This article compares eight tools a software company can use to hand work to several AI coding agents and get it back as reviewable changes. We build mcptask.online, one of the tools below, so read our section with that in mind – every claim about the other tools links to that tool's own docs, repository or pricing page. If the term is new to you, start with what an AI coding agent orchestrator is.
The list is alphabetical. There is no ranking and no "best": the right tool depends on where your code lives, where your tests can run and who has to see the work.
How we compared them
Every tool gets the same six questions:
- Where does the agent run? In the vendor's cloud, in your CI, or on machines you own.
- Which coding CLI and model? The vendor's own agent, or Claude Code, Codex CLI and others with a model you choose.
- Where do tasks come from? A ticket, a chat message, a prompt in an app, or a shared queue.
- What happens before merge? Pull request, tests, CI and human review.
- How does the team see progress and time? Live status, logs, time spent on the task.
- Who does it fit? The kind of team the tool is built for.
Where a tool's own documentation says nothing about a question, we say so rather than guess. We checked the sources in November 2026; products in this category change quickly, so follow the links for the current state.
Cursor background agents
Cursor's Cloud Agents – the background agents of the Cursor editor – run in isolated cloud VMs, and on Enterprise you can run self-hosted workers on your own machines. Work starts from @cursor in Slack, Linear, GitHub or Bitbucket, from cursor.com/agents or through the API, and the agent uses Cursor's model selection. According to the capabilities page, the agent delivers merge-ready pull requests with artifacts and fixes CI failures on pull requests it created. You can take control of the agent's remote desktop or send follow-up messages while it works. Cloud agents are part of Cursor's paid plans, with spend limits per member. Cursor fits teams whose developers already work in the Cursor editor and want agents in the same product.
Devin
Devin by Cognition runs each session on an isolated machine in Cognition's cloud, with a single-tenant VPC managed by Cognition as an enterprise option. It uses Devin's own agent and models. Sessions start from the web app, Slack, Microsoft Teams or the API, and Linear and Jira tickets can be assigned to Devin. It opens pull requests that a person reviews and merges under your branch protections, as described in its SDLC guide. You can watch a session's shell, IDE and browser, and organisations can set ACU limits per organisation, session and user; plans are listed on devin.ai/pricing. Devin fits teams that want a hosted AI engineer and are comfortable with the work running in the vendor's cloud. If you are weighing it, see our Devin alternative page.
GitHub Copilot coding agent
The Copilot coding agent, now called the Copilot cloud agent in GitHub's docs, runs in an ephemeral GitHub Actions environment, or on your self-hosted runners. You give it a task from the agents panel, or assign it an issue or a pull request on GitHub.com. It uses Copilot models depending on your plan and works with GitHub repositories. It opens a pull request, and according to the review guide someone other than the person who asked must approve it. You follow the session logs and can steer it with comments; the cloud agent is included from the Pro plan on GitHub's plan page. It fits teams whose code, issues and reviews all live on GitHub. See also our Copilot coding agent alternative page.
Jira (Rovo Dev)
Atlassian's Rovo Dev brings a coding agent into Jira: you generate code from a Jira work item, or start it from an Automation rule. The work runs in a cloud sandbox, and the Rovo Dev CLI also runs in a developer's terminal. The plan and progress show in Jira, and the result is a draft pull request in Bitbucket Cloud or GitHub Cloud that the team reviews. Pricing is per developer per month with monthly credits, according to the Rovo Dev pricing page. It fits teams that already plan their work in Jira and keep code in Bitbucket Cloud or GitHub. Our Jira alternative for AI agents covers the differences.
Linear (agents)
Linear lets you delegate an issue to an agent or @mention one, and agents from several providers can work in the same workspace. Linear's own coding sessions run in a secure cloud environment, work with GitHub, and end with a draft pull request; your GitHub review rules decide what ships. You can open a coding session to steer it, and admins choose the models. Coding sessions use AI credits with workspace and per-user spend limits, on top of the Linear plan listed on linear.app/pricing. It fits teams that already run their product work in Linear. Our Linear alternative for AI agents compares it with mcptask.online.
mcptask.online
mcptask.online is task management for people and AI developers, with the orchestrator built in. The runner works on your own machine – a dedicated PC or Mac with your project cloned – not in a cloud sandbox, so it uses your real database and your real tests. It drives Claude Code, Codex CLI or OpenCode with the model of your choice, and takes the next task from the same queue the people on your team work from. Every task ends as a pull request after tests and local CI; in auto-squash modes it merges only after the checks are green, in manual modes a person reviews it, on GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket. Time and progress are logged on the task, and you can watch AI developers work on the live page. An AI developer is a user with the same price as a person – see pricing – and the trial is 30 days without a card. It fits software companies that want people and AI developers in one queue, with timesheets and the tests they already have.
