T3 Code vs Vibe Kanban

Two open-source approaches to running multiple agents — conversation threads versus a kanban board — plus what Bloop's 2026 shutdown means for anyone choosing today.

Last reviewed 2026-07-27 · verified against the pingdotgg/t3code repo

Both are open source, both run multiple coding agents, both use git worktrees underneath. The difference is the mental model they impose.

T3 Code is thread-centric. The unit is a conversation. You open a thread, work with an agent, and it maps to a worktree and branch.

Vibe Kanban is board-centric. The unit is a task on a kanban board. You plan tasks, dispatch agents to them, and review the results as cards move across columns.

Side by side#

The status question, first#

Bloop, the company behind Vibe Kanban, announced a shutdown in early 2026. The project continues as open source and community-maintained, but the hosted remote services were wound down and paid subscriptions refunded.

That matters if you're choosing today. Community maintenance can be perfectly healthy — plenty of important software runs that way — but it's a different bet from a project with a company shipping nightly builds. Check recent commit activity before committing to it.

It's also a fair illustration of category risk generally. This space is young and consolidating.

Threads versus boards#

Genuinely a matter of how you think, not which is better.

Threads suit iterative, conversational work: try something, look, adjust, try again. Most agentic coding is like this — you rarely specify a task perfectly the first time. A thread keeps the whole back-and-forth in one place.

Boards suit planned work with defined scope: a list of well-specified tasks dispatched to agents and reviewed as they complete. Better if you're coordinating across several people, or if planning happens before any agent starts.

The honest test: do you know what you want before you start? If yes, a board fits. If you discover the requirement by iterating, threads fit.

Where T3 Code has the edge#

Development velocity. Nightly builds most days, with a company behind it. New provider and model support arrives quickly — Claude Opus 5 support landed within days of the model.

Remote and mobile. Pairing tokens, QR codes, Tailscale integration — purpose-built for driving a server from another device, including a phone.

Provider breadth. Four agents with switching inside a thread.

Where Vibe Kanban has the edge#

Planning. If you want a visible queue of tasks rather than a list of conversations, the board is the better abstraction and T3 Code has no equivalent.

Parallel work is visible. Cards moving across columns communicate state at a glance in a way threads don't.

Team legibility. A board is something a non-participant can read. A list of chat threads isn't.

Both, or neither#

Nothing stops you using both — they're both open source and both build on git worktrees, so neither locks anything up. Plan in one, execute in the other, if that's how your head works.

And it's worth remembering that the underlying primitive is plain git worktree. Both tools automate bookkeeping you could do by hand. If neither model suits you, a few shell aliases and several terminal tabs remain a legitimate answer.

FAQ#

Is Vibe Kanban still maintained?#

Bloop, the company behind it, announced a shutdown in early 2026. The project continues as open source and community-maintained, but the hosted remote services were wound down. Check recent activity before adopting it.

Should I use T3 Code or Vibe Kanban?#

T3 Code if you work conversationally and want remote or mobile access with active development. Vibe Kanban if you plan tasks on a board before dispatching agents and prefer that abstraction.

Are both T3 Code and Vibe Kanban free?#

Yes, both are free and open source. You pay only for the coding agents behind them.

Do they both use git worktrees?#

Yes. Both isolate agents in separate git worktrees so parallel work doesn't collide. The difference is the interface layered on top.