--- title: "Cork vs GitHub Agent HQ: agents side by side in isolation, or coordinated on one codebase · Cork" description: "Cork vs GitHub Agent HQ: Agent HQ runs Copilot, Claude and Codex in GitHub's cloud, each task returning its own pull request; Cork coordinates agents working on the same code at once." canonical: "https://corkcli.com/blog/cork-vs-github-agent-hq" last_updated: "2026-11-14" published: "2026-10-19" author: "Kevin Vera" --- # Cork vs GitHub Agent HQ: agents side by side in isolation, or coordinated on one codebase Cork vs GitHub Agent HQ: Agent HQ runs Copilot, Claude and Codex in GitHub's cloud, each task returning its own pull request; Cork coordinates agents working on the same code at once. By Kevin Vera · October 19, 2026 · [Comparisons](https://corkcli.com/blog/c/comparisons) · 8 min read How is Cork different from GitHub Agent HQ? Agent HQ is GitHub's home for coding agents: you can assign an issue to Copilot, Claude or Codex (or all three, to compare results), and each agent works in GitHub's cloud and hands its work back as a pull request for review. Cork does not host agents: it keeps the agents you already run, and the people behind them, from overwriting each other while they work on the same code. The short version: Agent HQ runs agents side by side in isolation and lets you compare what comes back; Cork coordinates agents that are working on one codebase at the same time. ## Cork vs GitHub Agent HQ at a glance | Topic | Cork | GitHub Agent HQ (as of October 2026) | | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | [Coordination layer](https://corkcli.com/blog/coordination-layer-ai-coding-agents) for multiple AI coding agents and teammates on one codebase | GitHub's platform for assigning work to coding agents from Copilot, Anthropic and OpenAI | | Agents | Claude Code, Codex and Cursor via hooks, plus any MCP client | Copilot cloud agent; Anthropic Claude and OpenAI Codex (both in public preview) | | Where agents run | Wherever they already run, on your machine | GitHub's cloud: Copilot works in "an ephemeral cloud development environment" | | How work comes back | Edits land in your working copy; one-step rebase, test and push | Pull requests (draft PRs) you review like a teammate's | | Model of parallel work | Coordination: agents can share code, and see each other's changes live | Isolation: each task is its own session and PR; you compare results | | Do agents see each other's in-progress work? | Yes: briefings, deltas, [write gate](https://corkcli.com/blog/write-gate) | Not described on GitHub's pages; you monitor sessions and review PRs | | Pricing | Free (local, and 10 agent hours a month in the cloud); $20 a month per 100 agent hours, pooled | Included with Copilot plans; agents use GitHub Actions minutes and AI credits | ## What is GitHub Agent HQ? GitHub announced Agent HQ at GitHub Universe on October 28, 2025, as "an open ecosystem that unites every agent on a single platform," with mission control to "choose from a fleet of agents, assign them work in parallel, and track their progress from any device." On February 4, 2026, Claude and Codex arrived in public preview: "Assign an issue to Copilot, Claude, Codex, or all three to compare results." Agent sessions start from github.com, GitHub Mobile and Visual Studio Code, and "Agent-generated changes show up as draft pull requests and comments, reviewed the same way you'd review a teammate's work." On February 26, 2026, GitHub extended Claude and Codex to Copilot Business and Copilot Pro: "Access to Claude and Codex is fully included with your existing Copilot subscription." GitHub's docs today list two third-party coding agents, Anthropic Claude and OpenAI Codex, each "currently in public preview", alongside Copilot's own cloud agent. Copilot's agent "can only work on one branch at a time and can open one pull request per task." You can "view all active agent sessions that have been started in the repository," open a session's log to follow its progress in real time, and "provide steering input without stopping the run." One correction to a common description: GitHub's agent pages name Copilot, Claude and Codex as the coding agents. Google's Gemini models are available as models inside Copilot, but we found no Gemini coding agent listed in Agent HQ. ## 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 host agents or machines: your agents run where they already run. Hooks in Claude Code, Codex and Cursor do the protocol with no extra model calls, and an MCP server (https://mcp.corkcli.com) serves any MCP client. The hooks send the structure of your code (symbol names, signatures, docstrings, line hashes), never the file text. - **Briefing**: the exact signatures, callers and recent changes of the code an agent is about to touch, delivered at start and with each prompt. - **Live awareness**: a rename or new signature from another agent reaches yours on its next step. - **Write gate**: an edit against code another agent is changing right now is held until your agent has their version. - **[Semantic lint](https://corkcli.com/blog/semantic-lint)**: teammates' renames and signature changes become lint rules. - **Landing**: `git push` rebases onto teammates' commits, reruns tests and pushes in one step. - **Agent messaging** anchored to code, a live code graph and a team dashboard (cloud plans). ## Isolation vs coordination Agent HQ's model is isolation. Each agent gets a task, a fresh cloud environment and its own pull request. That is exactly right when you want to compare three agents on the same issue, or hand out