--- title: "Cork vs Sculptor: an app for parallel agents, or a layer that keeps them from colliding · Cork" description: "Cork vs Sculptor: Imbue's Sculptor runs coding agents in parallel in isolated workspaces. Cork coordinates parallel agents and teammates on shared code." canonical: "https://corkcli.com/blog/cork-vs-sculptor" last_updated: "2026-11-14" published: "2026-10-03" author: "Kevin Vera" --- # Cork vs Sculptor: an app for parallel agents, or a layer that keeps them from colliding Cork vs Sculptor: Imbue's Sculptor runs coding agents in parallel in isolated workspaces. Cork coordinates parallel agents and teammates on shared code. By Kevin Vera · October 3, 2026 · [Comparisons](https://corkcli.com/blog/c/comparisons) · 7 min read How is Cork different from Sculptor? Sculptor, by Imbue, is an open source desktop app for running coding agents in parallel, each in an isolated workspace with its own branch, terminal and diff view. Cork does not run agents: it is a [coordination layer](https://corkcli.com/blog/coordination-layer-ai-coding-agents) that 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. Sculptor gives each agent its own space so "nothing bleeds between"; Cork makes sure that when those spaces come back together, or when agents share code, they already know about each other's changes. They work at different layers and can be used together. ## Cork vs Sculptor at a glance | Topic | Cork | Sculptor (as of October 2026) | |---|---|---| | What it is | Coordination layer for [parallel AI coding agents](https://corkcli.com/blog/parallel-ai-coding-agents) and teammates | Open source desktop app for running coding agents in parallel | | Where agents run | Where they already run, on your machine | Inside Sculptor, each in its own isolated workspace (Git worktree, branch, terminal, diff view) | | Agents covered | Claude Code, Codex, Cursor (hooks); any MCP client | Claude Code and Pi harnesses; Imbue says any model, any provider | | Who it serves | Several agents and several people on one codebase | A developer running many agents on many tickets | | Conflict handling | Write gate, live change notices, [semantic lint](https://corkcli.com/blog/semantic-lint), rebase-and-test landing | Isolation per workspace; changes reviewed per agent | | Platforms | Claude Code, Codex and Cursor on your machine | Mac (Apple Silicon) and Linux; no Windows | | Install | `curl -fsSL https://corkcli.com/install.sh \| sh` | Desktop download | | Open source | See corkcli.com | Yes, MIT | | Pricing | Free (local, and 10 agent hours a month in the cloud); $20 a month per 100 agent hours, pooled | Free; you bring your own model plan | ## What is Sculptor? Imbue describes Sculptor as "an extensible, open source app for running coding agents in parallel." Each workspace is "its own Git worktree with its own branch, terminal, and diff view," so you can "run 5+ agents on 5+ tickets at the same time. Nothing bleeds between." A pairing mode lets you preview and work with changes across worktrees, and you can build plugins in JavaScript or TypeScript. Sculptor runs on your computer, not Imbue's servers, and Imbue says "your data never leaves your machine and what you build in it is yours." The GitHub repository lists support for multiple agent harnesses, including Claude Code and Pi, built-in skills for tasks like writing specs and fixing bugs, integrated GitHub PR management and a command palette. It is MIT licensed, ships for Mac (Apple Silicon) and Linux, and Imbue calls it a beta and "an experimental research preview." ## 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: Claude Code, Codex and Cursor keep running where they already run, and Cork coordinates them. 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. When an agent starts or gets a prompt, it receives the exact signatures, callers and recent changes of the code it is about to touch. When another agent changes code yours depends on, your agent hears it on its next step. A [write gate](https://corkcli.com/blog/write-gate) holds an edit against code another agent is changing right now until your agent has their version. Semantic lint turns a teammate's rename or signature change into a rule your agents are checked against. Landing makes `git push` one step that rebases onto teammates' commits, reruns the tests and pushes. Agents can message each other, and MCP tools include get_symbol, blast_radius, recap and remember/recall. Cloud plans add a live code graph and a team dashboard. ## Where Sculptor stands out - **A real workspace for parallel agents.