Styx vs Warp
Warp coined the term agentic development environment in 2025, and Styx is one too. Warp starts from the terminal and grows into cloud agents and team administration; Styx starts from your projects and the agents working in them, and puts a gate between those agents and production.
Side by side
| Styx | Warp | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | Mac (Apple silicon); Windows coming | Mac, Linux, Windows |
| Agents | Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor | Warp’s agent, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Amp, others |
| Price | Free | Free; Build $20/month; Max $200/month; Business $50/user/month |
| Each agent isolated | Own git worktree and branch | Worktree per agent recommended in its guides; Docker in the cloud |
| Scope of one window | Every project you work on | Tabs across folders and branches |
| Review | Diff with per-hunk accept and reject; checks before landing | Side-by-side diffs of agent changes; pull request review bot |
| Your editor | Imports recents, keybindings and theme; opens files back in it | Built-in file editor and review panel |
| Secrets | In the macOS Keychain; agents get scoped, expiring access | Cloud agent secrets encrypted, injected as env vars |
| Production access | Agents ask; you approve for a set time; Touch ID for live systems | Admins set agent permissions; no deploy approval documented |
| Audit log | Every request, approval and use, append-only | Secret use described as auditable; run and cost dashboards |
| Deploy targets | Vercel, AWS, Google Cloud, Supabase, GitHub, SSH | Not part of its docs |
| Cloud workspaces | No: everything runs on your Mac | Cloud agents in Warp’s cloud or your own |
| Team collaboration | No | Warp Drive, admin controls, SSO on Business |
| Issue tracker | No | Linear, Jira, GitHub, GitLab, Slack, Azure DevOps |
“Not part of its docs” means we could not find it in Warp's own material on 29 September 2026, not that it can never be done with it. Tell us at hello@heystyx.com if something here is wrong and we will fix it.
Where Warp is ahead
- Cloud agents. Its Oz platform runs and coordinates agents in Warp’s cloud or your own, while your laptop is closed.
- Team governance. Admins manage permissions, data controls, SSO and spend in one place.
- Triggers. Work can start from Slack, Linear, Jira or GitHub and report back there.
- A real terminal. It replaces your terminal outright, on Linux and Windows as well as the Mac.
Where Styx is different
Agents never hold your keys
Useful agents need real things: a deploy, a database, a server. In Styx the credentials stay in your Mac’s Keychain. When an agent wants production, it stops and asks; you approve it for a set time, with Touch ID for anything live, and the access ends on its own. Every request, approval and use goes into a log nobody can edit.
Every project, one window
Styx is built around switching between everything you work on: each project, its agents and the ones waiting on you, one keystroke apart. Nothing is organised around a single repository.
On top of your editor
Styx brings in your editor’s recent projects, keybindings and theme, and opens any file back in it with one key. It is not trying to be the place you write code.
One honest limit: this is a guardrail, not a sandbox. Agents run as you, on your Mac, and an agent that deliberately goes around Styx’s tools is not stopped by them.
Which to choose
Choose Warp if you live in the terminal, want agents in the cloud, or need team administration. Choose Styx if you think in projects rather than terminal tabs and want agents to ask before they touch anything live.
Download Styx for Mac. It is free. See every comparison.
Questions
Is Styx a Warp alternative?
For running coding agents, yes: both run Claude Code, Codex and Gemini CLI side by side. Warp is also a full terminal with cloud agents and team admin; Styx gives each agent its own worktree and gates production access.
Did Warp invent the term ADE?
Yes. Warp’s CEO launched Warp 2.0 as “the first Agentic Development Environment” in June 2025.
What is an agentic development environment (ADE)?
An app for managing AI agents that write code, rather than for writing code yourself: several agents in parallel, each isolated on its own branch, with a place to see who needs you and to review what they did. Warp coined the term in June 2025.