independent issues: nothing one agent does can disturb another, and you choose at review time. It also means agents do not know about each other. Two agents assigned related issues can both change the same function, and nothing tells either of them; the overlap appears when the second pull request conflicts with the first, or, worse, merges cleanly and breaks a caller. GitHub's pages describe how you watch and steer each session, not any way for sessions to see each other's work in progress. Cork's model is coordination. Agents work on one codebase at the same time, and each knows what the others are changing in the code it is about to touch: a rename, a new parameter, an edit in progress. Edits that would collide are held before they land, not discovered in review. Isolation keeps agents from interfering by keeping them apart; coordination lets them work on shared code by keeping them informed. ## Where Agent HQ stands out - **Compare agents on the same task.** Assign one issue to Copilot, Claude and Codex and pick the best pull request. - **Nothing to host.** Agents run in GitHub's cloud from an issue, a comment, the mobile app or VS Code. - **Review where you already review.** Work arrives as draft pull requests with GitHub's checks and permissions around it. - **Included in Copilot plans.** Claude and Codex are "fully included" with Copilot subscriptions, within included credits. ## Where Cork wins - **Agents on the same code at the same time.** Cork is built for work that cannot be split cleanly: shared interfaces, renames, cross-cutting refactors. - **Conflicts before the PR.** The write gate and semantic lint catch renamed, removed and re-signatured symbols before a write lands, instead of at review. - **Every local session, across the team.** Cork covers Claude Code, Codex and Cursor sessions on your machines and your teammates' machines (paid plan). - **Measured.** In Cork's [Study 5](https://corkcli.com/benchmarks/study-5-twelve-agents-53-percent) (12 Claude Code agents at once on one repository, hard tasks), agents with Cork used 53% fewer tokens than the same agents without it. ## Can you use both? Yes. Agent HQ's cloud agents run on GitHub's machines, and we do not claim Cork runs inside them. Use Agent HQ for independent issues and for comparing agents on one task; keep the work on busy, shared code with local agents under Cork. When an Agent HQ pull request merges, Cork's landing step rebases your local agents' work onto it and reruns your tests before pushing. ## Pricing compared GitHub's docs describe third-party agents for Copilot Pro, Pro+ and Max subscribers and for Copilot Business and Enterprise, and say: "Within your included GitHub Actions minutes and AI credits, you can use agents without incurring additional costs." Cork Free runs unlimited agents and repos on one machine with no account, with all data on the machine. Cloud Free gives each account 10 agent hours a month (30 bonus hours the first month), unlimited repos and agents, and 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-to-code matching by meaning, shared knowledge and 90-day history. Enterprise starts from about 100 units. ## Bottom line Agent HQ is the easiest way to run Copilot, Claude and Codex in GitHub's cloud and compare their pull requests. It keeps agents apart. Cork is for when agents cannot be kept apart, because they work on the same code: it keeps them informed of each other's changes as they write. Use isolation for independent work and coordination for shared work. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which agents does GitHub Agent HQ support? GitHub's docs list Copilot's cloud agent plus Anthropic Claude and OpenAI Codex, both in public preview. ### Does Agent HQ include Gemini? Not as a coding agent on GitHub's current agent pages. Gemini models are available inside Copilot. ### Can Agent HQ agents see each other's work in progress? GitHub's pages describe you viewing and steering each session and reviewing each pull request; they do not describe agents seeing each other's in-progress work. ### Does Cork run Claude or Codex for me? No. Cork coordinates the Claude Code, Codex and Cursor sessions you already run, on your machines and your teammates'. ### Can I use Cork and Agent HQ on the same repository? Yes. Agent HQ's pull requests merge as usual; Cork's landing step rebases local work onto them and reruns tests. ## Sources Checked October 19, 2026: - (October 28, 2025) - (February 4, 2026) - (February 26, 2026) - - - - - - ## Related reading - [Cork vs OpenAI Codex cloud: delegate tasks to containers, or coordinate the agents you run](https://corkcli.com/blog/cork-vs-openai-codex-cloud): Cork vs OpenAI Codex cloud: Codex runs coding tasks in isolated cloud containers; Cork keeps parallel agents and teammates from overwriting the same code. - [Cork vs Amp: one agent in many orbs, or many agents on one codebase](https://corkcli.com/blog/cork-vs-amp): 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. - [Parallel AI coding agents: running several agents on one codebase at once](https://corkcli.com/blog/parallel-ai-coding-agents): Parallel AI coding agents are several coding agents working on one repository at the same time, each on its own task, to finish more work in less time. - [Cork vs GitHub Copilot coding agent: one PR per task, or many agents in sync](https://corkcli.com/blog/cork-vs-github-copilot-coding-agent): Cork vs GitHub Copilot coding agent: Copilot turns issues into pull requests from GitHub Actions; 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-github-agent-hq