Synapse vs CCManager

At a glance

CCManager facts are from its GitHub repo, README, releases, issues and the npm registry, checked on 16 October 2026.

What CCManager is

CCManager is a terminal UI built with Node and Ink. It runs several coding agent sessions side by side across git worktrees, without tmux. Each session gets a live busy, waiting or idle label, which it works out by reading each CLI's terminal output.

From the TUI you can create, merge and delete worktrees, run hooks before and after a worktree is created (for example npm install), and copy gitignored files such as .env into new worktrees with .worktreeinclude. A multi-project mode finds repos recursively and shows a dashboard with counts per project. Status change hooks run shell commands, for example to send a notification when an agent is waiting. Sessions can run inside devcontainers, and since September 2026 CCManager restores sessions after a restart or crash by relaunching the same command (the README says the previous conversation is not resumed). An experimental Auto Approval feature asks Claude Haiku, through your own Claude CLI, whether a permission prompt is safe.

The README lists Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex CLI, Cursor Agent, Copilot CLI, Cline CLI, OpenCode and Kimi CLI, and 2026 releases added MiniMax Code and Grok Build. Any other CLI can run through a command preset.

It is mostly the work of one maintainer, kbwo, and releases very often: v4.4.7 came out on 15 October 2026. It has about 1,300 GitHub stars.

What Synapse is

Synapse starts where session managers stop. You have five sessions running and CCManager tells you which are busy. It cannot tell the reviewer what the implementer just changed.

Synapse puts every live agent on your machine on one canvas, grouped by git repo. Drag from one agent to another and the second one sees what the first is doing. On each prompt, a hook injects what the linked agent said since last time, capped at 8,000 characters per link. Linked agents can message each other through six MCP tools, a CLI and a skill.

synapse peers
synapse read claude-impl
synapse send claude-impl "Tests fail on the new parser. Want me to fix them or will you?"

Can CCManager sessions share context with each other?

Not while they run. Precisely:

• Session data copying is CCManager's only cross-session context feature. When you create a worktree, it can copy Claude Code's session files from the source project folder to the new one, so a conversation can continue on a new branch. It is a one-time copy at creation, it is Claude Code only, and the two sessions do not see each other's later turns.
• No live sharing. Nothing injects one running session's conversation into another.
• No messaging. There is no MCP server, CLI or skill for one agent to message another.
• Claude Code agent teams. CCManager starts claude with --teammate-mode in-process so Claude Code's own agent teams do not clash with its terminal handling. Any communication there is Claude Code's feature, inside one Claude process tree.
• It only sees sessions it launched.

In Synapse, a link stays live. Every time agent B gets a prompt, it gets whatever agent A has said since. Either agent can message the other, Claude Code to Codex included. Messages are pulled, not pushed: Claude Code and Codex see them on their next prompt, other CLIs through synapse_inbox, and an idle agent does not wake up on a message.

Forks and CCManager's session copy

CCManager's history copy is the closest thing it has to a fork: a new worktree starts with the old conversation.

Synapse's forks, in development in its desktop app, solve a nearby problem: side questions. Type /sfork <question> in Claude Code or Codex, or press ⇧⌘F, and Synapse forks the session natively (claude --resume <id> --fork-session or codex fork <id>) into a card stacked on its parent. The question never enters the parent's context, the lineage shows on the canvas as a dashed line, and the child can send a short summary back if you ask.

Open source, accounts and privacy

Both tools are MIT licensed, free and local, with no account. CCManager's Auto Approval is optional and uses your own Claude CLI, so it spends your model quota. Synapse makes no network calls, keeps links and messages in ~/.synapse and reads transcripts from disk.

Where CCManager is ahead

• Worktree lifecycle. Create, merge and delete with hooks, .worktreeinclude, prompt-first worktree creation and devcontainer sessions. Synapse does not manage worktrees.
• Status and automation. Busy, waiting and idle labels per session, status hooks for notifications, and experimental Haiku based auto approval with safety layers.
• Platforms and install. Any OS with Node, including Windows, any terminal, and over SSH, with npx ccmanager and nothing else. Synapse is macOS first.
• Maturity and pace. Shipped, at v4.4.7, with many releases in 2026. Synapse is a young project and its desktop app is not released yet.
• Long tail of agents, including Cline, Kimi CLI, MiniMax Code and Grok Build.

Using Synapse with CCManager

CCManager runs each agent as a normal CLI process in a terminal it manages, which is the kind of process Synapse's scan looks for.

1. Keep CCManager for worktrees, status and approvals.
2. Install Synapse: node install.mjs && npm start, and open the canvas at localhost:4747.
3. Restart your CCManager sessions so the agents load Synapse's MCP server and prompt hook.
4. On the canvas, link a Codex reviewer session to the Claude Code implementer. The reviewer now reads the implementer's recent work on every prompt.
5. Sessions you run inside devcontainers may not show up, since they run in a container rather than as normal processes on your Mac.

Who should pick which

• Pick CCManager if you want a light terminal tool to run and watch many agent sessions across worktrees, on any OS, with hooks and auto approval.
• Pick Synapse if your sessions need to share what they know, you want agents to message each other across CLIs, or you want to see every agent on a canvas.
• Run both. CCManager runs the sessions. Synapse connects them.

FAQ

Is Synapse a CCManager alternative?

For connecting sessions, yes: Synapse adds live context links and messaging between running agents, which CCManager does not have. For managing worktrees, status and approvals, no. The two work well side by side.

Can CCManager share context between Claude Code sessions?

Only once. When you create a new worktree, CCManager can copy Claude Code's session history into it, so the conversation continues there. After that the two sessions do not see each other. Synapse keeps a live link that injects one agent's recent conversation into another on every prompt.

Is CCManager a good Claude Squad alternative?

For many people, yes. CCManager does not need tmux, runs on Windows and adds status labels, worktree hooks and auto approval. Neither CCManager nor Claude Squad lets agents share context or message each other. Synapse adds that next to either one.

Does CCManager work on Windows?

Yes. CCManager is a Node TUI, its README documents a Windows config path, and a review reports it works natively on Windows. Synapse is built and tested on macOS.

Is CCManager open source?

Yes. CCManager is MIT licensed and free, and installs with npm. Synapse is also MIT licensed and free.

Does Synapse see agents running inside CCManager?

CCManager runs agents as normal CLI processes, which is what Synapse's process scan finds, so supported agents such as Claude Code, Codex and Gemini CLI should appear on the canvas. Sessions inside devcontainers may not. Restart sessions after installing Synapse.