Secrets security platform that finds leaked API keys and credentials across code, CI/CD, endpoints and collaboration tools, then helps remediate them.
Freemium
firstmate
Open-source agent distro: chat with one lead agent that spawns and supervises a crew of coding agents in separate git worktrees.
What is firstmate?
firstmate is an open-source agent distro for people who already run terminal coding agents and want several jobs going at once. Instead of juggling terminal tabs, you talk to one agent, the first mate, which starts crewmate agents in a visible session backend such as tmux, gives each a clean git worktree, watches them until they finish and hands back the outcome. That outcome is a pull request, a local merge you approve, or a standalone investigation report. There is no app to install: the cloned repository, with its AGENTS.md, bundled skills and helper scripts, is the distro, and launching a supported harness such as Claude Code, Grok, Pi, Codex, OpenCode or Cursor Agent CLI inside it turns that session into the first mate. Supervision runs from a bash watcher that wakes the first mate only when something needs a decision. The code is MIT-licensed and free to use, though you pay for the agents and model access you connect.
Use cases
- Run several coding tasks in parallel
- Fix a flaky test while adding a feature
- Get investigation reports on a repository
- Supervise coding agents from one chat
- Isolate agent work in git worktrees
- Review finished pull requests
- Keep agent work running while away
Who it's for
Why use firstmate
- Replaces tab-juggling with one conversation, so you track outcomes instead of terminals.
- Keeps parallel work from colliding on a repository by giving every task its own git worktree.
- Lets you pick the harness that fits your subscription, since Claude Code, Grok and Pi are all recommended primaries.
- Costs nothing to license, and state lives on disk so a restart does not lose work in progress.
- Asks you only for real decisions, such as approving a merge.
firstmate features
- Single liaison agent that dispatches and supervises
- Visible crew in tmux, Herdr, Zellij, cmux or Orca sessions
- Disposable git worktrees for each task
- Ship tasks and scout tasks for investigation reports
- Project modes: no-mistakes, direct-PR and local-only
- Optional persistent secondmates, local or on an SSH host
- Event-driven watcher with zero-token supervision
- Restart-proof state kept on disk
- Built-in skills such as /afk, /quiet, /ahoy and /bearings
- Optional Relay for answering public mentions on X and Discord
firstmate integrations
How to get started with firstmate
- Authenticate with gh auth login and clone the firstmate repository.
- Launch a supported harness such as Claude Code inside the cloned folder; AGENTS.md makes it your first mate.
- Describe the work, for example fixing a failing test and adding a feature to a named project.
- The first mate spawns crewmates in isolated worktrees and supervises them in the background.
- Review the finished pull request, local merge or report, and approve the merge.
firstmate limitations
- Supports macOS and Linux only
- Needs a supported coding-agent harness and an authenticated GitHub CLI
- Several backends such as Zellij, cmux and Orca are experimental
- It is a repository of instructions and scripts, not a packaged app
firstmate pricing
firstmate is open source, so you can use and self-host it for free.
Prices can change and may vary by country or exclude tax. Check the official pricing page.
firstmate alternatives
The main firstmate alternatives listed on Debuly are Claude Code, Conductor, OpenHands, Cursor, Open SWE and Orca. The table compares pricing and platforms; order is A–Z.
| Tool | Pricing | Starting price | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| firstmate | Open source | — | CLI |
| Claude Code | Paid | — | macOS, Linux, Windows, Web |
| Conductor | Contact sales | — | Web, API |
| Cursor | Freemium | $8/mo | CLI, iOS, Web, API |
| Open SWE | Open source | — | Web, Self-hosted, API |
| OpenHands | Freemium | $499/mo | Web, API, Self-hosted, Kubernetes |
| Orca | Open source | — | macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS |
Claude Code
Anthropic's coding agent that fixes bugs, writes tests and runs migrations from your terminal, IDE, desktop app, web or Slack.
Conductor
Enterprise platform for AI search (AEO) and SEO: content creation, visibility reporting, site monitoring and agent tooling.
Contact salesVisit Conductor (official site)
Cursor
AI code editor and coding agent with cloud agents, Bugbot code review and multi-provider models, sold with Grok and X plans.
FreemiumVisit Cursor (official site)
Open SWE
LangChain's open-source framework for building internal asynchronous coding agents that plan, code, test and open pull requests.
Open sourceVisit Open SWE (official site)
OpenHands
Open-source AI coding agent platform with a free Agent Canvas, a Teams plan, and self-hosted Enterprise control
FreemiumVisit OpenHands (official site)Orca
Open-source agent development environment that runs Claude Code, Codex and other coding agents in parallel git worktrees.
Open sourceVisit Orca (official site)
firstmate FAQ
How much does firstmate cost?
The project has no listed price and no paid plans on its page. It is MIT-licensed open source, though you still pay for the agent harness and model access you use with it.
Is firstmate open source?
Yes. It is published on GitHub under an MIT license.
Which coding agents does firstmate work with?
Verified primary harnesses are Claude Code, Grok, Pi, Oh My Pi, Codex, OpenCode and Cursor Agent CLI, with Claude Code, Grok and Pi as the co-primary recommendations.
Who is firstmate for?
It is for developers who already use terminal coding agents and want to run fixes, investigations, plans and audits across projects in parallel.
Does firstmate have integrations?
It works with GitHub through the GitHub CLI, session backends such as tmux, Herdr, Zellij, cmux and Orca, and an optional Relay that handles mentions on X and Discord.
What are alternatives to firstmate?
Alternatives for running parallel coding agents include Claude Code subagents, Codex CLI, Conductor, Crystal and Vibe Kanban.
Sources & verification
Facts on this page come from the official sources below, each with the date we read it. Written by Debuly; the vendor did not review this page.
| Source | Type | Accessed |
|---|---|---|
| github.com/kunchenguid/firstmate | official |
Image credits
- Logo: none collected yet, so a monogram is shown.
- Cover: none collected yet, so a generated tile is shown.
Spot an error? Report an issue with this listing. We also remove a logo or image on the owner's request.
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