Task Machine vs Conductor
Conductor supervises coding agents in local and cloud workspaces. Task Machine organizes work as Tasks and Goals with plan review and an Inbox for decisions.
Visit Conductor Switching from Conductor? Read the migration guideTask Machine and Conductor, point by point
Built from each company's public pages. Every answer links to its source and shows when we last checked it. The oldest check on this page was November 13, 2026.
| What you compare | Task Machine | Conductor |
|---|---|---|
| Goals |
Task Machine
Yes
Give a Goal an agent lead and link Metrics, such as weekly signups or open pipeline value. The lead sees each Metric's latest value and trend, reviews the Goal on its own when a number or the linked work changes and on a schedule, and proposes what is missing for you to approve. |
Conductor
Partly
Local Codex sessions can pursue a standing objective, with status and optional token-budget usage shown above the chat. Its docs do not describe tracking outcome metrics or targets against that objective. |
| Leads |
Task Machine
Yes
Goals, Projects and Teams each have a lead, a person or an agent. A Goal lead checks that the work can still reach the outcome. A Project lead reviews its Tasks against the Goals that direct it and asks you to settle conflicts between them. A Team lead triages the queue. Every gap becomes a proposal you approve. |
Conductor
Partly
The API cookbook gives an external agent a Conductor manager role to supervise coding sessions and steer stalled work. Its docs do not establish a lead assigned to a project, goal or team. |
| Tasks |
Task Machine
Yes
Every job is a Task that a person or an agent owns. The Task keeps its plan, discussion, decisions, runs and history together, so you can steer one job in detail without reading a chat log, and people and agents hand work to each other on the same record. |
Conductor
Partly
Each coding task gets a workspace with chats, branch and review history, and Cloud workspaces can be reassigned to teammates. Its docs do not establish assigning workspace ownership to an agent. |
| Recurring work |
Task Machine
Yes
Start a Task or Workflow once, on a schedule in your timezone, or when a service event arrives, such as a paid invoice or a pull request review. A recurring job keeps one stable root Task and gives each occurrence its own status and history, so repeated work does not flood your board. |
Conductor
Yes
Cloud routines run agents on schedules or GitHub actions, and webhook routines run a saved prompt in a fresh workspace for each incoming request. |
| Workflows |
Task Machine
Yes
A Workflow repeats your steps in the same order every time, with branches, human questions and approvals, and verifier checks that judge each result against its requirements and send weak work back with feedback. Every run keeps a step-by-step history you can read afterwards. |
Conductor
Yes
Repository setup scripts repeat sequences such as installing dependencies, copying environment files and building each new workspace. Named run actions and archive scripts cover the rest of the coding-project lifecycle. |
| Autonomy |
Task Machine
Yes
Consequential decisions land in your Inbox with their context. You set what each agent may do on its own: every action is either Ask first or Automatic, per agent, and you can change that whenever the work or the stakes change. |
Conductor
Partly
Tool approvals are configurable user settings, and local tool calls can pause before shell commands, file changes or MCP tools run. Its docs do not describe collecting those requests into an approval queue. |
| Learned autonomy |
Task Machine
Yes
Task Machine studies the approvals and corrections you already make. When an agent does well it proposes giving it more freedom, and when it needs closer supervision it proposes tighter review, each with the evidence. A short lucky streak is not enough, and nothing changes until you accept. |
Conductor
Not published
Its docs describe configurable approvals and durable repository instructions, but no proposals to change an agent's permissions based on your approval history. |
| Memory |
Task Machine
Yes
Agents keep lessons from your corrections, such as an accepted example or a mistake to avoid, and carry the relevant notes into later work. Memory is kept per agent, project, goal, team and workspace, and you can read, correct and restore any note. |
Conductor
Partly
Repository preferences, instruction files and skills preserve editable guidance for later sessions. Its docs do not describe inspectable memories learned from previous runs. |
| Planning |
Task Machine
Yes
Plan in Chat with your agents, and the plan becomes Tasks or Library documents instead of staying in a chat log. Before an agent starts, you review its plan and the acceptance criteria its work will be judged against. |
Conductor
Yes
Claude Code and Codex Plan Mode produce a plan before editing files. You can approve the approach or give feedback before moving into implementation. |
| Intake |
Task Machine
Yes
Send work in over HTTP with a project token. It lands in the project as a Task, or in your Inbox as a proposal first. A team lead agent triages it to the right owner and asks you only when the decision is yours. |
Conductor
Yes
The HTTP API creates workspaces and sends prompts to coding agents. A webhook routine binds incoming JSON to a saved prompt, project and selected agent. |
| Connectors |
Task Machine
Yes
Install services from a catalog as MCP servers, APIs or command-line tools, or add your own custom Connector for any of the three. Events Connectors receive webhooks from a service, such as a paid invoice, and start Workflows or wake a waiting Task. |
Conductor
Yes
Agents use custom local or remote MCP servers, while the HTTP API supports workspace automation and webhook-triggered routines. MCP configuration follows the selected coding agent. |
| Models |
Task Machine
Yes
Auto is the default. For each stage of the work it chooses a model from the task, current model capabilities, pricing and your applicable budgets, and you can fix a specific model on an agent when you want to. |
Conductor
Partly
You choose a model from Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or OpenCode, and the API recommends passing an explicit model. Its docs do not describe automatic model selection per task or step. |
| Cloud or your own computer |
Task Machine
Yes
Run agents in Managed Cloud with nothing to install, or connect a Local Worker, a computer you control, for local files, tools and accounts. You choose where each agent runs. |
Conductor
Yes
Local sessions run on your Mac, while Cloud sessions run in managed Vercel sandboxes and continue with the app closed. Customer-owned cloud machines are not supported yet. |
| Your own subscription |
Task Machine
Yes
Sign in to your ChatGPT (Codex), Claude or GitHub Copilot subscription on a Local Worker, and the agents there use it instead of Task Machine's models. |