** Every active agent is visible from one surface, each with its own branch, terminal and diff view. - **Local and private.** It runs on your machine, and Imbue says your data never leaves it. - **Model freedom.** Imbue says it works with any model and any provider, with Claude Code and Pi harnesses. - **Extensible and open.** MIT licensed, with plugins in JavaScript or TypeScript. - **Built-in workflow helpers.** Skills for specs and bug fixing, plus GitHub PR management. ## Where Cork wins - **Isolation is not coordination.** Separate worktrees stop agents from overwriting each other's files, but two agents can still change the same function in incompatible ways. Cork tells each agent about the other's changes live and gates edits to code another agent is changing, so agent merge conflicts are caught before the merge. - **Teams, not just one developer.** On the paid plan, agents on teammates' machines see each other, so [multiplayer coding agents](https://corkcli.com/blog/multiplayer-coding-agents) across people stay coordinated. - **Agents arrive informed.** Briefings hand each agent the signatures, callers and recent changes it needs. 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. - **Works with the tools you already use.** Cork plugs into Claude Code, Codex and Cursor where they run, without moving your work into a new app. - **Safe landing.** Rebase onto teammates' commits, rerun tests, push, in one step. ## Can you use both? Yes. Sculptor runs and displays parallel agents; Cork coordinates what they change. Because Sculptor runs Claude Code as one of its harnesses, Cork's hooks and MCP server are designed for that kind of agent, though we have not verified a combined setup inside Sculptor, so test it on your repository first. Cork does not provide workspaces, terminals, diff views or a pairing mode, so Sculptor remains the place you watch and steer agents. ## Pricing compared - **Sculptor:** free and MIT licensed. Imbue says you need your own model access (for example a paid Claude plan); there is no Sculptor subscription (as of October 2026). - **Cork:** Cork Free gives unlimited agents and repos on one machine, no account, all data on the machine. Cloud Free adds an account with 10 agent hours a month (30 bonus hours the first month) 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, prompts matched to code by meaning, shared knowledge and 90-day history. Enterprise starts from about 100 units. ## Bottom line Sculptor is a well-designed, open source home for running many coding agents in parallel on your own machine. It keeps agents isolated, but isolation alone does not tell one agent what another just changed. Cork is the coordination layer that does, for a single developer or a whole team. Use Sculptor to run and watch your agents, and Cork to keep their work from colliding. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Cork an alternative to Sculptor? Not a direct one. Sculptor is an app that runs agents; Cork coordinates agents wherever they run. Many developers would use Sculptor or a similar app alongside Cork. ### Does Sculptor stop agents from overwriting each other? Sculptor gives each agent its own Git worktree and branch, so agents do not overwrite each other's files while they work. Their changes can still conflict when merged, which is the gap Cork addresses. ### Is Sculptor open source? Yes. Sculptor is MIT licensed and published at github.com/imbue-ai/sculptor. ### Does Sculptor run on Windows? As of October 2026, Imbue lists Mac (Apple Silicon) and Linux only. ### What does Sculptor cost? Sculptor itself is free. You pay for model access through your own provider plan. ## Sources Checked October 2026: - - - ## Related reading - [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. - [Cork vs Emdash: an agent workbench vs a coordination layer](https://corkcli.com/blog/cork-vs-emdash): Cork vs Emdash: Emdash is an open-source app that runs coding agents in parallel worktrees; Cork keeps those agents from colliding on shared code. - [Cork vs Hoplite: cloud agents vs coordinating the agents you have](https://corkcli.com/blog/cork-vs-hoplite): Cork vs Hoplite: Hoplite runs coding agents in isolated cloud environments that open PRs. Cork keeps your local parallel agents from colliding. - [Cork vs Conductor: running parallel agents vs keeping them from colliding](https://corkcli.com/blog/cork-vs-conductor): Cork vs Conductor: Conductor runs parallel coding agents in isolated Mac workspaces; Cork coordinates the agents so their work does not collide. [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-sculptor