Compare another editor or run CLI agents alongside the editor you already use.
To replace Cursor as an editor, compare Zed and VS Code with your language tools, extensions, and agent tasks. Test the resulting code and project checks on the same repository. Solo runs installed CLI agents and development commands outside the editor. It gives each process its own output and status. You still need an editor to work on files.
Start with the capability you want to replace. Each option overlaps with Cursor in a different way.
Recommended option
Zed is an open source editor with collaboration and agent support. Its Agent Client Protocol integrations let you use supported external agents in the editor.
Best for
An editor with collaboration and external agents.
Recommended option
VS Code has language extensions, debugging, remote development, and coding agents. Check that the extensions and agent accounts you use are supported before switching.
Best for
Teams that depend on editor extensions and debugging tools.
Recommended option
Run installed CLI agents beside dev servers and queue workers. Solo shows each process's output, CPU, and memory use. Commands can restart after exit or watched-file changes. Agents launch separately.
Best for
Local commands and agents that you want to manage outside the editor.
Use a repository with the language tools and agent connections you rely on.
Test the editor features you rely on before switching. If the work you want to move is running servers, workers, and CLI agents, try those in Solo with one repository.
Compare the products and workflows closest to Cursor, including where Solo fits.
Updated:
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-15
Start with one project and a small task. These guides walk through the setup and what to check when the work finishes.
Set up both tools in one project, give one agent implementation work, and ask the other to review the diff.
Read the guide →Give a lead agent a plan, shared todos, and a scratchpad so workers have clear assignments and a useful handoff.
Read the guide →Put a Laravel server, Vite, and a queue worker in solo.yml, then manage their output and restart behavior in Solo.
Read the guide →Solo is a lightweight desktop terminal workspace for local agents, project commands, interactive terminals, and long-running services. It sits beside your editor, keeps your stack visible, and gives Claude Code, Codex, and the rest of your tools one shared local control surface.
Solo is built by Aaron Francis, creator of faster.dev and Database School, and VP of Marketing at Laravel. He built Solo after running Claude Code alongside his own dev stack and getting tired of juggling nine terminal tabs just to keep local agents, services, and project commands visible.
He is also a dad to two sets of twins, which tends to create a strong preference for software that reduces chaos instead of adding more of it. That is why Solo keeps showing up in these comparisons as the local workspace around your tools, not another editor or orchestrator trying to absorb the whole workflow.
Free for four projects on macOS and Windows.
Start with a terminal and add the programmable meta-harness when you need to coordinate agents with your local development stack.
“I can't live without it.”
