AI tool comparison
Agent! vs farmer
Which one should you ship with? Here is the side-by-side panel verdict, pricing read, reviewer split, and community vote comparison.
Developer Tools
Agent!
Native macOS AI coding agent — no subscriptions, 17 LLMs, full undo
75%
Panel ship
—
Community
Free
Entry
Agent! is an open-source, native macOS application that aims to replace subscriptions to Claude Code, Cursor, and Cline — all in one local app. Built with SwiftUI, it connects to 17 LLM providers including Claude, GPT-4o, Gemini, Grok, and Ollama for fully local runs, and taps Apple Intelligence for on-device token compression when context windows overflow. The standout feature is Time Machine-style file backup with one-click undo on any edit — a safety net conspicuously missing from most AI coding tools today. It also controls macOS via the Accessibility API, automates Safari and Playwright for web tasks, executes shell commands, and handles iMessage-triggered commands. Multi-tab support lets you run parallel agent sessions without context bleed. Zero telemetry, bring-your-own-API-keys, MIT licensed. For developers tired of juggling multiple AI coding subscriptions or uncomfortable with code leaving their machine, this is a compelling local-first alternative that's appeared on Hacker News today.
Developer Tools
farmer
Approve AI agent tool calls from your phone — swipe to allow or deny
75%
Panel ship
—
Community
Paid
Entry
farmer is an npm package that intercepts tool-call permission requests from AI coding agents and routes them to a mobile-friendly dashboard. Instead of watching a terminal scroll as Claude Code or another agent quietly runs shell commands, you get a swipe-card view on your phone where each pending tool call shows the command, its arguments, and the agent's reasoning — and you approve or deny with a swipe. The architecture is deliberately simple: farmer acts as a hook in the agent's tool-call loop, holds execution until you respond, then forwards your decision back. It ships with a Claude Code adapter out of the box and a documented adapter interface for other agents. The mobile UI is a PWA, so there's nothing to install — just navigate to the local server address in Safari or Chrome. For developers running long agentic sessions — overnight refactors, automated test generation, or repo-wide migrations — farmer fills a real gap. Current tools either block the terminal or run with blind trust. farmer offers a middle path: human-in-the-loop control without requiring you to be physically at your machine.
Reviewer scorecard
“The Time Machine undo alone makes this worth trying — every AI coding tool should have this and almost none do. Bring-your-own-keys with 17 providers means you're not locked in. The Accessibility API integration is powerful for automating macOS tasks beyond just code.”
“This solves the exact anxiety of kicking off a Claude Code session and then walking away. The swipe-card mobile UI is well thought out — you can do a quick code review of the pending command right from the notification. The adapter interface is clean enough that I could wire it to my own agents in an afternoon.”
“macOS-only by definition, and native apps require significant maintenance across OS updates. The GitHub repo is brand new — no track record, unknown reliability in production codebases. Apple Intelligence compression sounds clever until you realize it adds another dependency and single point of failure.”
“The security model is concerning: you're routing tool-call details through a local WebSocket server that's exposed to your network. Anyone on the same WiFi can potentially see (or intercept) pending commands. There's no auth on the dashboard in v0.1. Fix that before using this on anything sensitive.”
“Local-first AI coding is the natural endgame for privacy-conscious developers and regulated industries. The Time Machine approach hints at a future where AI edits are fully auditable and reversible — a property that will become legally required in some domains.”
“Human-in-the-loop approval is going to become a compliance requirement for agentic AI in enterprise settings. farmer is ahead of the curve — the patterns it's establishing for mobile-first agent oversight will likely influence how official agent SDKs handle permission gating.”
“The multi-tab parallel agent feature is genuinely exciting for creative workflows — run one agent exploring a design system while another drafts the implementation. Zero subscriptions means a solo creator can access frontier models without a $200/month tab.”
“I run AI agents to manage my content pipeline and frequently can't be at my desk. The idea of approving file writes and API calls from my phone while I'm at a coffee shop is exactly what I've wanted. The activity feed is a nice touch for auditing what ran while I was away.”
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