on one repository, hard tasks), agents with Cork used 53% fewer tokens than the same agents without it. - **Local and private by default.** Cork Free runs on one machine with no account, and all data stays there. ## Can you use both? Partly. Cork's hooks do not cover Amp's agent, so Cork will not automatically coordinate Amp threads. The two meet at Git: Amp's Ship flow and Cork's Landing step both rebase onto the latest work and rerun tests before pushing, so an Amp user and a teammate running parallel Claude Code agents with Cork can share a trunk. If everyone on the team works in Amp, Amp's own threads, multiplayer and Ship flow may be all you need. ## Pricing compared **Amp** (from ampcode.com/pricing, as of October 2026): Hobby is free with all product features, pay-as-you-go orbs (or your own runners for free), bring your own keys and no Amp token fees. The Individual tier starts at $20 per month and includes orb time. Teams costs no extra and adds thread sharing, multiplayer, SSO and pooled credits. Enterprise is custom, with pooled credits and no paid seats. Usage beyond what a tier includes is charged as credits at provider API prices. **Cork:** Cork Free is unlimited agents and repos on one machine, no account. Cloud Free is 10 agent hours a month per account (30 bonus hours the first month) with a 30-day history window. Beyond that you pay for agent hours, not seats: $20 a month per unit of 100 hours, pooled across the workspace, graduated to $17 (units 11 to 50) and $15 (51 and up), with 15% off a year. Every member is a player, with teammates' machines, prompt matching by meaning and 90-day history. Enterprise starts from about 100 units. Cork's price covers coordination only; your agents are billed separately as today. ## Bottom line Amp is a good fit if you want one agent you can launch anywhere, leave running in a cloud machine and share live with teammates. Cork is a better fit if your team already runs multiple AI coding agents from different vendors on one repository and the problem is agent merge conflicts and stale context. Amp isolates each task in its own orb and reconciles at ship time; Cork coordinates agents while they are still editing. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Cork an alternative to Amp? Only if your problem is coordination. Amp is a coding agent with cloud machines; Cork is not an agent. If you want an agent, compare Amp with Claude Code, Codex or Cursor. If you want those agents to stop overwriting each other, use Cork. ### Does Amp stop agents from overwriting each other? Amp gives each orb thread its own working copy, so agents do not edit the same files in place, and its Ship flow resolves conflicts when pushing. Cork addresses the overlap earlier: it holds an edit against code another agent is changing right now and tells agents about renames and signature changes as they happen. ### Does Cork give agents cloud machines like Amp's orbs? No. Cork does not provide cloud VMs, sandboxes, app previews or live terminal sharing. It works alongside the tools that do. ### What is the best way to run multiplayer coding agents on one repo? If everyone uses Amp, Amp's multiplayer threads let a team prompt one agent together. If people run their own agents (multiple Claude Code agents, Codex, Cursor) on the same repository, Cork keeps those agents aware of each other. ## Sources Checked October 2026: - - - - - - - - - - ## Related reading - [Cork vs Warp: orchestrating agents in the cloud, or coordinating them on one codebase](https://corkcli.com/blog/cork-vs-warp): Cork vs Warp: Warp's Oz runs and orchestrates cloud coding agents at scale. Cork keeps parallel AI coding agents from overwriting each other's code. - [Cork vs Claude Code on the web: where agents run, or how they share one codebase](https://corkcli.com/blog/cork-vs-claude-code-on-the-web): Cork vs Claude Code on the web: one runs Claude Code sessions in Anthropic's cloud, the other keeps parallel agents from colliding on shared code. - [Cork vs Herdr: where agents live vs how they share a codebase](https://corkcli.com/blog/cork-vs-herdr): Cork vs Herdr: Herdr keeps AI coding agents running in persistent terminal panes. Cork keeps those parallel agents from overwriting each other's code. - [Cork vs Cursor cloud agents: run agents in VMs, or keep them from colliding](https://corkcli.com/blog/cork-vs-cursor-cloud-agents): Cork vs Cursor cloud agents: Cursor runs agents in isolated cloud VMs that open PRs; Cork keeps parallel agents from overwriting shared code. [All articles](https://corkcli.com/blog.md) · [Cork in Markdown](https://corkcli.com/index.md) · [llms.txt](https://corkcli.com/llms.txt) This page in HTML: https://corkcli.com/blog/cork-vs-amp