Conductor
Yes
Claude and Codex subscriptions or provider API keys cover model usage, including in Cloud workspaces. Conductor says it does not bill or resell model usage. |
| Pricing |
Task Machine
Yes
Usage based. From $29 a month before tax, the whole payment becomes usage that your workspace shares across people and agents, with no base fee and no trial. Larger monthly amounts lower the AI and Cloud rates. |
Conductor
Not published
The general FAQ calls Conductor free, but the Cloud FAQ names Pro, Teams and Enterprise without amounts. It describes usage-based compute pricing as future, so current paid rates and billing basis are not published. |
| Correctness |
Task Machine
Yes
Every Task carries acceptance requirements, and each one gets a Pass, Fail or Uncertain check against the delivered work before a person reviews it. Workflow steps can add a verifier check that sends failed work back with feedback. You review the plan first, so the criteria exist before work starts. |
Conductor
Yes
Workspace actions run tests, and Checks gathers CI status and unresolved work before merge. The API cookbook also instructs a supervising agent to review results against an implementation brief and request fixes. |
For software work
| What you compare | Task Machine | Conductor |
|---|---|---|
| Code review rules |
Task Machine
Yes
Internal code review checks completed changes against the enabled rules of your repository. Rule discovery reads the repository and proposes rules, each screened against violating and valid examples first, and Task Machine suggests turning off a rule that agents keep dismissing. |
Conductor
Yes
Repository-specific Code review preferences guide the Review action, which asks an agent to inspect the current diff. You write the guidance in Repository Settings. |
| Adversarial review |
Task Machine
Yes
When an approved plan has high sensitivity or a Critical review level, the change also gets an adversarial review. Two independent reviewers examine the changed files together for defects such as a broken caller or a duplicate charge on retry. Findings keep their reproduction steps, and a skipped or failed review never counts as a pass. |
Conductor
Yes
The homepage demonstrates asking a different model to review a proposed fix for risks, then opening another session to challenge its approach. This is user-directed second review, not an automatic risk-triggered gate. |
| Risk rating |
Task Machine
Yes
Before final review, Merge risk rates the exact revision Low, Moderate or High, with notes on alignment, impact, verification, rollback cost and error detection, plus file references. It informs your decision and never merges for you. |
Conductor
Not published
Checks gathers merge-readiness signals such as CI, comments and todos. Its docs do not describe a risk rating of the change before merge. |
| Pull requests |
Task Machine
Yes
Agents deliver against the exact reported revision, address review feedback and update the branch under your repository rules. Task Machine records its own approval of the exact commit before an agent may merge. |
Conductor
Yes
Agents draft pull requests, receive inline review comments, fix failing checks and prepare branches for merge. Checks and the Diff Viewer keep GitHub review feedback with the workspace. |
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.
Who each one suits
Conductor suits you if your work centers on code changes and you want Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or OpenCode sessions beside branches, terminals, diffs and pull requests.
Task Machine suits you if you want people and agents to own Tasks, with plans, decisions and history together, and Goals whose leads review outcome metrics.
You may stay with Conductor if its local Mac and Cloud workspaces already fit your coding process. You can keep your model subscriptions and use its planning, tests and pull-request feedback rather than changing how you supervise code.
Review coding work where it happens
Conductor gives each coding task its own workspace. Plan Mode lets you approve an approach before edits, and the Diff Viewer sends your comments back to the agent. Cloud teammates can share chats and reassign workspaces. Routines start agents on schedules, GitHub actions or webhooks.
Task Machine keeps a job in a Task that a person or an agent owns. You can plan in Chat, turn the conversation into Tasks or Library documents, and review later decisions in the Inbox. For a repeated process, Workflows define steps, branches, human approvals and checks against requirements.
Conductor runs the named coding agents directly. Task Machine's Tasks, Goals and Workflows are the comparison here, not a claim that it hosts Conductor's coding agents.
Read the current continuation notice
Conductor's site says "Conductor is joining Meta". Its updated announcement says development will continue. The November 13, 2026 release states: "Conductor isn't shutting down. It's back, and we're building again."
The announcement strikes out its earlier Cloud shutdown paragraph. The November 4 release also retains the old wind-down text, followed by an update saying Conductor is not shutting down. Read the updated announcement and continuation release as the current statements, rather than treating the withdrawn deadlines as current policy.
What the prices cover
Conductor's public pages do not give a current paid price to compare. Its general FAQ calls the tool free, while its Cloud FAQ requires Pro, Teams or Enterprise for Cloud workspaces and publishes no plan amounts. That FAQ says there is currently no additional Cloud-workspace fee and describes usage-based compute pricing as a future change. Conductor says model usage is billed through your selected provider account, subscription or API key, rather than resold by Conductor.
Task Machine is usage based, from $29 a month before tax, with the whole payment becoming usage shared by your workspace and no base fee. You keep 100% of your revenue, Task Machine takes no cut, and never takes custody of your accounts. See pricing for what usage covers.
Common questions
Is Conductor shutting down?
Its current pages say it is joining Meta and will continue development. The November 13 release explicitly reverses the earlier wind-down announcement. This describes its published position, not a test of service availability.
Can Conductor run recurring work?
Yes. Cloud routines support schedules and GitHub actions, and the API documents webhook routines. Those routines run a saved prompt in a fresh workspace.
Can I use my existing AI subscription?
Conductor documents Claude and Codex subscriptions as well as provider API keys for local and Cloud sessions. Your selected provider bills model usage.
Can Conductor handle code review feedback?
Yes. You can send inline comments back to the agent, respond to GitHub review threads, and have agents fix failing checks before merge.