OpenHands
OpenHands is an open-source project under the MIT license. You can run it locally – from npm, in Docker or from source – on your own infrastructure, or optionally on OpenHands Cloud or OpenHands Enterprise. According to its repository it works with any LLM and can drive its own agent as well as Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, OpenCode and other ACP-compatible agents. It connects to Slack, GitHub and Linear. Its documentation covers the different ways to run agents; we found no statement about a CI gate before merge or about time tracking. It fits teams that want an open-source platform they can host and modify themselves.
Vibe Kanban
Vibe Kanban is an open-source (Apache-2.0) kanban app that runs locally and starts coding agents such as Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot, Amp, Cursor and OpenCode on its issues. On 10 April 2026 Bloop, the company behind it, announced its shutdown: paid plans ended and the remote team features – shared issues, projects and organisations – were removed. Local workspaces keep working, and the project continues as a community-maintained app. It opens pull requests with AI-written descriptions; its docs say nothing about a CI gate. Today it fits a single developer who wants a local board for parallel agent sessions. Teams that relied on the shared features can read our Vibe Kanban alternative page.
The six questions side by side
The same six answers in one place, one line per tool. "Not documented" means the tool's own docs say nothing either way.
- Cursor background agents – runs in Cursor's cloud VMs, self-hosted workers on Enterprise · Cursor's model selection · tasks from Slack, Linear, GitHub, Bitbucket, the web or the API · pull request, fixes CI failures on its own PRs · remote desktop and follow-ups, spend limits · fits teams on the Cursor editor.
- Devin – runs in Cognition's cloud, managed VPC option · Devin's own agent and models · tasks from the web app, Slack, Teams, the API, Linear and Jira tickets · pull request reviewed by a person · watch the session, ACU limits · fits teams that want a hosted AI engineer.
- GitHub Copilot coding agent – runs in GitHub Actions or on self-hosted runners · Copilot models by plan · tasks from the agents panel, issues and pull requests · pull request approved by someone other than the requester · session logs and steering comments · fits teams living on GitHub.
- Jira (Rovo Dev) – runs in a cloud sandbox, CLI in a terminal · Rovo Dev · tasks from Jira work items and Automation rules · draft pull request · plan and progress in Jira, monthly credits · fits teams planning in Jira.
- Linear (agents) – coding sessions in Linear's cloud, other agents where their provider runs them · models chosen by admins · tasks from delegated or @mentioned issues · draft pull request under your GitHub review rules · coding session view, AI credits · fits teams planning in Linear.
- mcptask.online – runner on your own machine · Claude Code, Codex CLI or OpenCode with the model of your choice · tasks from one queue for people and AI developers · pull request after tests and local CI, merge only after green checks in auto-squash modes · live page, time logged on every task · fits people and AI developers in one queue.
- OpenHands – runs locally, on your infrastructure or on OpenHands Cloud · any LLM; OpenHands, Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and others · tasks from its own app, Slack, GitHub and Linear · before merge: not documented · progress and time: not documented · fits teams that want open source to host.
- Vibe Kanban – runs locally · Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Copilot, Cursor, OpenCode and others · tasks from a local kanban board · pull request, CI gate not documented · local board · fits single developers.
How to choose
- Your team lives in GitHub. Code, issues and reviews are already there, and you are fine with work running in GitHub Actions or on your own runners. The GitHub Copilot coding agent adds the least new process.
- Your team plans in Jira or Linear. Rovo Dev or Linear's agents keep the work where the tickets already are, with a draft pull request as the result.
- You want a hosted AI engineer and nothing to run yourself. Devin and Cursor's cloud agents run the work in the vendor's cloud; your part is the task and the review.
- You want everything open source. OpenHands is MIT-licensed and can run on your own infrastructure; Vibe Kanban is open source too, but now as a local, single-user app.
- You want AI developers in the same queue as people, with timesheets. mcptask.online gives AI developers a user account each, the same task queue and priorities as the rest of the team, time logged on every task, and a runner on your own machine that opens a pull request only after your tests and CI pass.
FAQ
What is the difference between a coding agent and a tool to manage several of them?
A coding agent such as Claude Code or Codex CLI writes and changes code in one session. A management tool decides which task each agent works on, where it runs and what has to pass before its change is merged, and shows the team what is going on.
Can these tools run AI coding agents on our own machines?
Some can. mcptask.online's runner works on your own machine; OpenHands can be self-hosted; GitHub Copilot's coding agent can use your self-hosted runners; Cursor offers self-hosted workers on Enterprise. Devin, Rovo Dev and Linear's coding sessions run in the vendor's cloud.
Do AI coding agents merge code on their own?
In most of the tools above, the agent opens a pull request and a person merges it. In mcptask.online's auto-squash modes the runner merges only after the checks on the pull request are green; in manual modes every pull request waits for a person.
How is an AI developer priced in mcptask.online?
An AI developer is a user like any other, at the same price as a person, so a team of three people and two AI developers is five users. The model itself is billed by its provider. See pricing for the plans and the 30-day free trial.