Switch from Conductor to Task Machine
Conductor gives each coding task a workspace with a branch, terminal and diff. Task Machine keeps work in Tasks that people and agents own, with plans and decisions together.
Prefer the side-by-side comparison?Why people switch
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Local work stops
Conductor's local sessions end when you close the app or shut down your Mac. Its Cloud sessions can continue with the app closed.
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Cloud requires GitHub
Conductor Cloud supports GitHub repositories. Its FAQ directs GitLab, Bitbucket and other Git hosts to local workspaces.
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Goals depend on location
Conductor's standing goals are available for Codex sessions in local workspaces. Its docs say Cloud workspaces do not support goals yet.
What maps to what
Every answer links to its source and shows when we last checked it. The oldest check on this page was November 15, 2026.
| Area | In Conductor | In Task Machine |
|---|---|---|
| Tasks |
In Conductor
Each task gets a workspace with its own branch, files, terminal, diff and review path. |
In Task Machine
Every job is a Task that a person or an agent owns. Its plan, discussion, decisions, runs and history stay together, such as the brief and review for a weekly report. |
| Planning |
In Conductor
Claude Code and Codex offer Plan Mode. Review the approach and approve it or give feedback before the agent moves into implementation. |
In Task Machine
Plan in Chat, then turn the plan into Tasks or Library documents. Review the plan and acceptance criteria before an agent starts, such as the checks for a repository migration. |
| Models |
In Conductor
You choose a Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or OpenCode model in the model picker. The selected provider account, subscription or API key pays for model usage. |
In Task Machine
Auto chooses a model for each stage from the task, model capabilities, pricing and applicable budgets. You can fix a specific model on an agent, such as your coding reviewer. |
| Code review |
In Conductor
Send inline diff comments to the agent and use the Checks tab for Git status, pull requests, CI, review comments and todos before merging. |
In Task Machine
Internal code review checks changes against enabled repository rules. Rule discovery proposes rules screened against violating and valid examples, and you approve which rules to keep. |
| Hosting |
In Conductor
Local sessions run on your Mac. Cloud workspaces run in managed Vercel sandboxes, and its FAQ says customer-owned cloud machines are not supported yet. |
In Task Machine
Run agents in Managed Cloud with nothing to install, or connect a Local Worker, a computer you control, for local files, tools and accounts. Choose where your coding agent runs. |
| Pricing |
In Conductor
The general FAQ calls Conductor free. Its Cloud FAQ requires Pro, Teams or Enterprise without listing amounts, and describes usage-based compute pricing as a future change. |
In Task Machine
Usage based, from $29 a month before tax. The whole payment becomes usage that your workspace shares, with no base fee. |
A fact we cannot find or cannot check is left out, and prices can change after the date shown. Task Machine publishes this comparison and is an interested party. Conductor is named only to identify it, and there is no relationship between the two companies. Has something changed? Tell us.
You may stay with Conductor if
You may stay with Conductor if supervising coding sessions is your main job and you want its existing Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or OpenCode setup. Its provider guide documents subscriptions and provider credentials, and its iPhone companion lets you control agents, review code and check pull-request status from your phone. Moving is a choice about how you organize work, not a response to a current shutdown notice.
What you give up
Task Machine's docs do not describe hosting Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or OpenCode sessions, a native Conductor-style Mac workspace interface, or an importer for Conductor data archives. Its agents use Task Machine's own execution system. Keep any coding sessions you still need in Conductor rather than expecting them to resume here.
You will reconnect repositories, rewrite instructions and test the replacement process. There is no trial. Read Billing before committing a large job, since unsuccessful work can still consume usage.
How the switch works
- Preserve your work before changing tools. Conductor's export instructions say to right-click a Cloud workspace and choose Transfer to local, or open Settings, Account, Export data for an archive of all your Conductor data. Keep repository branches, uncommitted files and unfinished review notes separately too.
- Create a workspace, connect the repository, and add the Connectors for provider actions such as pull requests. Translate repository guidance into the documented TAMA.md instructions rather than assuming your old session configuration transfers.
- Give one agent a narrow coding responsibility. Create a Task from an unfinished brief, with the intended branch, acceptance criteria and review notes. Keep the Conductor archive as evidence rather than treating it as an import file.
- Set autonomy so unfamiliar actions ask first, then review the first result and repository checks before expanding the workload. Use a Workflow and schedule for a recurring job only after testing it.
Common questions
Is Conductor shutting down?
Its announcement says "Conductor is joining Meta" and now says development will continue. The earlier Cloud shutdown paragraph is struck out. The November 13, 2026 release says "Conductor isn't shutting down." These are its current published statements, not a test of service availability.
What happens to my data?
Keep Conductor's data archive and transferred local workspaces as your own backup. Task Machine's docs do not describe importing that archive or continuing its chats. Connect the same repository and copy the brief and review context into a new Task.
How do the costs compare?
Conductor's Cloud FAQ publishes plan names without amounts, so a like-for-like paid comparison is unverified. Task Machine's pricing is usage based, from $29 a month before tax, with no base fee and no trial. You keep 100% of your revenue, Task Machine takes no cut and never custodies your accounts.
Can I keep my model subscription?
Task Machine documents signing in to a ChatGPT, Claude or GitHub Copilot subscription on a Local Worker. This is subscription access for Task Machine's agents, not hosting your Conductor coding sessions or their named coding tools.